chicane - best of 1996-2008 (import)
October 13, 2008
Although their musical output has been infrequent (this could be an understatement), most people who have loved the disco dancefloor know at least one Chicane track. 'Best Of 1996-2008' opens in fine style with one of their finest moments, the 7 minute epic that is 'Offshore'. Of course, with a back catalogue that is light on singles, this is one compilation that does need to ride on some of the finer album moments in order to fill out the tracklisting, although you wouldn't think this considering the album is 18 tracks long. Elsewhere, we get the sublime beauty of 'No Ordinary Morning', Bryan Adams hitting the discotheque with 'Don't Give Up', Tom Jones following suit with last years brilliant 'Stoned In Love' and Moya Brennan from Irish Celtic band Clannad providing the gorgeous vocals on 'Saltwater'. Chicane manage to create dance music that captures an enormous amount of both light and shade; for this reason, 'Best Of 1996-2008' is an engaging listen and comes as a reminder that not all dance needs to be about the doof doof beat.
