Nowadays you can download excellent mixes for free on an almost daily basis. Free from licensing constraints, DJs are free to put whatever the hell they like on an online mix, leading to net mixes more closely resembling what it's like to catch those DJs in their natural settings; a sweaty club.
This means then, that to persuade the average electronic music fan to part with upwards of ten quid for a mix CD, labels and DJs are having to pull out the stops a little more. Mixes are inherently more transient than artist albums anyway, with only a handful of mixes resonating past their meagre shelf-life. The Watch The Ride series has thus far been more throwaway than most, seeing the likes of Tom Findlay and Zinc turn in 'will this do?' snoreathons. That they've snagged Andrew Weatherall, one of the best DJs around, is head-turning enough in this crowded marketplace and the trademark Weatherall magpie spirit is definitely in evidence here.
It's a typically dark, dubby, danceable affair, with the curveballs coming thick and fast, but as with most mixes, come the end, you can't help but feel that the thrills are merely vicarious in nature. Maybe this mix might open people up to the Afro-jazz-disco delights of Mock & Toof or the emotive melodic techno of Danton Eeprom, but in an age where you can get better mixes than this for free, it just serves as a reminder that your money will be better spent going to see Weatherall in a dingy basement somewhere.
http://highvoltage.org.uk/displaydemoreview.asp?num=3596&band=492
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