Whilst surfing YouTube three months ago I came across the vocal version of 'furious angels' by Rob Dougan. Obviously as a matrix fan I was familiar with the instrumental version and the edited instrumental one known as 'chateax', this, however, was the first time I had ever heard the vocal version and I have to say I was stunned. It was quite simply brilliant, & I loved it. For the next hour I was hooked, flitting from one Rob Dougan track to another being accosted by brilliance each time. My course was clear, to buy the album as soon as I possibly cauld. The following thursday I found myself walking through H.M.V, making a very uncharachteristic beeline for the dance music section. Ten pounds later I was heading back to my cars 10 speaker, intergrated stereo system for my first full performance of what turned out to be a mind blowing album.
I won't give you a track by track review, that would end up being a breeding ground for the kind of protentious twaddle that I don't want to write, and you sure as hell don't want to read. I will however state that 'Furious Angels' turned out to be, The BEST ALBUM I HAVE EVER HEARD!!!! One track after another of musical perfection that left me giggling like a big kid. I have never heard an album like it, classical meets trance meets musique noir! AWESOME! F#####g Awsome! I cauldn't turn it off, had to listen to the whole thing in it's entirity. Then I had to listen to the whole thing again to make sure I hadn't dreamt it, turns out I hadn't. I was completely bowled over by it, it is, Quite simply, Superb. 'Can't wait for the second album'! I thought to myself, only then noticing the copywrite date, 2001!
Firstly I was annoyed that an album that was so brilliant, cauld evade my attention for nine years! But then I thought, 'well there must be a follow up album avaliable then'! Only no! there was no follow up album and no-where on the net is there a satisfactory answer as to why. Apparently, Rob Dougan has spent the last nine years poncing around in his vinyard desperately trying to get a decent bottle of chataex de plonk out of the place. Apparently, wine is his first love and dance music makes him feel queasy. There were a few postings about four years ago, from a friend of Dougan's, stating that Rob was finally working on the follow up and, what he had heard from it was excellent. Well! WHERE THE HELL IS IT????
The plain and simple truth is that anything that comes out of your vinyard will only ever fall into the 'Quite Nice' category where as your music cauldn't be any better if you tried! It's 'Brilliant' versus 'Quite Nice', I know which one I would be concentrating on. So please Rob, for the love of god, in the name of all that's holy, F##k the vinyard and get on with the second album. I, along with quite a few others I would imagine, are desperate to hear it.
