The Vitals

Label: Lowroof (Deepsink)
Genre: Trance, Breaks, Progressive
Number Of Tracks: 13 (Mixed CD) + 14 (MP3)
How To Obtain: www.lowroof.nl

Factor Scores:

• Production Quality: 8.5
• Programming And Arrangement: 8.5
• Entertainment Quality: 9.25
• Total: 8.75 – Great!

Bill’s Take:

Can’t Fix It, despite a few painfully obvious shortcomings, is a great album. Actually, it’s more than that. It’s awesome, because it’s not just an album. It’s a panoramic view in to the musical mind of a blossoming producer that offers an incredible value, in terms of quality and quantity, to both the digital dj and the casual listener. Packed full of very good, and sporadically great original rhythms, the project serves up a very enjoyable trance mix as the main course, then spoons up heaps of dessert in the form of fourteen unmixed mp3 bonus tracks. Tresice continually shows an uncommon dexterity as he maneuvers among the album’s various musical styles, effectively exploring the realms of trance, progressive, down-tempo, and acid-house, producing one heck of an album in the process.
 
Having said all of that, let me also say that there are a few things about the release that are a bit maddening. First of all, as much as I appreciate and enjoy the producer’s stylistic range, I simply can’t stand the corny, eighties-themed melody of Some Years Ago, which is included in the full-length mix. The song is structurally sound, but instead of taking me back to the days of the Eurhythmics, I’m now having nightmares of being chased by that Johnny 5 robot from the Short Circuit movies. Still, it’s hard to complain about one bad song in a twenty-seven-song release. The other glaring weakness I see in this project is a complete omission of vocal work. I would venture to recognize at least three to five songs that would be club anthems if a dainty female accompaniment were added. As instrumentals, these same songs, while still very good, fail to ascend beyond being “really good trance tunes”. In general, the producer’s programming ability throughout the release is noticeably junior to the master level work of such groups as Shiloh, but it is superb, and provides the listener with an abundance of satisfying music that becomes great in it’s accomplishment as a whole, rather than relying on one great moment.

I really like Can’t Fix It, and I’m not going to ruin your fun by naming off a half-dozen songs from it that I think you should like. The fun thing about this release is that there is so much good music; you are bound to find a track that you think is a hidden gem. Just buy it, and you’ll see exactly what I mean. I can promise you this: You will not be disappointed.