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 | Various Artists:Three A.D. (Waveform - 1996) As is the general case with compilations, not every track shines, but, overall, the dubby groove carries this disc along rather well. The 9 tracks have a "total vibrational duration" of approximately 73 minutes, and it's mostly quite good. |
| Every tune is competently done, but some fail to completely grab me. Real Life's Shark Infested, or Higher Intelligence Agency's Skank for instance, have all the appropriate rhythmic elements... strong beats, sweeping and bleeping synthesizers, cool electronics. I want to like them better than I do, really! It's some kind of personal thing, maybe?
Drawn to the Woman by Sounds from the Ground and Lighten Up by A Positive Life do it better for me, for whatever reasons. They've got those same rhythmic elements, etc. but somehow appeal more to my musical taste buds. The disc rolls on nicely; the more subdued In 7 by Another Fine Day, is peppered with bass and bongo-like percussion. Cold Cut's Sign mixes a slow beat with someone reciting the signs of the zodiac. Insanity Sect adds a mellow track in the form of Solar Prophet. Its xylophone-like refrain merges beautifully with an insistent drum pattern. And Regina from the Future by The Starseeds quietly wraps up the package in a beatless, ambient humming sort of mode. |
| Three A.D. is the third in a set. I've heard good things about the other packages as well. While it doesn't set my world 100% ablaze, it's consistently good enough, dubby enough, and ambient enough to raise one thumb. |  |
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