Armin van Buuren - Imagine
List Price:
Our Price: $12.32
You Save: $5.67 (32%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $11.12 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more CD details
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
CD Details
Artist: Armin van BuurenEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
CD Release Date: 2008-05-06
Music Label: Ultra Records
Soundtracks:
- Imagine
- Going Wrong (with Dj Shah feat. Chris Jones) - DJ Shah / Armin Van Buuren
- Unforgiveable (feat. Jaren)
- Face To Face
- Hold On To Me (feat. Audrey Gallagher)
- In and Out of Love (Feat. Sharon den Adel)
- Never Say Never (feat. Jacqueline Govaert)
- Rain (feat. Cathy Burton)
- What If (feat. Vera Ostrova)
- Fine Without You (feat. Jennifer Rene)
- Intricacy
Music reviews of Imagine
Music Review: Timeless Trance
Rating: 5 Stars
There is hardly a soul alive who has not heard of Armin van Buuren. The world's number one DJ for the past three years and the best trance artist for the past two, van Buuren's latest album `Imagine' certainly lives up to his reputation. Van Buuren's music is classified as trance and progressive trance, and impressive to note is that even as his fame increases, van Buuren stays true to his musical style, refusing to be pressured to make his music appeal to the mainstream audience.
`Imagine', the first track on the album, is wholly an instrumental dance track, featuring a cutting piano line and dance beats. The track slowly builds over its nine and a half minute length, starting with an epic instrumental that is suddenly pierced by an electric guitar solo. After the solo, the track focuses more on traditional dance elements, with pumping bass and drum beats, but fuses the beginning instrumental and guitar to create a truly one-of-a-kind track. The long length and slow evolution of the track is reminiscent of the Goa trance scene, known for its long length, slow evolution, and a slow but steady increase in energy throughout the song.
The lead single in the album, `Going Wrong', is a collaboration between van Buuren and DJ Shah (or Sunlounger), and surprisingly is one of the more mainstream tracks that van Buuren has released. At five minutes and twelve seconds, the track includes a focus on the male vocals (by Chris Jones) and very little buildup, creating a very radio-friendly sound that propelled the track into the top 5 in The Netherlands.
The rest of the album centers more on the beat and the electronic instruments and their progression over time, which is more typical to the trance and progressive trance genres that van Buuren is known for. Although many of the remaining nine tracks on the album contain female vocals, they are extremely superficial. Many would criticize van Buuren for this aspect, but the real purpose of the vocals is to supplement the driving beat and instrumentation. The vocals are not meant to be the centerpiece of the track, as in pop music, but rather to serve as merely another instrument to be manipulated through modern technology. A brilliant example can be found in `Unforgiveable', in which the female vocals are sampled and manipulated as if it were a percussion instrument. This technique was a trademark of musique concrète, in which style samples of natural sounds are utilized to create music. Van Buuren's manipulation of the female vocals is similar to Karlheinz Stockhausen's manipulation of the voices of young boys in his `Gesang der Jünglinge'. Van Buuren's inclusion of various electronic sounds throughout the album along with his use of a synthesizer and drum machine suggest that his music is a blend of both musique concrete and the German-originated electronische muzik.
As if hearing my remarks, the last track on `Imagine' is a song created purely through electronic means. Wrapping his album up with `Intricacy', a vocal-less pure dance track, van Buuren reminds us why he's the number one DJ in the world. Although a couple of the songs in the album do not stand out much (most of the tracks with female vocals just blend into one another), this is good for van Buuren's famously long DJ sets where he needs material that he can blend together. All in all, `Imagine' is a solid studio album; in fact, solid enough that he released a remix of this album the year after in 2009. There are two bonus tracks that are exclusive to iTunes: "If You Should Go" and "The Sound of Goodbye". As if there was a necessity for additional incentives to purchase this album.
Description of Imagine
The year's first artist album from the world's #1 DJ as voted in DJ Magazine's Top 100 poll. This is a more mature album, encompassing a mix of sounds, demonstrating Armin's growth as an artist. Includes some all-star collaborations and offers a broad range of sounds, from banging trance to smooth down tempo. Once again, Armin proves why he deserves his reputation not only as the world's top DJ, but also as a top producer.Dance & DJ CDs
Music Genres
Bestsellers in Dance & DJ CDs
J'ai Ete au Bal: I Went to the Dance, Vol. 1Release date: 1993-12-01; Music CD
Best price: $11.60
Price in other shops:
Fibre - Sub Aquatic MemoriesRelease date: 2011-01-14; Music CD
Best price: $0.99
Price in other shops:
Paul Schutze - Deus Ex MachinaRelease date: 1997-08-19; Music CD
Best price: $9.99
Chubb Rock, G-Man - Treat Me RightRelease date: 1996-12-24; Music CD
Best price: $6.97
Price in other shops:
Tangerine Dream - MelroseRelease date: 1990-09-25; Music CD
Best price: $24.24
Gabrielle Roth & The Mirrors - StillpointRelease date: 1996-09-19; Music CD
Best price: $7.93
Price in other shops:
Ganga - River Of LoveRelease date: 2001-08-15; Music CD
Best price: $10.58
Price in other shops:
Karuna - Devotional SongsRelease date: 1997-08-13; Music CD
Best price: $13.64
Price in other shops:
Christian Bruckner, Eva M Hagen - Der Fall GreenfieldRelease date: 2006-08-25; Music CD
Best price: $16.96
Martin Schneider - Best of MaddinRelease date: 2003-12-08; Music CD
Best price: $18.03
Price in other shops:
Similar CDs
Kaskade - Fire & IceRelease date: 2011-11-08; Music CD
Best price: $12.76
Price in other shops:
Armin van Buuren - A State of Trance 2008Release date: 2008-10-07; Music CD
Best price: $9.96
Price in other shops:
Armin van Buuren - Imagine: The RemixesRelease date: 2009-03-10; Music CD
Best price: $12.16
Price in other shops:
Armin Van Buuren - Universal Religion: Chapter 5Release date: 2011-10-18; Music CD
Best price: $10.98
Price in other shops:
Above & Beyond - Group TherapyRelease date: 2011-06-07; Music CD
Best price: $10.04
Price in other shops:
Armin van Buuren - 10 YearsRelease date: 2006-12-05; Music CD
Best price: $13.00
Price in other shops:
Armin Van Buuren - State of Trance 2012Release date: 2012-03-13; Music CD
Best price: $12.91
Price in other shops:
Armin Van Buuren - State of Trance 2010Release date: 2010-04-20; Music CD
Best price: $13.45
Price in other shops:
Armin Van Buuren - State of Trance 2011Release date: 2011-03-22; Music CD
Best price: $14.23
Price in other shops:
Armin Van Buuren - MirageRelease date: 2010-09-14; Music CD
Best price: $10.41
Price in other shops: