Coda.fm

10 Years

by Armin van Buuren

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All "best of" records have potential pitfalls, and 10 Years is no exception. Pulling together a decade's worth of work from any artist, with tracks reshuffled and removed from the rhythm of the album--or club set--they were initially intended for can render every song an island and create a disjointed experience. Armin Van Buuren has a bigger problem than most because his specialty, both as a producer and a DJ, is trance. And to trance, what came before and what comes after--the rolling, up-and-down coaster ride that inspires warehouses full of people to writhe and rumble--is everything. Van Buuren has released some scorchers, and most of them find their way here, from early hits like "Communication" and "Blue Fear" (an update of the blistering version which appeared on Sasha and John Digweed's iconic Northern Exposure: West Coast release) to more recent club anthems like "Exhale." But when you put them all together, the result is hyper-giddy, up-up-and-away, all peak and no valley. It's more than a little wearying, and makes getting through the entire 2-disc set somewhat of a chore. On the other hand, Van Buuren's dance-floor instincts have led him to intelligently jumble up the play order (no straight chronologies here), and so he manages to at least partially keep the flow intact. But really, this collection would be best experienced in pieces, maybe as strategic additions to your own mix. Van Buuren's rave-a-thons make it exceedingly easy to play DJ for a day. --Matthew Cooke