Mega Trance 10 Anniversary
Release Date: 5/27/09
Price: 2362 yen
Mega Electro 10? That’s what almost half of the first disc sounds like. Add in a few too many repeats and you end up just skipping half the album. It’s not a total loss, however, as we do get a fantastic Delaction remix as well as new stuff from DJ U*Hey? and DJ Tora. There’s even a promising new trance duo known as Glutton Boyz.
Despite the overabundance of repeats (and electro!), it’s still a recommended buy, if only for the Delaction track and the DJ U*Hey? Best disc. If you’re not interested in the second disc, I recommend just buying “7 Years and 50 Days,” “Viva la Vida,” “Jackknife,” “He’s a Pirate,” and “Closer” off iTunes Japan.
Full track-by-track review of the first disc after the jump.
Disc 1
01. Hurry Home ~Soba ni Iru ne~ (DJ U*Hey? Remix) / Charlie
“Hurry Home” is an English cover of a Japanese song, so the lyrics feel unnatural and forced. It doesn’t help that Charlie’s vocals are a little on the weak side. DJ U*Hey’s remix itself is pretty good, with plenty of pianos and some well-done synth solos. I’m just not sure this song was suited for a trance remix in the first place.
02. Viva la Vida (U&M Remix) / Dance Music Company
The Grammy-winning “Viva la Vida” gets the trance treatment from U*Hey? and Minagawa with fantastic results. The synths faithfully replicate the majesty of the original song, and the cover singer matches Chris Martin quite well.
03. 7 Years & 50 Days (Delaction Remix) / Groove Coverage
Groove Coverage haven’t made a new song in a while, so that explains why FARM have been going through their back catalogue. Delaction outdo themselves once again, managing to top their remix of “Summer Rain.”
04. Jackknife / Glutton Boyz
The Glutton Boyz are a promising new group comprising DJ Satoshi and DJ Dai, who have produced many Mega Trance parties in Japan. Their style is pretty similar to DJ U*Hey’s. Nothing exactly ground breaking, but solid stuff nonetheless. DJ Satoshi has the full song up for preview on his MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/djsatoshiakagluttonboyz
05. Soldier (Club Mix) / DJ U*Hey?
The latest in U*Hey’s series of fight-themed songs. Unsurprisingly, it sounds a lot like his previous ones. ^^; If you liked K.O., TKO, or Warriors, you’re bound to love this as well.
06. Scorpion (DJ Ten Remix) / Oriental Space
I’m not at all a fan of this remix, but it’s a mercifully short edit at only 1:30 long.
07. 20th Century Boy ~Eiga Seiki Shounen yori~ (Red Style Rmx) / REW
I usually associate REW with a harder, more agressive psychedelic trance style. I’m not always a fan of his tracks, but the style works well with this T. Rex cover. There are no vocals present aside from a few generic samples, however.
08. He’s a Pirate ~from Pirates of the Caribbean~ (Texas Boys vs. Akai Mix) / Captain Hook
You can definitely hear the Akai Suisei influence in this remix. I want to classify it as psychedelic, but it’s still got a lot of epic trance qualities. It even has added swashbuckling sound effects! A surprisingly enjoyable remix that’s arguably better than the original.
09. Inazuma (Club Mix) / TB & GB
A collaboration between Texas Boys and Glutton Boyz. This song initiates electro section of the album, unfortunately. I’m not a huge fan of electro, but this is a decent enough track on its own.
10. Longing Love (Electro Mix) / Texas Boys
I know I just said I’m not a huge fan of electro, but pianos make everything better. That said, this was already on Mega Trance 09.
11. Closer (Electro Remix) / Ogiek
An awesome electro Ne-Yo cover. Ridiculously short at only 1:49.
12. Alive (PH Electro Remix) / Mondotek
More electro, this time licensed from Quake. Far too repetitive for my tastes.
13. Party Animal (Vandalism Remix) / Mark Knight feat. Luciana from Portobella
Yawn. More electro.
14. Freeloader (Spencer & Hill Remix) / Dave Darell
Someone wake me up when the electro is over.
15. Numb (Re-Fuge Remix) / Jan Wayne vs. Raindropz!
I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but I wish they had used the Handz Up version instead. The electro mix is decent, but the trance version works much better.
16. Smells Like Teen Spirit (DJ Tora + R-seq Remix) / One Nation
I’m a tad disappointed by this. It’s mostly similar to the original (lots of guitars), although it’s a bit more psychedelic. I just wish DJ Tora had done something more with it.
17. G-Kill / DJ Joker vs. Heavens Wire
A collaboration between two of J-trance’s biggest names. Starts off psychedelic, then transitions into classic epic trance before returning to psychedelic. I don’t really hear DJ Joker’s influence at all, though he has been experimenting a lot lately.
18. Magical Express (Umi no Mierumachi) (Heavens Wire vs. Drumroller Remix) / Oriental Space
Wonderful orchestration and epic trance synths combine for a definitive trance version of “Magical Express.” Oriental Space’s “Magical Express” was what originally hooked me on J-trance, so it’ll always have a special meaning for me.
19. The Beach / G.G.2
I’ll have to check the booklet, but I believe this is DJ U*Hey? and DJ Minagawa again. It’s a bit darker in style, especially compared to their Caribbean works.
20. Again (Overhead Champion Remix) / A.G.E
Host trance 🙁 It is nice to hear the classic OHC sound again, though.
21. Tokyo / Heart Land
Of all the songs to license from Hime Trance, they choose this. They just had the Keen version on Mega Trance 09! Unfortunately, the Japanese cover doesn’t have the MC hilariously mis-spelling “Tokyo” the way Steven Haynes does.
22. Gake no Ue no Ponyo (Akai Suisei Remix) / Animeking feat. Caoli
Ponyo Ponyo Ponyo sakana no ko… Akai Suisei’s remix can’t save the sub-par vocals. They just sound way off compared to the original.
23. Ginga Tetsudou 999 (Spacey vs. garamonn Remix) / Tsukasa
One of my favorite songs from Hime Trance Anime*Mix! The edit here is a bit shorter, but they kept all of the good stuff in.
24. Heaven / DJ Kaya feat. Keen
I dislike Keen. In fact, one could say that I dislike her with a fiery passion. Someone please explain what 127 means to me. Was she going for “24/7,” but thought there were only 12 hours in a day? A shame they couldn’t get a new DJ Kaya remix instead of licensing this drivel.
Disc 2 – DJ U*Hey? Best
01. K.O. (Fighting Spirits Mix) / DJ U*Hey?
02. TKO (Original Club Mix) / DJ U*Hey?
03. Warrior (Final Round Mix) / DJ U*Hey?
04. Na Na (Original Mix) / U&M feat. Suck Man
05. S.P.A.M. (Original Club Mix) / Caribbean
06. D-Drive (Original Club Mix) / DJ U*Hey? vs. DJ Minagawa
07. Holylance (Texas Boys Remix) / DJ Yoshinori
08. You (Club Mix) / DJ U*Hey? vs. DJ Minagawa
09. Into Space (Original Mix) / Caribbean
10. I Live on My Own (DJ U*Hey? Remix) / Horizon
11. Everyone Falls in Love feat. MCD (DJ U*Hey? Remix) / Charlie
12. Everytime / Caribbean
13. Anniversary (Original Club Mix) / Night Hunter
14. Rock On!! (Original Club Mix) / Night Hunter
15. Stars (Original Club Mix) / DJ U*Hey?
16. Eye of the Tiger [Film Rocky III] (Original Club Mix) / Texas Boys feat. Suck Man
17. Layla (Original Club Mix) / DJ U*Hey? vs. DJ Minagawa
18. No Way Out (t-xign Remix) / DJ U*Hey? vs. DJ Minagawa
19. Survivor (Alphazone Mix) / DJ U*Hey? vs. DJ Minagawa
20. Grand Slam (Club Mix) / DJ U*Hey?
21. YaKuScha (DJ U*Hey? Remix) / Oriental Space
22. Sunset (Original Club Mix) / DJ U*Hey? vs. DJ Minagawa
23. Shooting Star (Club Mix) / U&M
24. Kimi e no Omoi (DJ U*Hey? Remix) / Tsukasa
25. Lost in Tokyo (2009 Mix) / DJ U*Hey? feat. Nadja
The only new remix on the second disc. Although I did enjoy the original mix, I do prefer this one. For one thing, it’s got pianos!
Order at CDJapan.
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