skip to main |
skip to sidebar
I remember this time in my life fondly... 1995 or so and the music I was passionate about then, I really invested a lot of time and energy in. This is the first single from Lords' 1 and only album, "1,000 Fires". I remember attending an album release party for her and getting my copy for free. When I realized one of my all time favorite electronic writer/producers, Ben Watkins, had worked on this album, I was beside myself. There were two singles from this album and I own both.
'Control' is a Ben Watkins composition and for the record, he is the musical genius behind Juno Reactor. At that time, this song was a big deal for a couple of reasons... First, it was a bit of a club hit and second, the Juno Reactor Instrumental version of the song appeared in the "Mortal Kombat" film as the fast paced background music in the battle between Lui Kang and Reptile. The scene was sorta hooky but the music provided the adrenaline kick it needed to be exciting. You can look it up on Youtube if you're interested in watching it. The music is kinda butchered in the edit, but it's still quite powerful.
This maxi-single offers quite a lot. In addition to the Juno Reactor instrumental, it features 3 mixes, an edit and the album version. The mixes are actually fairly interesting and diverse. They don't maintain the high energy of the track preferring instead to make the track more groovy, funky or whatever their specialty was depending on the artist mixing the track.
The highlight is still the Juno Reactor instrumental version. You just can't go wrong with it. To some degree, it's even better than the original album version. The instrumental version would easily fit on any Juno Reactor album released around the time and was typical of Watkin's output. For Juno Reactor fans, it's the purest track. Still, the Lords vocal version is also great. It's an excellent dance/club number and you won't go wrong checking it out. My final words: AN AMAZING ELECTRONIC SINGLE FOR A GREAT CLUB HIT!
TRACI LORDS - CONTROL
01. Control (Olympic 7" Edit)
02. Control (Original Mix)
03. Control (Overlords House Mix)
04. Control (San Frandisco Mix)
05. Control (DJ E FX San Frandisco Dub)
06. Control (Juno Reactor Instrumental)
Although it's not stated as such, "Odyssey 1992-2002" is essentially a greatest hits package of sorts for Juno Reactor. There's nothing exceptionally different on this disc from the previously released versions of these songs other than they seem to have been re-mastered. The sound quality sounds a bit clearer. Still, I don't hear much of a difference in the arrangement or mix of the tracks aside from flowing together. For me, as a huge Juno Reactor/Ben Watkins fan, the purpose in buying this release was purely for the pleasure of having a new album from them. And truth be told, I didn't actually buy this for myself. It was on my Amazon wish list and I got it for my birthday one year from my sister. I was super happy to have it!
One thing I can say about Juno Reactor is they're more than just the music they release. The band has a unique and interesting image. The artwork featured on their CDs is almost as interesting as the music itself. They're a very visually satisfying artist as far as I'm concerned and this disc is no exception. I love the cover artwork. I think it's amazing!
I do enjoy the convenience of having these songs assembled on one disc and the way they play into each other. It's often hard to choose favorite songs from this group as I like so much of what they've done.
There is one previously unreleased track on this compilation and that's 'Hotaka'. It was also released as a single for the album. That's another incentive to purchase the disc.
If I had to sit down and give examples of why I think Juno Reactor is such a great band and why the music is so terrific, I would probably put together a compilation disc similar to this one and let the music speak for itself. After all, that's where this group really shines!
"Odyssey" may not be a must have album for Juno Reactor fans, but it's a great place to start if you're interested in discovering this incredible electronic band. Consider picking this disc up and explore the science fiction world of the Reactor. My final words: ANOTHER STRONG RELEASE BY THE QUINTESSENTIAL ELECTRONIC BAND!
JUNO REACTOR - ODYSSEY 1992-2002
01. High Energy Protons
02. Laughing Gas
03. Rotorblade
04. Feel The Universe
05. God Is God
06. Conga Fury
07. Komit
08. Pistolero
09. Hule Lam
10. Masters Of The Universe
11. Hotaka
This is a confusing release for a number of reasons. Released in 1992, this is the precursor for what would become Juno Reactor. In fact, there's a notation on the back cover listing the disc as a Juno Reactor production. I believe this is technically the first time Juno Reactor appears on a music release from Ben Watkins. So a more appropriate title would probably be, "Juno Reactor - Psychoslaphead". It also features one of Ben's brothers cover designs. His collage paintings would become a staple for later Juno Reactor releases. But alas, it wasn't to be.
Psychoslaphead is the name of the song and also the name of the project/band. The 4 tracks listed on the back are actually remixes of the main number, although one of them sounds different enough to be it's own song. It seems like the mixes are all named after Thomas Harris' books about Hannibal Lector. "Manhunter" was the name of the movie that first introduced audiences to Hannibal, but it wasn't until Jodie Foster took on the role of Clarice Starling that the franchise took off. Nevertheless, Watkins must have been impressed enough with what he saw in the first movie to compose this song.
The tune is a typical 90's rave sounding track. You hear some sounds that would surface again on later Juno tracks. Some of them signature sounds iconic to JR music. But otherwise, the tune is fairly standard rave from that point in time. I find the female vocal extremely irritating throughout the single. Especially when she's screaming.
Track 2, the "presidential" mix is probably the best of the mixes and is the one I think sounds so dramatically different, it merits it's own title. But again, that's not my decision.
Considering this is the only place I think you can find this song, I'm going to highly recommend seeking this little release out and buying it asap. My final words: A VERY NECESSARY PART OF THE JUNO REACTOR LIBRARY THAT WAS LEFT OUT. VERY NICE RELEASE.
PSYCHOSLAPHEAD - PSYCHOSLAPHEAD
01. Psychoslaphead (Hannibal The Cannibal)
02. Psychoslaphead (Presidential)
03. Psychoslaphead (Manhunter)
04. Psychoslaphead (Asylum)
Juno Reactor is considered an electronic/trance band. Sometimes they're thrown in the world category because later releases began including some African drumming and other live traditional instrumentation. I fell in love with the band after buying their first CD. I'm trying to recall how I discovered them, but I can't quite remember. I think I heard one of their tracks on a compilation disc and then purchased their first album when I found it in a store. I loved it! And I anxiously awaited additional releases.
Over the years, my interest has faded from it's original intensity. And I think that's partially because of the direction the band ended up taking.
"Gods & Monsters" was the first disc I didn't buy the day it came out. In fact, I didn't buy it at all. I put it on a wish list on Amazon and my sister gave it to me a year after it came out as a Christmas present. Sadly, I'd heard the album streaming online before it came out and I didn't feel the need to pick it up.
The disc starts out with what I would consider a more traditional Juno tune. 'Inca Steppa' has an amazing build and musically everything you want in a JR track with the exception of a vocalist singing throughout the number. For some reason, I find the vocals distracting and completely out of place. This vocalist features quite heavily on this album when you consider the group is known for it's instrumental pieces. She appears again in the second track, 'Tokyo Dub'. On this track, she sings the same 4 lines over and over. Used more sparingly, this wouldn't be too annoying. In its current state, it's right on the cusp of annoyance. The number is very slow. And that's not unusual for JR. They've done some super slow beat numbers before and sometimes not nearly as interesting or as good musically as this one. So the music is there, but the vocalization drags the song down.
'Las Vegas Future Past' is the first number that's really interesting on the disc. It's got some energy, some internal drive pushing it along and some interesting use of some horns giving the song a Vegas lounge feel. It's quite effective and a great example of how Juno Reactor is one of the most amazing composers of soundscapes. I say soundscape because the music actually creates an image/feeling in your mind. You listen to this number and you feel like you're sitting in a lounge... In a Vegas casino... Listening to a band play... It's very powerful.
'Mind Of The Free' is next and it's another example of a song that loses so much to the vocalization. I was just reading the credits and I guess a singer called Ghetto Priest is singing here. It just destroys the music. This is another slow track. It's followed by 'Immaculate Crucifixion'... Although this song seems to be a signature piece, in other words, it contains a lot of tricks you can link back to main songwriter, Ben Watkins... It stays at a subdued tempo. There is a subtle build toward the end. You get some ramped up guitars playing, but they don't move the song into a more powerful stage, they just keep it moving. It's followed by another song with vocals, 'City Of The Sinful' and this is probably the one track on the entire disc including vocals that actually works. There's a lot of enhancements done on the vocal tracks that turn them into sound samples. It works. And effectively. Adversely, this is another song that maintains a midtempo. Thus far, the disc has more slow numbers than fast.
'Tanta Pena' is next and this is probably the best and most powerful number on the album. It fits right in with the rest of the JR catalog. I know this sounds a bit hypocritical because I go on endlessly about how I love groups who change and this album represents a change for JR. And normally, I'd embrace the difference, but the changes don't enhance or increase the credibility of the artist. If anything, it detracts. 'The Perfect Crime (Superman)' is the next number and Ben Watkins actually sings this one. I'm so torn by this number. On one hand, I'm delighted to hear him singing. But it's not all that great. The lyrics, on this whole album, seem a bit lackluster and uninspired. Even this song seems forced and slightly cliche. The music has some potential, but not enough to rescue the track from being skippable. The last number is a sweet piano piece called 'Pretty Girl'. Ben sings lead vocals on this one again. And although it's rather soft and tender, it just doesn't fit here. It doesn't belong.
So much of this material should've ended up on a Ghetto Priest record produced by Juno Reactor rather than on a JR album. It just doesn't hold up to previous efforts.
I'm absolutely sad to give this disc such a bad review because I love this band and I'm still hopeful for them. But I can't get past it. It just doesn't belong.
My final words: THE SADDEST SKIP RECOMMEND I WILL EVER MAKE.
JUNO REACTOR - GODS & MONSTERS
01. Inca Steppa
02. Tokyo Dub
03. Las Vegas Future Past
04. Mind Of The Free
05. Immaculate Crucifixion
06. City Of The Sinful
07. Tanta Pena
08. The Perfect Crime (Superman)
09. Pretty Girl
My interest in this release is easy to understand when you look at the first couple discs by Juno Reactor. At the time, Juno Reactor didn't have the rotating line-up it has today. The group was made of mostly by Ben Watkins and a couple other guys. One of them was Stephane Holweck. Although Holweck wasn't credited with writing all of the tracks, he was given credit and during my initial fascination with the band, it was enough to make me search for everything this group was doing. Of course, in my fervor, I quickly latched onto Ben Watkins as the constant element on all songs and releases. But I wasn't tuned into his specific sound enough to know for certain what I was being drawn to. Because of this lack of insight, I picked up this Total Eclipse album at Tower Records in Las Vegas and I paid full price for it. Big, big, big mistake.
I could seriously break each track down and tell you exactly what it is I don't like about it, but suffice it to say Total Eclipse is completely unlike anything I'd heard on Juno Reactor. The music certainly falls into the trance category even though the beats tend to branch out to jungle, house and sometimes acid; the differences in beats can't mask the tedium of these tracks. With weak drum tracks and boring ambient motifs that never seem to progress, Total Eclipse falls into the kind of loopy trance that borders on insanity. There's little to no progression on any of the tracks, although some of them do succeed in calling the title to mind. And I don't mean that as a compliment. Take 'Quandary' for example... It features a stuttering rhythm over sparse musical arrangements that certainly make you question what you're listening to. Of course you also question why anyone would write such a thing, where's it's going and what the point of the whole darn thing is anyway.
The most remarkable track is 'XXL Files' and again, it's not because it's a great musical number. It's because it's such a bizarre and pointless exercise. The track is a recorded conversation between a radio talk show host and an "alien" inhabiting the body of a human host. The band members play the boring interview over some tribal drumming and minimalist musical arrangements. Neither the interview or the music is enough to make you care to listen all the way through. It's also the one track that somewhat fits the conspiracy theory of the album's title. Usually I'm drawn to bands involved in strange musical experimentation. In this case, the result isn't avant garde, it's avant crap.
If I was forced to choose one track worth salvaging from this miscreant secretion, and I do for my sister's playlists, it would be a toss-up between 'Screenager (Error 404)' and 'One Size Fits All'. Both are at the very least tolerable to listen to. You can tune them out and let the music flow over you. Sadly, I have to give this record a negative review. My final words: KICK A FORK IN MY HEAD.
TOTAL ECLIPSE - ACCESS DENIED
01. Harbinger
02. Quandary
03. One Size Fits All
04. None Of Your Business
05. Midnight Suspects
06. A Piece Of Cherry Cake
07. Screenager (Error 404)
08. XXL Files
Although I don't know much about this film, I am totally familiar with the composer. Ben Watkins is the mastermind behind Juno Reactor. One of my favorite bands. I love them. So when I heard he was taking a stab at writing a film score I knew I had to have it.
Brave Story is a Japanese film and has seen release in western Europe and Asia. It hasn't come to the states yet. But there's always hope. I'm curious to see it after hearing this music.
Once again, Ben tantalizes the ears with his interesting take on a film score. My one complaint would be the myriad of styles and how all over the board this score sounds. It's not as cohesive as one would like. The themes don't carry over enough and it can sometimes seem over the top. I'm normally into that sort of composition... Anything different and unique sounding. But in this case, it almost feels cluttered. The sheer number of individual tracks is daunting.
There are times when Ben sounds like Danny Elfman. And times when you can hear Juno shining through. Then there are unexpected and delightful moments like 'Hare And Heather Part 1' when he does something completely different from anything I've previously heard. The little jig seems to have a timeless rhythm that catches you right in your toes and urges you to get up and boogie. There are also moments where if the film is half as emotional as the scoring, it will be extremely powerful.
I'm enchanted and yet in this particular case, I feel like I'm not seeing a whole picture. I really get the sense this music was written for scenes taking place in the movie and much of the material here doesn't stand alone. It really does require the accompanying media to give it full effect. There are some extremely stand out cuts. 'Mitsuru Theme' sounds like the Tim Burton "Batman" film. 'Bond Between Mother And Child' is a sweet piano melody and deserves to be developed further than just as a bit piece. It has beautiful potential. 'Kee Keema' has a frantic almost insane feeling. It makes me think of crazy circus clowns dancing and juggling on dangerous wires.
'Aerial Ballet' could almost pass for something from the "Nutcracker". 'Sound Of Approaching War' sounds like an drum acoustic version of something Juno Reactor would do. Even though it's very short. 'A Wish For Each Other' reminds me of old Hobbit films from back in the 70's. 'Cry Of The Heart' is a notable piano piece and is beautifully played. It also has an Anime feel to it. 'Sweet Whisper' is a cousin of the 'Labyrinth' track 'Conquistador I'. It is beautiful. I've always thought these pieces were quite haunting. The closing track, 'The Star Of County Down' almost fails as an ending. Yet it has a lovely quality as a stand alone piece and is very pretty.
So I do enjoy the music. I like what he's done. I feel it lacks cohesion, but I also think it's promising. I can't wait to hear more. My final word: HEAVY.
BRAVE STORY - ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK
01. Mitsuru Theme
02. Main Door
03. Mitsuru Theme 2
04. Vision Door
05. Chamber Of Four Guardians
06. Bond Between Mother And Child
07. To School
08. Barbarone Incanation
09. Kee Keema
10. Hare And Heather Part 1
11. Hare And Heather Part 2
12. Aerial Ballet
13. Highlander
14. Break Out Of Prison
15. Demon Of Subterranean Lake
16. To The City Of Ice
17. True Intentions
18. Sound Of Approaching War
19. Highlander Battle
20. Juno Waltz
21. A Wish For Each Other
22. Fire Dragons
23. Solebria
24. Mitsuru's Recollection
25. Archibald McDonald Of Keppoch
26. Demons Versus Dragons
27. Cry Of The Heart
28. Because He Is A Friend
29. Sweet Whisper
30. Vision
31. The Star Of County Down
This is a somewhat different entry. I'm writing about Juno Reactor's 'Luciana' disc; which is mainly one long track. This composition isn't so much a song as an alien landscape created to cause the listener to have an emotional response. In a way, it's similar to the type of music I reviewed earlier by Vince Clarke and Martyn Ware. The difference is where Clarke & Ware try to add different dimension to music by creating multi-spatial landscapes, 'Luciana' simply creates an environment. Its focus isn't the melody or musical element, but rather the sound. Ben Watkins, the main songwriter for Juno Reactor, did this again on a smaller scale with the track 'Shark' from 'Bible Of Dreams'. You could listen to this track a literally feel like a predator floating on the bottom of the ocean floor, hunting for food. It's really extreme.
Where this track loses it's appeal is the length. It's just too long. That being said, when you play it in the background without focusing, it can pass rather quickly. Anyway you choose to play it, this song is an investment of time. Be prepared and be ready to involve yourself in what's going on.
Ben used to write on Juno Reactor cds... "Imagination, use it as a weapon". If his intention is to make people use their imaginations, I'd say he's doing an excellent job. Buy it if you're into ambient sound, or if you're a die-hard Reactor fan. It's not for the mainstream market. My final word: SPACEY.
JUNO REACTOR - LUCIANA
01. Luciana
