Larry Levan - Live At The Paradise Garage

dj_hedgehog, Feb 02, 2004

This is one of the most imperfect live mix CDs available, and would simply not obtain a release if it was recorded by a current DJ.

But this was recorded in much more primitive times, when DJ technology wasnt as developed, underground clubs were not all about perfect mixing and 8 hours of identical, formulaic music.

On this CD, you can hear manual adjustments to record speeds, trainwreck mixing and even some ill-advised mix selections, as well as analogue sound quality.

Yet it all sounds SO much better than your run-of-the-mill "Now Thats What I Call Making £££ Out Of The Club Scene II" mix CD released today; most of which arent really "live mixes", but are made on computers to ensure perfect beatmatching. zzzzzz....

Why then, is this CD apparently so great?

Because you can really feel the passion the DJ has for the music, and the quality of the music is so high that the recordings technical imperfections dont detract from the experience.

Just imagine that you are there. Imagine that your first rave in 1988 was really a visit to the Paradise Garage in 1970s, and just imagine how you would have felt. Would you have been listening out for technically-perfect DJing, or would you have been having the time of your life, at the start of something significant?

Since buying this, I have listened to this dozens of times, and it still sounds amazing. Buy this and listen to history being made. It really is that good.

Was the above review useful to you? Yes  No  (report)