First and foremost, "Independence trance revival" has large completist and collector value due to the fact it has four tracks exclusive to this compilation, and they are produced by some of old school's most loved artists such as Etnica, Ofer Dikovsky collaborating with the California Sunshine guys and Total Eclipse.
The music. In my opinion, Etnica is the absolute show stealer here! They deliver a track unlike any other they've ever crafted. A really pumping, storming number, that has the energy of their finest Pleiadians tracks, but the focus on a single lead melody, which goes absolutely berserk during the track's final climax. There's this amazing sample from the movie Planet Of The Apes going "It's a toy. It floats on the air!" just prior to the last explosion of ferocious melodies and absolutely wicked 303s. The kick is hard as hell, and the bass line is so fat and massive, it remains literary the sole point of my focus when I play Nice Toy on my home speaker system. Just like the previous reviewer, this track makes me think of and wish for something as well: I want it to be given a full-side mastering treatment, I want it to be committed to a full side of a slab, for maximal aural orgasm! Totally outrageous.
The other track that really does for me here is Partycles by Total Eclipse. It's way less full blown melody driven like many of their old production, but just as intriguing, with a steady and pulsating kick and bass with a fair share of really trippy sounds. It's only around the four minute mark that the climax comes in, with these stretched out sounds yawning through the track. It's a great tune, not uplifting or mad, just floating, and very groovy, I love it!
X-Dream's timeless take on E-Rection's "Out here we are stoned" aside, which can be found on countless releases still available world wide, the other tunes fail to impress me. The two numbers which feature Ofer Dikovsky are substandard, especially when one keeps in mind the amazing output he had tucked under his belt already then (Tandu, Pigs In Space, Solaris to name a few). It just sounds way too similar to many other israeli tracks of the times. Joyous, with trancey melodies and no sense of overall direction. For example, White Holes, Ofer's tune with Har-Ell, has some of those trademark metallic Ofer sounds, but it amounts to nothing. No real energy, no real drive, the apparent force is not applied to reach any real climax or musically impressive segment.
I have never been a fan of California Sunshine, but I can swallown Imperia (Rmx), which builds really slowly and ends up with a damn uplifting lead melody, typical of their style. I find it quite cheesy, but I know they have a loyal fan base and this is apparently one of their greatest achievements. Not that it's bad, but if you're not into the whole 'cheerleader goa trance' israeli sound, you'll probably be let down by this one. Works really well on the dance floors though.
X-Dream's STOP is a nine minutes plus minimal thumper which forecasted their Radio sound. But this is just a tad on the boring side. There aren't as many interesting layers and changes added or substracted to keep me listening to the same fat bass line on and on forever. It's a solid track, no doubt, with massive production and a hard edge, but it's too stripped down (which I don't generally mind) and yet it fails to capture the essence of the style they were pursueing back then.
Prana deliver a strange tune, which actually sounds like a Joujouka track. A broken beat pattern and some tribal drum programming with cool effects coming from all over. Really an interesting way to put an end to this compilation, it gives the whole feel of the music a sudden twist. Great tune, despite not sounding as if it was at home grounds here. Who cares? Good music can feel at home everywhere.
There you have it. The music might not be able to get more than a 3/5, but add the collector value this one has, and just take a glimplse at the amazing spiralling image on the CD's surface, and I'm sure this one won't get below a 4/5 from anybody. The Etnica contribution, Nice Toy, is a second to none classic available only on this release. Being a fan of goa trance and not hearing that one is what we generally consider a sin. Getting this might hit hard on your wallet, but if you wait for your chance, every once in a while there's a copy available for a fair price.

Track 1 is what I call the “trance anthem of 1998”, or else X-Dream’s remix of the 1992 “Out Here We Are Stoned”. Having appeared on a ton of other compilations I usually skip this track and start straight with track 2, the bomb! Here we find an exclusive Etnica track which according to the liner notes, “taken from the forthcoming album Florophilia”, which, as we all know, never made it out. This is Etnica at their best, somewhat reminiscent of I. F. O. but produced a lot of times better! It seems to start off abruptly and this may suggest that the final arrangement was not complete, but once is starts the progression is amazing. My god what a track, it’s easily my favourite of all Etnica/Pleiadians repertoire. While listening to it I can’t help myself not imagining I. F. O. re-relesead remastered like this. Dream on…

Next is a collaboration between Ofer Dikovsky and DJ Miko. I’m a big fan of the Pigs in Space album by Ofer, but this track is not that powerful. It seems to sample some song by an Israeli composer Shalom Hanoch. A lot may find the guitar cheesy, but I go crazy for guitar songs. Maybe because I listen only to electronic music and can’t differentiate between cheesy versus intelligent guitar sampling? Could be.

Next artist in line is no-one less than my favourite old act, Total Eclipse. It starts off very differently from any other track by this former trio but gradually that old “totally eclipsed” sound comes in play. Don’t know what others think, but it seems to me that some sounds resemble a lot to those of Israeli veteran Sandman. There’s also a bit of guitar influence in here. May sound weak to the mass, but I love it.

California Sunshine follow with Imperia. It starts off quite well, until some vocal sample “hay-hay-uuuh”, or whatever starts overwhelming the song. Pity this lousy sample has ruined a part of what otherwise is a nice, melodic, touching and very Israeli track I would say. Forget that voice, and you’ll discover another emotional song.

“You dream of a vacation in the bottom of the ocean” is the sample used in the beginning of track 6, produced by none less than Ofer again and other Israeli veteran Har-el P(rusky), or whatever spelling you prefer. This one is very similar to Ofer’s “Pigs in Space” album so if you like that you’ll love this heavy track too.

The remixers of track 1 are back with another track. S. T. O. P. is similar to material from their groundbreaking album Radio. Another heavy, techno influenced psychedelic workout for which the German duo became (more) famous in 1998 and after for paving the way for a new trance sound.

Compilation rounds off by a contribution by none less than the Japanese veteran Tsuyoshi and his former ever innovative label Matsuri Productions. As was often the case with this label, track starts off with some breakbeats until it unfolds into something similar to his 1997 album Geomantik. There’s a hint of tribalism in here too. Quite a smooth song to close the compilation with.

Despite the unattractive front cover and the cheesy name, the inside artwork is very cool and psychedelic, and of course the music as described above is much better. Each of these 8 tracks is very different from each other, and having an exclusive from Etnica and Total Eclipse should be enough for old-school lovers to get. I will mention again the Etnica track: get it!