The year? 1997. Hardcore was so tremendously big, you could not escape it. It was everywhere. And when I say everywhere, I do mean everywhere. There would even be adverts on TV playing Hardcore song. Mostly Happy Hardcore songs, but still. Hardcore dominated the world, and we knew it. It became this huge thing, and no one expected it to become this large. It was insane. It led to producers making extremely fine Hardcore songs, and also a plethora of idiotic songs. And when it comes to compilations, no one could top Arcade. They released everything. Think of anything, and they had a compilation dedicated to it.
Sometimes they hit the nail on the head. With Club X, they did nail it properly on the head. If you don't know, Club X was this club in Belgium. To be exact, in Wuustvezel. It opened in 1993 and remained open until 2000. A quick history lesson here: it started as a radio station called Channel X. Once that channel became successful, they decided to go on tour, and the responses were great. This led to them starting Club X, a physical location people could go to.
It became a legendary club, and I'm one of those people who were anxious enough to go, but by the time I could go, it shut down. During its heydays they had people coming from all over Europe, and the nights were mostly filled. I remember even buying a few of these compilations and receiving two tickets for Club X (as you can see on the cover above) . And it came with a sticker.
There are still cars around that have that sticker on the back of their vehicle. It was that famous. I never had the opportunity to go, as none of my friends were into Hardcore (yeah, I know I had boring friends). It was on my bucket list, as a young lad, but it just never materialised.
Thankfully we still have the music that can take us back to those wonderful years, and for this compilations, the CDs were each focussed on a different style. The first one was focussed on Hardcore, which was the hottest thing to listen to, and the second more on the Trance side of life.
Did you own one when you were younger? Do you still have a copy? And the main question here is: did you actually go to Club X? If you did, I envy you. I seriously envy you.
CD 1
The Horrorist - Flesh Is The Fever (Original Mix)
Marshall Masters feat The Ultimate MC - I Like It Loud
Darrien Kelly feat MC Hughie Babe - All The Gabbers
DJ Paul & Teenage Warning - Brohymn
DJ Jappo & Lancinhouse - Exlxaxl
Rotterdam Terror Corps - The Horror (Buzz Fuzz Remix)
DJ Promo - Shut Up!
DJ Acesone - Tina (Was Kosten Die Condome)?
George Vagas - Hyperdome (Heavens Version)
The Dark Side - Him Again
Public Domain - Rock This Joint
DJ Perpetrator - The Power
G-Town Madness - Silence
Object One - Ping Pong (B,S,E, Remix)
Kabaal - Blow That Shit
Razzle Dazzle - Rattle Brain
DJ's At Work - Balloon (Techno Mix)
DJ Rob & MC Joe - 21st Century
Mr DJ - Time To Get Up
CD 2
The Age Of Love - The Age Of Love (Jam & Spoon Mix)
Roos - Instant Moments
Pat Krimson - Tapas ChiChi
Marcel Woods - Arabian Driver (Middle East Remix)
The Modwheel - Destination Morocco
Cooky - Old Damn House (Norman & Pain Remix)
Hocus Pocus - God, Devil, Hell, Heaven (Devil's Cut)
Mac Zimms - L'Annonce Des Couleurs
Vinyl Vandals - New York New York
Equator - Silence
Enrico & Ton TB - More Casual
TLT - Kubik
SAS - Amber Groove
C4 - Vision (U Feel Mix)
Main Men - Final Majority
DJ Kalpa & Marino Stephano - Gonna Move Your Body
Nick & Nack - Celluloids
Drax Ltd. II - Amphetamine
The Sunclub - Fiesta
Obviously, me being the rebel, I had listened to the first CD the most, and it drove my parents absolutely mad. My dad actually came in my bedroom once and he did not say anything at all, but just walked in with scissors and cut both the speaker cables. He got the peace and quiet he wanted, not that pounding bass. Me sad, he happy. Well, that's what life is all about, eh?
But later in life, when Hardcore went into cryogenic stasis, I fell more in love with Trance, and started to listen to the second disc more. Even at that age I knew this wasn't the best disc out there, but it would do.
Arcade always had the tendencies to just plonk songs anywhere, even if they didn't fit in. Techno anthems on a Hardcore CD, Trance on a House CD, etc. You catch my drift, right? Here, on this album, there was no rhyme or reason why certain tracks were on there, or why they were in this order. But that doesn't mean that there weren't great anthems on here.
But let's dive straight into the misery. The first track on disc one is the most overrated record ever! I still don't understand it, why people love this record. There's millions of songs better than this one, but it's a fan favourite, if you like. I really don't get it, and I find it a bad song. Alongside a few others I dislike ('All The Gabbers', 'Brohymn').
The second disc is interesting, but also messed up. Why would you start the disc with such a classic anthem and end the disc with 'Fiesta'? Surely that should have been the second or third song on this disc? How did they come up with that logic, at Arcade?
But the second disc has got 'Amphetamine', which is still a highly regarded record. It's dope, but not as dope as probably the most underrated song ever, 'Old Damn House'. It still gives me goose bumps, this track does. But yeah, this disc also had some stinkers, like 'God, Devil, Hell, Heaven', 'Arabian Driver', 'Tapas ChiChi', etc.
Even though the CDs weren't the best, I bet you that the club was. A legendary club, A club with a legacy. And in that club these tunes were played. It must have been extraordinary. But you know what they say: it always sounds better live, so I'm guessing that this disc was just the taster, and you had to experience it yourself, at Club X.
Artist: Various Artists
Genre/Style: Hardcore, Gabber, Trance, House, Hard House, Techno, Hard Trance, Makina
CD Info: Club X - Volume III
CDs: 2 (two)
Length CDs: 02:33:05
Tracks: 38 (thirty-eight)
Label: Arcade
Product Number: 0110498
More Information: n/a
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