If you are going to hear one thing about Faithless, it is likely to be thus: "they're a great live band, great at a festival". Possibly the leading dance act in the world, Sister Bliss, Maxi Jazz and 'man-behind-the-scenes' Rollo (the guy who brought the world Dido, his younger sibling) have sold absolutely truckloads in the UK, with their 'Greatest Hits' compilation alone selling over a million records in the UK.
Therefore, their assistance on this latest CD from Renaissance, whose events Bliss has often DJ'd, provides an opportunity for the listener to have a glimpse into the Faithless world, with previously unreleased material, rarities and personal selections the order of the day.
The three discs on offer vary greatly, with a Studio disc, a Club disc and a Home disc. Studio is dedicated to Faithless productions only, though the omission of 'We Come 1' and 'God Is A DJ' is somewhat disappointing. However, it does provide the opportunity to hear some of the lesser-known tracks, including the "surprisingly not that shabby" 1 Giant Leap collaboration between Maxi Jazz and Robbie Williams and remixes of Donna Summer's 'I Feel Love' and Living Joy's 'Dreamer'.
Disc 2 is more similar in style to one of Bliss' DJ sets, with a seruies of dancefloor-filling house tunes such as Running Up That Hill’ by Re-Touch and Mark Flash's ‘Soul Power’. The styles and tempos vary greatly, from chill-out to more 80s-tinged electronica to acid house. Home is your traditional end of evening 'come-down' compilation, featuring the likes of Ian Brown's 'F.E.A.R.', contributions from Massive Attack collaborator Horace Andy, hip-hop, jungle and some guitar and piano-based tracks, as well as veteran rapper Scritti Politti.
With this disc, Faithless provide us with a great variety of music of all styles, some obscure, some commercial and most of it enjoyable. Many of these compilations can feel formulaic, but this one should bring something for everyone.
