Ferry Corsten – Right Of Way

No trance artist has lived up to the quality this album presents. 10 years later, and still an absolute "MASTERPIECE". There is not much more to say. Ferry is an electronic genius!

It's only ahead of its time in that Ferry Corsten paved the way for others - namely Armin van Buuren, Tiesto, and Paul van Dyk - to make synth-pop and commercial house and call it trance music. Ferry Corsten was possibly the first trance producer to jump ship into some sort of electro-house sound, all the way back in 2003. This CD isn't trance, not even by today's very liberal definitions.

'Right of Way' is in many ways an album ahead of its time. Like much of Ferry's work, this album received its share of criticism upon its release, only for time to get past it then and reveal what actual genius piece of work this was.

RoW is unlike ANY album you will ever hear. It is, musically speaking, unique. From the first beat to the last, you will never get the impression that anything Ferry did here was done before. If I would be asked to define originality in music, I would say, without a doubt, 'Right of Way'.

"Sublime" opens the album in a very energetic, yet dreamy style. A collab between Steve Helstrip (aka The Thrillseekers) and Ferry, this is probably one of the most underrated trance classics.
"Whatever!" follows, darkening the atmosphere a bit. Slower-paced, groovy and witty, interesting vocals.
The next song, "Rock Your Body Rock" needs no introduction. The electro influence is best noticed here. Vocoded vocals and an iresistable electro dirtyness make this one a crowd favourite.
"Right Of Way" proves that it deserved being chosen as title track of the album. While maintaining the electro feel, this is more melodic and energetic than 'Rock Your Body Rock'. One of the highest points on the entire album.
After the exhilerating energy of the previous track, "Kyoto", in a very smart move, benefiting from a beautiful and goosebump-generating melody, keeps the energy high, at the same time decreasing the speed of things. Very System F-esque and clearly the closest thing to the classic trance sound, this is a great track to open sets-used by Ferry himself on many occasions-, that also works very well for climaxes.
"Holding On" gives the listener a needed break just at the right time. A superb downtempo vocal track, "Holding On" is one of those hauntingly beautiful songs that stay with you forever. Unforgettable and yet another proof of Corsten's polyvalent genius.
Up next, "Sweet Sorrow". Probably one of Ferry's best productions ever, it simply has no flaws. It's PERFECT. A dark, emotional track that makes excellent use of the trance-electro blend. The moral climax of the album.
"Hearts Connected" continues in the same vibe as "Sweet Sorrow" and does it well. On purpose or not, it acts as a bridge between the aforementioned track and the next one:
"Punk"! The classic, trend-setting "Punk". This is the track that started Ferry's electro-trance voyage, defining his sound for years to come. Almost as fresh today as it was 6 years ago and I guess that says a lot.
"It's time" gives us a little more of Ferry's broken beat vs pop vs electro vs trance vs chill experiments. It has little somethings from all those musical styles and it works REALLY well. Again, a very original track that's impossible not to like.
"Show your style", as the title cleverly suggests, is the track that's least like the others and an obvious shout to originality.
And, as a response to "Show Your Style", the next track, entitled "Star Traveller" simply shows Corsten's style in its aamazing nakedness. A slow-paced, yet energetic electro-trancer, featuring an excellent percussion scheme, "Star Traveller" is essentially 6 minutes of true musical demonstration. Every time I listen to this track I get the goosebumps.
"Skindeep" signals the upcoming ending of the album through the beautiful vocals of Shelly Harland and its slow pace. Another fine example of Ferry's abilities to make quality tracks in the downtempo field.
The closing track, "In My Dreams", is, in my opinion, the single most extraordinary ending to any album I have ever listened to, be it electronic music or not. Starting with a dreamy 1.5-minute intro, this one develops into a vocal breakbeat heaven that sends you floating on a cloud high above all the worries of the day. It's heart-purifying, that's what it is. Very nostalgic in both lyrics and melody, it's an extremely powerful (not energetic) and moving song. I personally first listened to this song while in high-school and now, years after, every time I listen to it, I see myself as a teen enjoying all those wonderful years. So please, if you didn't listen to this song yet, make sure that when you do it's a beautiful period of your life. It's worth it.

So...What's more to say about this album? Nothing. Nothing more I could say with words. Ferry created a masterpiece that does what masterpieces do: becoming a part of you.
Truly an album in a league of its own. 11/10

I think, that it's one of largest Ferry's work.
Do we expected so many electro choons from mr. Corsten ?
I think no.
We know Ferry Corsten by his classic tracks like "Out of the blue", "Galaxia", "Air" and etc. Also his great remixes like "Clear blue water" to name of some.
And then - Right of way.
Strong trancy tunes like "Sublime" and "Kyoto" storms the place. And interesting works like "Rock your body rock" and older choon "Punk". And beautiful "Holding on" with beautiful voice from Shelley Harland.
So...
We have very long awaited album from trance master. And what we've got is not what we expected from him. Also we must keep an eye on "Tsunami" label.
He shows the new world of trance to us. Maybe soon we will hear only electro from our speakers ? ))

Just what one would expect from a trance producer: a couple of standouts among half a dozen of fillers, and an embarrasing moment or two, namely track #11 "Show Your Style", probably the funniest tune I've heard on a trance album. 32 genres were named within 3 minutes... utterly pointless if you ask me. Ferry and Birgit should feel ashamed of writing such tasteless lyrics. Does the closing track "In My Dreams" vaguely remind you of a Paul van Dyk tune? That's right, it was "Together We Will Conquer". As a whole, "Right of Way" sounded pleasant at first listen, then gets a tad repetitive, and largely disposable by the third spin. Is this really what trance music sounded like in late 2003? Had it been released in 2000, it would still be <b>kinda</b> hip. In 2003, however, "Right of Way" just sounds painfully out of date. What this tells me is that Ferry Corsten hasn't really developed as a producer since 1999's "Out of the Blue". It doesn't have the coherency that an album should have, nor does it leave much imagination space for listeners (save track #6 "Holding On", where the lyrics suggest SM bondage). Even Deepsky's "In Silico" album, released 20 months ago, had twice as much new ideas and sounded unapologetically fresher. Well, it's Ferry Corsten, what more can I expect?