Track Listing

1. The Upsetters - Cloak and Dagger
2. Fad Gadget - Back To Nature
3. Gene Clark and the Godsin Brothers - Only Colombe
4. Nina Simone - My Sweet Lord
5. Songs : Ohia - Soul
6. Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Nashville Blues
7. Dillard & Clark - Polly
8. Sam Gopal - The Sky Is Burning
9. Bo Diddley - Elephant Man
10. Cowboy Junkies - Sweet Jane
11. Au Pairs - Headache For Michelle
12. Piero Piccioni - Psychedelic Mood
13. Joy Division - Decades
14. Mmm - Donna

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #55172 in Music
• Released on: 2004-01-26
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

CD Description
Who would think to put the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, The Upsetters, obscure electronica artist MMM, and Nina Simone (singing her gospel breakdown cover of George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord", no less) on the same mix CD? Death in Vegas, that'swho. Associated, musically speaking, with the likes of the Chemical Brothers and Jon Carter, Death in Vegas (a.k.a. Richard Fearless) is usually a DJ big on ambient collage and clubby beats. Here, however, he weighs in on DMC's BACK TO MINE series (compilations featuring personal mix selections by key artists) with a very eclectic and satisfying sequence.
There are some wonderful surprises here, including the spare, emotive folk of Songs: Ohia, the post-punk groove of Au Pairs, a delicious turn from Italian film composer Piero Piccioni on "Psychedelic Mood", and Bo Diddley's exuberant, funky "Elephant Man". This is what a mix disc should be--a string of excellent songs that balance the familiar and the arcane, surprising in their juxtaposition but unified somehow intone and sensibility. This is one of the best, and most consistently appealing, discs in the BACK TO MINE series.

Customer Reviews

Perfect!
Expecting a Death in Vegas compilation to sound exactly like their ownoutput isn't really doing the band justice. It's clear they know theirmusic and this compilation manages to avoid the pitfalls so many cliched'chill out albums' often meander into. The tracks here are emotive,rocking and in places - Songs:Ohia's 'Soul' in particular - so beautifulit hurts.
And you get some funky banjo action, a dose of dub and JoyDivision to boot. What more could you ask for?

Let Down!
As a fan of Death in Vegas, and also of the "Back to Mine" series that I ve heard, I had rather high hopes for this. An unexpected pleasure when I discovered its release, I fully expected an eclectic and often unusual track mix these type of compilations throw up.
However, the quality here is below par and often of a similar style. Subtitled " a personal collection for after hours grooving" this collection will soon have you slumbering away rather than sound tracking any soiree. A country/folk ambience ultimatley pervades that just needs more variation in style and tempo to really hold your attention for long.

still coming back to this...
I was just listening to this and whilst checking what one of the tracks was called (lazy I know) I saw the mixed response in the reviews and had to add to the feedback.

This is a great record, one which saw me buy records by several of the acts featured and which I still play on nights. The mix is not nearly as one dimensional as others would have you believe, it does however understand not to reach too far. The blend of soul, country, bluegrass and dub makes perfect sense, becoming much darker in its tone through its placement within the mix.

I'd rather not be seen to be too in awe of a mixtape but this is a fine, fine example of just that. When people ponder the death of the cassette tape, often it is just this kind of loving attention to making compilations that is discussed with misty eyes. This stands up alongside mixes by David Holmes, Cherrystones and Andy Votel as one of the best things I discovered in the past decade. If they had made it for me, I'd definately think about going out with them!