Embrace

by

Fragma

Edit

After a hefty wait, America finally gets the second album from the awesome German dance project Fragma! And for all the fans that already bought the album via import, don't worry there are some notable differences between the US version and other versions available! Here's a review of the album track by track:

* 1 Embrace Me (Wippenberg Remix) - 4:10 - 10/10 - This remix is definitely a lot better than the original version of the song, although the remix has been edited down, and is not in it's original form :( However, the awesome synths and powerful instrumental breaks make for one killer listen!

* 2 Time And Time Again (Megara Vs DJ Lee) - 4:05 - 10/10 - This remix is very light on vocals, and not much better than the original version. However, it's still an awesome trance number! And like the other mix it's another killer listen!

* 3 Man In The Moon - 2:33 - 10/10 - Have you ever heard Energy 52's Cafe Del Mar?? Have you ever wished they added lyrics to the song? Well If you have then this song is a sure blessing to you! And this song is not available on any other version of "Embrace"!

* 4 How Do You Feel (Cyber Trance Remix) - 4:41 - 10/10 - Like the first two tracks, the remix definitely adds something that wasn't in the original version of the song, and still manages to keep it an awesome song!

* 5 Take This World For Real - 3:51 - 8/10 - Good, but not as good as the first songs on the CD, it still manages to be above average though!

* 6 Just Like A Teardrop - 4:06 - 7/10 - Similar to Take This World For Real, but not quite as good. The album starts to take a dip at this point. But it's still a dance song, only an average dance song.

* 7 Who Needs A Reason - 3:29 - 5/10 - The album's all time low point :( this song tears away from the dance formula to make a slower R'n'B type tune with this song. Better than your average R'n'B song though (but that's not saying much).

* 8 Only You - 3:48 - 8/10 - The album starts to pick up the pace again with this dance number! The beginning is a little too vocoded for my liking, but the synthesizing goes down as the song goes on.

* 9 Why - 4:45 - 8/10 - A different kind of dance song, it's a little more dark sounding, and mellow. Great song to chill to!

* 10 Maybe It's You - 3:25 - 9/10 - I don't know why, but I love this song's main melody! It's a great dance song, and a great song in general!

* 11 Free Your Mind - 4:11 - 7/10 - Great trancy type of song, but it can only be seen as average when compared to other great trance songs.

* 12 Say That You're Here (Riva Remix) - 4:14 - 9/10 - This remix isn't quite as good as the other remixes on the CD, but it's still good. I'd say the original version of the song would've been good enough.

Bonus Video Tracks

* 1 Embrace Me - 4:00 - 8/10 - Quicktime Movie - This video is pretty cute, it's pretty much Damae playing with a bunch of baby animals (ie: kittens, puppies, rabbits). With good quality and decent resolution this video is great.

* 2 Time And Time Again - 3:42 - 9/10 - MPEG Video - No real plot. This video is pretty much Damae and some guy. But the video is of better quality, and resolution than the video for Embrace Me.

Overall, this album is definitely a neccessity to anyone who is a fan of Fragma, or vocal trance in general! It includes an extra track, the 4 remixes, and 2 videos which weren't seen in all versions of "Embrace", however it did take out a track called "Risk My Soul" :( But this is still a definitive album for most people. Oh and the videos are MUCH better quality than the videos on the first album Toca, and if you like this album you should definitely buy the first album Toca, which features the videos for "Toca's Miracle", "Everytime You Need Me", and "You Are Alive".

I'm really taking a liking to the new wave of vocal trance hitting the streets these days... especially in the musical desert that is the U.S. Lasgo, DJ Encore, and others have really spiced up the genre well, and Fragma is no different. Her voice blends really well with the beats and synths, which in and of themselves are quite forgetable. Taken together, though, you get a great blend of pop style with trance sophistication.

Where this all breaks down, unfortunately, is in the HIDEOUS editing done on the individual tracks. I can't believe that the producers of this album decided to FADE OUT a good number of the songs, when they should have been played out in their entirety. The song starts out, builds up to a nice momentum, and finally gets some real steam behind it, when all of a sudden, some shmuck sitting at a mixing board decides to pull the fader down, and wham! That's it! Come on! Get with the program here! You don't hear Paul Van Dyk, Oakenfold, or Sasha pulling these kinds of cheap "big 6" RIAA infested music label tricks on their albums, so why here? I'm veeeeerrrry disappointed by this, as Fragma's first album did NOT suffer from this poor choice of editing.