Various - The Universe Compilation: Sounds Of The World's Most Progressive Dance Party Organization

When I first received this CD from an opinionated mail order record shop in NJ, 1993, I was seriously dissapointed and depressed with what I found on this. I was expecting helium chipmonks, breakbeats, and crazy sounds which is what I wanted to hear.

Instead what I heard was dark moody soundscapes that wouldn't sound out of place in the Bladerunner, The Lawnmower Man, or the Logans Run movie. I did not like this.

Fast foward to a time when I have 10% of the chipmonk breakbeat music and I've heard about 50% of it, I can now enjoy other types of music. Especially music from 1992. I don't care what the style of dance music is, if its from the early 90s its golden by default. This brings me to this Cd compilation. This is some of the finest trance music I have ever had the pleasure of hearing with my ears. This is not like the BS wuss trance that would dominate later. As I stated this stuff is dark, moody and above all well constructed and with much thought.

Two Thumbs "Virtual Reality" is truly a masterpeice! Listening to it makes you feel as though your on a futuristic space station filled with Hr Gigger aliens or perhaps in some sort of Lawnmower Man low-rez polygon world. I'm sure the track title leads my mind to wonder into such a place. This is unlike any thing I've ever heard and have ever heard since.

Resistance D "Cosmic Love (Approach & Identify)" is such a good track that the idea was later ripped off (sampling Logans Run) for a Basement Records track. This is about as hard as this CD gets and its as ruff as one can get without dropping an amen breakbeat in the mix.

Dave Angel "1st Symphony" is quite possibly the most soothing and calming house tracks I've ever heard and it fits in perfectly as the second to last track here, the last being a beatless ambient dreamscape.

The CD claims to be computer mixed yet its not mixed at all, its sequenced in a way that flows very nicely except for one moment. At a certain point the volume is so loud you'll have to reach for the volume to turn the sound down.

If you ever see this CD at FYE for 5 dollars your a fool for not grabbing it. Even at the full price I paid for it back in 1993 when it first came out it was a wise decision even if it took me 10+ years to realize it.

Anyone who was a part of the rave explosion in America during the early 90's might have gotten their ears on this gem. An amazing mix, done in a fashion during the 1990's that was hard to come by, of underground tracks by an elite group of artists who defined and shaped the rave scene. More particularly this mix makes me feel like I am back in some of the most unforgettable al-night warehouse parties on the eastcoast. I was very lucky to find this on cd, while I retired my cassette copy last year, this is an amzing mix that you should cherish forever. The beginning of the mix leans towards tribalhouse/hardhouse, then picks up by going into a frenzy state of techno driven, breakbeat trance, while ending in a beautiful and ambient way. No one is making music like this anymore. True rave, techno warehouse music. If you can get your hands on a copy of this and you are a fan of underground dance music, you will cherish it forever. What an amazing mix with stellar artists of their time.