Dutch superstar DJ Tiesto sums up his Olympic experience in a single-disc artist mix album entitled "Parade of the Athletes." Tiesto was the official DJ of the opening ceremony in Athens and this new album reflects his experience in Greece. His current reign as world's number one DJ was extended to its third term and the music flowing from Tiesto has set the standard for the trance world. This album features twelve tracks, nine of which have never been heard on any other album.
The track "Heroes" starts off this seventy-three minute mix. It has breakbeat drum rhythms and an acid-sounding bass line. It breaks into a soothing journey towards the end of the track. He adds his song titled after his home city next in the mix. "Breda 8pm" has taken on a remix by DJ Montana but still retains the creative Tiesto properties. Next up is the track "Ancient History." This track features a pounding bass line and a breakdown that includes some awesome percussion and pan flute that builds until the track just explodes. The smash hit "Traffic" finds its way onto this artist-mix compilation. This song has been hammered by every major trance player out there and shaped the way for the last Tiesto album "Just Be." He tones down the set a bit with the next new track "Euphoria." Its gentle bassline and intricate synthwork take you on a journey throughout the song. Tiesto gives his musical tribute to the Greek goddess "Athena" on the next song.
This song also stays a tad to the lighter side with synth lines that are soft and sexy coupled with a driving bass line. Another track that fits the overall mood of the CD is "Olympic Flame" that finds its way a little past halfway through the disc. Once again, the bass is right in your face and the breakdown is 100 percent Tiesto. It is not hard to see why he has made such an impact on the world.
One of the greatest Tiesto songs checks in at the number eight position on this disc. "Lethal Industry" combines a jumping bass line with some clavinet sounding synth loops to make an all-out trance classic. He moves into a more of a hard house sound with the track "Coming Home."
This song has some horn bleeps and a speaker-blowing bassline. It is somewhat harder than the rest of the CD, but it is still a good track. Next up is his interpretation of the Samuel Barber track "Adagio for Strings." To quote from one my previous reviews on the track, "it builds until the heavenly melodic breakdown hits. The soft and charming sounds of Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings" has been featured in movies such as Platoon and on William Orbit's "Pieces in a Modern Style" album several years back and is the perfect track to be remixed by Tiesto." Coming up near the end is the song "Victorious." It has the feel of an old trance song with a flowing breakdown, but has a fresh and banging bassline.
Rounding out this "Parade of the Athletes" is the song "Forever Today." It has Tiesto written all over it. His songs are so peaceful and this one fits in that realm perfectly. This Dutch wonder has remained at the top for a long time and with good reason. His tracks are everything trance should be and his mix sets absorb all the energy from a crowd. For the true Olympic trance experience make sure that this disc is in your collection.
