The cover photo is tacky and gay, but Elton John’s been that way for decades. Why he decided to bring Brandi Carlile into his wacky world to the point of making a whole album together is one of the universe’s great mysteries, but conceptually it comes across more like his than hers. She’s not even on the last and best song; a poignant lament entitled When This Old World Is Done With Me.
my rating : 3 of 5
2025
If you heard Bass Sound Off USA, you heard this album. It’s better here though as a cohesive project. The title theme is mostly techno with elements of house and Trip-hop, but it’s mixed like a night at the club, which makes for a sloppy mess when you want to isolate tracks. It would also be better without the formulaic vocal samples, but the music is decent. The best songs are Burning Out and Self Transcendence.
my rating : 3 of 5
1997
2025
![audio review : a DM Records compilation : Bass Sound Off USA [ Volume 4 ]](https://marcellee.com/posts/132518.jpg)
I like Machine Language. It’s one of Techno Bass Crew’s best songs. The chorus on Old School Overload is vibing. If I can include a DJ Trippy bonus track, Burning Out is also hot. This fourth Volume of Bass Sound Off is, in fact, the best in the set. That’s not to say it isn’t a stormy affair. It, like the others, should be an EP. Less isn’t more, but it’s often better. That fact seems to be lost on DM Records.
my rating : 3 of 5
1997
![audio review : a DM Records compilation : Bass Sound Off USA [ Volume 2 ]](https://marcellee.com/posts/132509.jpg)
The cover car looks better. I’d take a dark convertible over a neon green Beetle any day of the week. This second Volume of Bass Sound Off; I wonder if they’ll drop the “USA” like they did with the Bass Explosion series; is otherwise about as bad as the first. Bass 305 at least brought a couple of good songs. Bass Alliance; the “DJ” this time around; can’t manage a single one.
my rating : 2 of 5
1997
audio review : Bass Sound Off USA [ Volume 3 ]
audio review : Bass Sound Off USA [ Volume 4 ]
![audio review : a DM Records compilation : Bass Sound Off USA [ Volume 1 ]](https://marcellee.com/posts/132493.jpg)
This would’ve been better as an EP of new Bass 305 songs. There are clunkers; namely the two with Noise in the title; but Get Close and Searching For Love are good. The problem is that they’re presented in a “continuous mix” with numerous speaker Tests which serve as nothing more than filler. You can exclude the DJ Trippy stuff at the end, but then you’re missing out on Self Transcendence.
my rating : 2 of 5
1997
audio review : Bass Sound Off USA [ Volume 2 ]
audio review : Bass Sound Off USA [ Volume 3 ]
audio review : Bass Sound Off USA [ Volume 4 ]
2024 June or July
joerogan.com
The concept is fun and the girl is hot, but the cover is tacky. The same can be said for the album itself. Some of the rap songs are among the worst I ever heard. Even the Bass 305 tracks are booty. The most amusing bit is when Trent Partidge, Cruising In Miami, encounters “one of those suckers”. He also provides the best song; Round And Round; but the best bit of music can be found on the Bass Invaders chorus.
my rating : 2 of 5
1997
![audio review : a DM Records compilation : Trip Hop Experience [ Chapter One ]](https://marcellee.com/posts/132428.jpg)
The best cut here is DJ OSP’s Relax, which sounds about as tranquil as its title suggests. Most of the others are subpar, perhaps partly due to the aesthetic limitations of the Trip Hop subgenre itself. The two songs you might’ve heard before are Brazil, from Bass 305’s Departure album, and Techno Bass Crew’s Disorder.
my rating : 3 of 5
1996
![audio review : a DM Records compilation : Digital Audio Dimensions [ Cyberbass ]](https://marcellee.com/posts/132410.jpg)
This DM Records compilation includes altered snippets of songs from the label, along with spacey sound effects, in a “continuous mix” to demonstrate “The CyberBass 3D process”. It’s an audio effect that “gives extra dimension to stereo,” the cover reads, “with sound appearing to surround the listener.”
It’s like the effect you get when you don’t plug your headphones in all the way and just as fatiguing on the ears. Why anyone would want to experience it for an hour is beyond me. There are some booming beats here, but it’s not nearly enough to excuse the gimmick or justify the album’s existence.
my rating : 2 of 5
1996
2025