Paul Van Dyk's new best-of release, Volume, is what his prior best-of, 2003's Global should have been, but it was just much too early. Having now spent the better part of a decade and a half in the upper echelon of the Dance and DJ scenes, he's one of the few brand names that can support a more mass-appeal release such as this, coupled with the fact that he has consistently cranked out quality club tracks. Which is what this release is really all about.

Volume is divided into two discs (or sections, if you are partial to the digital release). The first is the actual best-of, showcasing a prime sampling of some of Paul's most well-known club and album tracks. The second is a collection of some of his more high-profile remixes for other artists. Both discs are also mixed as DJ sets, so tracks flow from one to the next, seamlessly as a unified listening experience. This is in keeping with many of Paul's albums, but is just a note for those who might be new to the genre.

Disc One starts off strong, with a new reworking of his breakout song "For An Angel." The new version is a great lead track, as it stays true to the feeling of the original, while updating the sound and energy just enough to make it club current. The bass is kicked up a notch, and the lead synth parts are augmented and spaced out to nice effect. The original is still a solid sounding track on its own, so the new tweaks serve merely as added flavor.

"Home" follows, and is a new track gracing the set. Featuring vocals from Johnny McDaid of the group Vega 4, "Home" is the second collaboration between the two, a sort of follow-up to the single "Time Of Our Lives" from a few years ago which also closes the set. These are some of the strongest and catchiest tracks on the release, and one can only hope that these will continue.

Vocal collaborations in general are a distinction between this new best-of and the previous release, Global. Paul's past two artist albums have had a much stronger focus on vocal tracks, especially geared towards club and radio singles. Both "Let Go" and "White Lies" are taken from his most recent album In Between, while "Nothing But You" reaches back an album prior, to Reflections. All of these display a more modern club sound than Global and make this new outing, in general, a more solid best-of release.

Article Author: David R Perry

Lost somewhere in the rolling hills of Tennessee, David R Perry can occasionally be found doing dark, unspeakable things to words. Printed words, spoken words, electronically mangled words... really any kind but twittered words.

Visit David R Perry's author page — David R Perry's Blog