Elements of Life BY Tiësto Reviewed by Jason Shaffner    With his sublime 2004 artist album, Just Be, trance guru Tiësto offered a potent set of tracks to rule the club floor while encouraging fans to sing along (a rare accomplishment among dance albums). In arenas and clubs from Ibiza to Boston, San Juan to Helsinki, throngs belted out Kirsty Hawkshaw’s soaring vocals on “Just Be” and the memorable “Love Comes Again” (featuring BT on vocals). To assuage fans more interested in dancing than singing, the album also featured progressive trance masterworks “Traffic” and Tiësto’s take on “Adagio For Strings.”It proves a tough act to follow, but Tiësto’s new album Elements of Life almost measures up. Although uneven at times, Elements of Life offers a thoroughly entertaining blend of sounds, tempos, and styles. It is far stronger than the average DJ artist album, but a few paces short of brilliance. The anthemic “Ten Seconds Before Sunrise” provides a compelling introduction, featuring some of slickest programming on the record, including a non-lyrical vocal chant that rises and falls in lock step with multiple mood and tempo swings. Expect to hear “Ten Seconds Before Sunrise” as Tiësto takes the stage throughout his forthcoming world tour. Standout compositions “Bright Morningstar” and the epic title track “Elements of Life” alone make this record a worthy contribution to the trance canon. Surprisingly entertaining is a remixed version of “He’s A Pirate” from the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest soundtrack. Excepting a few bars of dialogue at the start, a listener would struggle to guess that the fundamental melody originated in the ending credits of a movie based on a Disney amusement park ride. Several disappointing tracks balance out the record. Trance fans will recognize L.A-based Jes as the voice from Motorcycle’s smash hit “After The Rush Comes” (2002). Her spectacular voice deserves a better arrangement than it gets on the yawn-inducing “Everything.” Julie Thompson suffers a similar fate on “Do You Feel Me,” which isn’t quite as boring as “Everything” but falls flat nevertheless. Perhaps most disappointing is “Dance4Life,” which features Maxi Jazz from UK trip-hop act Faithless and benefits the AIDS awareness foundation of the same name. Despite the noble association, the track might succeed better without the stylized take on a banal set of lyrics. That said, I have a sneaking suspicion it will prosper in a slew of remixes. |
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