Various – Thunderdome - The Best Of 98 - The Box

This box seems like another hastily slapped together affair to capitalise on the commercial success of Gabber in The Netherlands, and to a lesser extent, around the world. Considering how popular these boxes were and becoming a collectors item, I don't blame ID&T for giving their fans what they wanted. The first two CDs are crammed full of good Gabber tracks heavily edited to squeeze in as many tunes into one 80 minute compact disc. Despite being called The Best Of 98, there is at least two songs from 1993! Possibly a damning indictment of the quality of Hardcore music coming out in 1998.

Don't get me wrong, I loved the longsleeve (it still fits!), the stickers and the pen (!), but for me the best part of this box is the 3rd CD mixed by Buzz Fuzz. It's such a diverse, interesting and entertaining mix that I've always admired. It starts off with Hard Techno, there's a smooth transition to New Style Hardcore, some handy mid tempo tunes that connect up nicely to faster more traditional Hardcore Gabber. What I like is the typically excellent mixing by Buzz Fuzz and the refreshing track selection. Most of these tracks were rarely played out during and after the late 90's, it seems like they were hand picked, carefully selected and thoughtful placement. This mix was also the first time I'd heard some of these tunes, so those records went into the Wantlist in my head! I've always felt that this mix is a prime example of the crossroads that Hardcore Techno and Gabber was parked at in 1998, and how the music was changing in different directions. Another top DJ mix by Buzzy.

The second best thing about this box was the 30 minute VHS. It included several excerpts from ID&T party videos taken at three parties from 1998. Seeing the massive crowds, some of my favourite DJs and live acts in action was inspiring for me as a bedroom DJ at the time. It's bittersweet seeing 3 Steps Ahead perform one of his greatest tracks, Paint It Black. I wore out the VHS as I played it religiously in the late 90s and early 2000s.

This is quite a good box by ID&T, I suppose we have DJ X-Ess to thank for this as he was in charge of putting together the Thunderdome CDs. If you are able to get all the goodies, nice one, but the Buzz Fuzz mix is the important item here to have in your collection.

Probably the rarest Dutch Thunderdome tape Best of 98 - mc 2

Buzz Fuzz's mix is a "pearl" of this compilation.
From beginning to end you hear great mixing, great beats and very energetic sounds without sounding too happy, cheesy or aggressive. It's one of those flawless mixes you can play in the background while doing whatever and at one point find yourself doing whatever it is you were doing better, faster with more focus and a bug smile on your face )))