Remember when every time a famous musician was interviewed they said they were listening to drum-n-bass? I'm talking, like, Johnny Cash here. The Man in Black said he was listening to a lot of underground drum-n-bass. It didn't matter who you were, three or four years ago, listening to drum-n-bass meant that you were "with it"-- down with this whole electronica thing, man. And there was some good stuff floating around. These days, drum-n-bass is starting to look like the first late-90's electronic genre to become dated. Goldie's metal teeth need a polish and nobody cares, Photek nervously smokes his four packs a day in complete solitude and Roni Size ain't reprazentin'. So what happened?

The answer lies in the record grooves. We could start with this two-disc retrospective of atmospheric jungle, which appears on Blame's own 720 Degrees imprint and is mixed by the label CEO himself. These Two Revolutions are divided into two discs. Revolution One represents Blame's vision of the label's future, with new and unreleased tracks by the likes of Odyssey, Future Engineers and Pariah. Revolution Two is a look back at high points from the label's past, with work from Blu Mar Ten, Aural Imbalance and Blame himself. So how do these two revolutions stack up? To quote pioneering electronic musician Pete Townshend, "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss."

The fact is, drum-n-bass sets rules for itself that are too ridged, and too much of this music ends up sounding the same. Which, when you're talking about a 70-minute continuous mix, isn't such a terrible thing. I can work just fine while this stuff is playing, and it's unobtrusive enough to play during conversation. DJs at upscale hair salons will find much to like. And I'd love to hear this pumping over a for-sale boombox during a Saturday afternoon garage sale. The same spacious, jazzy ambiance is cultivated throughout, with gentle modulating synths and professionally programmed tech-step beats. It sounds just fine. But are you going to listen to the compilation and be wowed by the compelling music it contains? No. No, you will not.

-Mark Richard-San