Ritual

Somehow, I always end up writing the first reviews of Noel Sanger mix cd's, and I always praise them. So here I go again, imploring fans of Sasha & Digweed, Oakenfold, Lawrence, Collins, Seaman, Ralph, Warren, etc., to give Noel Sanger's work a whirl. Sanger knows how to pace and sequence his sets, and his mixing is excellent. Also in his favor here is that nearly all of the tracks he has used are fresh and relatively little-known (this may not be true a few months from now), so he can't be accused of cobbling together a mix of the latest dance floor hits we've all already heard endlessly.As in his two more recent previous mixes, "Trance II" and "Vibrations of Light and Sound," Sanger includes a fine combination of progressive house and trance tracks. Nearly all of them are winners; I would make two exceptions, however. First, he includes a ho-hum hip-hoppish breakbeat track by Brian Transeau, whose ongoing descent into commercial mediocrity remains one of the sadder developments within electronic music over the past year or two. The remix by Hybrid adds a bit of life to "Never Gonna Come Back Down," but for me it brings to mind the old saying about silk purses and sow's ears. The other disappointment in this mix is Sanger's inclusion for the THIRD time of "No Greater Love," sung by Nicole Henry (he included it on the "Vibrations" mix and on his own previous unmixed solo album, "Selections"). The track is decent enough musically, but suffers from terminally sappy lyrics, Henry's either-you-like-them-or-you-don't vocals (I don't), and at this point, simple overutilization. Time to give that track a rest!Overall, however, Sanger continues to put out excellent work both as a producer and a dj, and yet he still apparently has not gained the following he deserves. It's clear that no American spinning trancey electronic dance music is going to make Billboard's list of the top 25 albums anytime soon. As far as the U.S. is concerned, trance and progressive house apparently are "the music of the future and always will be." The relative success of Sandra Collins' "Tranceport 3" and recent mixes by Christopher Lawrence, however, suggest that there is at least a niche market out there for trance and progressive house cd's, if the work is able to gain exposure.This review represents my two cents' worth of exposure for Noel Sanger. Listen to "Ritual"; you just may like it!

Not bad......worth having.....no regrets.

I bought this cd not here...but just to tell you guys this is a great cd, because it seems like a live DJ set. If you heard the trance a state of altered conciousness vol ii which is mixed by DJ NOel W Sanger you can expect more than he offered before...He grew up a lot. He is mixing much deeper and darker. The mix flows good, nice efects during the mix. The cd starts with soft lines...classic ones...just to start...then a nice voice appears...is a deep house song, very fresh to listen, very "beautiful inside" and contains a sample of Wu Tang Clan. Just 30 seconds to finish..he starts to get you in his rythm with Beatstalker. When you enter Memmon "DEsire" you will feel cool basslines, this is my favourite song. then he stops and starts to play with a little of distortion that put your mind in a dancefloor. # 4 is a great Hybryd's remix for BT song. He continues his futurized mix. # 5, you have to listen it if you heard Brancaccio & Aisher and the nice voice of Jasmine. #6 "dissident" his nice tune,very consistant, a kind of progressive song. But he keeps the darkest side of the mix.For your opinion I live 7,8,9. 2 of them known songs and known names as planet heaven & Taylor.# 10 my second favourite!. cool bass, cool keyboard, classic drums.The mix is getting to the end with a sweet tech-trancy song, with vocals from Nicole Henry. My opinion is this mixed-cd is one of the very good releases from the end of the last year, I like its flows, Its dark and deep side, its futurized mix.That is why I gave it 5 stars, because new Noel W. Sanger style, new 2001 music. Best album than his releases before. IF you like Digweed, Sasha, Pappa, Warren you will enjoy this because it will keep you away from the GU series which are good. My conclusion is: A must have for Trance-Progressive-Tech lovers. You will start to appreciate his talent, and in this way...He is going to a Temple of Masterful Pieces!!.Enjoy!

Ok, this is my first review on here, after watching a few other people murder some of the best music I've ever heard, I'm going to start my reviews. Noel W. Sanger is a bit of a new name to me, I bought the Trance II (Trans) A State Of Altered Consciousness double CD set, and it was pretty good, but when I switched on the digital cable today and put it on the dance Music Choice channel, I saw his name again... And was hooked. Ritual is his first perfect album, great song selections, and great transitions thru all the songs. I'm very picky when it comes to MY TRANCE, but this is a gotta have. I'm on my way to the store to order it tomorrow, and I suggest you do the same. With the ambient late night rave feel here, it's mellow enough to be used for small parties, and hits enough to slam at a all night Electronica Fest. If Noel keeps this up, Oakey is gonna have to watch his back. Great work Noel

Ritual starts out strong with a pumping, grooving track -- spanish archer vs. tilt "beautiful inside". The rest of the set doesn't measure up. There's no continuity, no imagination, and the tracks themselves aren't strong. Overall, I was quite disappointed with this disc.