By far my favorite Global Underground compilation mixed by the legend that is Tony De Vit. Not just two separate mixes but a 2 hour session in the original style. This mix really shows how clever hard house can be - not just "hard", but very stylish, diverse and beautiful, in the same way that techno, house, progressive house and other styles do. The progression is very clever and so is track selection. Most tunes are "Trade" style hard house from the key labels including Tripoli Trax, Chug'N'Bump, Shift Recordings and others. Starting from Dave Randall's techy "Bombay" and then building and speeding up, smooth and slowly. With each new tune introduced properly the mix grows in energy, going up 15 bpm in two hours and ending at almost 150! I also admire the mixing technique that is used here, absolutely classic. There's a lot more to say about this mix really, a must have for every hard house fan! 5/5

Space Sentinelz on top form here! You can hear they came from the hardcore background as "Brainwash" is a hardcore hard houser and not for the faint hearted! The signature sentinelz hardcore kick, distorted bassline, breakbeat loops, raw synth lines, twisted vocal samples, rave stabs and hoovers are here to build up into a monster of a tune! One of the best tunes on the label for me with a groove to die for!

Some authorities were saying that the quality of their productions was dull at that time, i strongly disagree with this. It could have been sounding "dated", but thats just because it was so wonderfully oldschool flavoured.

The flip "Real Wot You Feel" is a top quality hoover-lead hard house tackle in the modern style from Toolbox main man Nik Denton.

Side A "All Time High" is my favourite here. You can hear it is engineered by Alex Calver as his signature sound is there from the start. Deep bassline and twisted synths are doing their usual job well. Although this tune is somewhat special to me, i really like the overall groove in it and also the way the vocal sample is used.

Side B "Rock Dat Shit" is a typical calver hard houser which is quality produced and works the dancefloor well, but at the same time has nothing special to tell about.

Very strong release as always from Asymmetric label.

Track 5 "There Is Nothing More" is a definite highlight for me here. This is probably the most beautiful thing i've ever heard from Inigo Kennedy. But this is not just a quality piece of production. As you start to listen, it takes you to the wonderful journey of emotions and feelings. I really love the way it flows and i can listen to it for hours over and over again. Absolutely blinding!

More of this please!

I quite like the Original Mix here. When i first heard a small preview sample i really loved the catchyness of it as the main 4x4 pattern is just so incredibly groovy. Although i was a little bit disappointed when i finally got my 12'' copy. The "You got to get it out" / "It's in my head" vocal samples and quite strange progression of the track have almost destroyed what could have been an absolute belter.

Paul Maddox Remix is a weak one here. It sounds too primitive and simple, nothing to tell about really.

Original Mix was one of the most played hard trance tunes in my record collection. Kicked off with a big kickdrum, good percussions and a groovy rolling bassline, it progresses and builds up nicely with sounds.

I saw it doing a massive damage to the dancefloor many times, especially the moment when it kicks back in after the first mini-drop. With this "Now is the time!" vocal sample it was always a winner with the crowd.

Overally, this is a good hard trance/hard house combination which is raw, euphoric and ravey at the same time.

Tom Ingamells (aka Ingo) Remix is a more laid-back hard houser, but also good when you need something more techy.

I personally rate him as one of the best hard house DJ's, with perfect mixing technique, great track selection and progression of the set. On the production side he is not that exciting, although he has brought some innovation to the scene with his trademark breakbeat sounds. His track selection skills also revealed in full during the work for his own Lotek Records. Unlike some of the other labels distributed by Alphamagic, releases on Lotek have always been unique and top-quality.

I can't believe so many people on here are slating Scooter, but i can see the appeal at the same time... Many people who are into a lot more intelligent styles of electronic music are very negative about Scooter, but if you consider them just as a popular/dance act - they are really on the top of the hill!

They never were innovators, but they have put all the elements together in the right way - and they have taken the ravey vibe to a much higher scale then it was before them. They have been performing for years for very large audiences and their albums have sold enormous amounts. Many many people have started to listen to electronic music just because of Scooter.

It makes me laugh when people start talking shit about them in terms of quality of their productions comparing to other great underground happy hardcore or trance acts or whatever - what a nonsense! There are thousands of great producers and acts around, but Scooter are the only ones that have reached such big success! So it's not about thinking about them in terms of quality of production or sound - for many many people its more like thinking about them as an ICON!

I was listening to this all the time when it was just out and what i can tell... This is one of my favourite techno mixes ever! It is recorded live and the mixing is not so tight, but listening to the mix you almost can feel the dancefloor magic CJ Bolland is well known for. Most of the tunes are from high-caliber techno producers. For me it is definately a classic mix here.