Tiësto* - In Search Of Sunrise 4: Latin America

It's rather a shame that ISOS 4 is only worth 3 stars.
The tracklist is quite good and there some really great tracks here.
Unfortunately, the tracks order is troublesome, specially for CD2. Some songs in this CD just don't sit well together and the general feel of the album is irregular, going up and down throughout the disc instead of a continuous build-up.

CD1 is far better than CD2 but it doesn't mean it's flawless. The edit of "Like A Waterfall" isn't a good start, as pointed before, and Tiesto's own remix of "The Force of Gravity" should've been left out in favor of more appropriate songs.

The transitions are badly done too, which is unexpected for a skillful DJ such as Tiesto. The mixing of "The Loves We Lost" into "Perfect Silence" is definitely awkward and sounds like the tracks were just juxtaposed... Maybe he wasn't in a good day.

CD1 alone deserves a 3 or a 3,5-star rating. CD2 is simply disastrous and, hence, should rest in the case.

Disc 1 opens up directly with a 4/4 hammering kick, which there are no excuses for. Laidback and dreamy? This intro is no good, in particular since it is edited exclusively for In Search of Sunrise.

If you can live with that, the first half of disc 1 has a warm groove and hovers in the borderland between progressive and trance. It’s a really good start with brilliant rhythmic loungey tracks; in particular Jase from Outta Space ‘Do What U Want’ (Max Graham mix) and Coca & Villa ‘La Noche’ are beautiful floorfillers which stand out. The mid section with Luminary, Steve May and Gabriel & Dresden is dreamy, minimal melodic trance and keeps the sprit alive even if these tracks don’t stand out. This carries into the more upbeat final, where tougher and more electric trance beats comes in, which is unfortunate. It sucks that Tiësto choose to bring in lightweight melodic trance a.k.a. cheese which totally ruins the sophisticated atmosphere. BT ‘The Force of Gravity’ (Tiësto remix) is just too much. The last four tracks on disc 1 are a boring and trying disappointment.

Disc 2 definitely alters the concept of In Search of Sunrise. This is an inspirationless mix of pure upbeat, melodic trance. It’s all about driving basslines and feetmoving melodies, and it is a boring story without any attempt to innovation. It doesn’t touch. I miss the warm builds and moody atmosphere which used to be this series’ trademark. The mix shapes up at the end when Tiësto goes through with it and closes with four powerful hardtrance tracks which really get under your skin, but the wait have been too long.

Further, too many of the simple beatmatch track transitions you find on In Search of Sunrise 4 are pushy and far from smooth.

To sum up, In Search of Sunrise 4 doesn’t breathe fresh air and doesn’t really add anything new to the dance scene. You find some good tracks on this album but the mixes do not impress.

It's been two years since Tiësto released his previous mix CD, Nyana. While the latter still had a harder side with the Outdoor disk, it looks like Tiësto has chosen the softer path for this one. Both disks are packed with high quality progressive and deep trance tracks, creating a very spacey atmosphere. And as usual with releases on Black Hole and sublabels, the artwork is again very nice, with the jewel case coming in a decorated outer cardboard sleeve. Definitely a must have for deep trance or Tiësto collectors.