Tiësto
Kaleidoscope
Ultra Records
out October 6th
70/100
[Rating Scale]
Album giveaway details at the end of the post
[rating:70/100]
Poor Tiësto. He’s got 4.5 continents at his feet, he’s headlining DJ gigs in stadiums, he’s smashed up the worldwide charts with his trance albums, but there’s that glittering jewel of America that’s always just out of reach. Springsteen and Bono can fill stadiums in the U.S. Heck, the Oakland Raiders can fill a stadium. But the kids just aren’t into trance music here.
Tiësto’s closest equivalent is David Beckham. Both have had a fantastic decade, and both are some of the biggest names in their respective fields—fields which the U.S. happens to care very little about.
Mr. Beckham tried to take over America by ditching the prestigious football clubs in Europe and coming stateside to win us over. It didn’t really work. Tiësto’s going on offense in the U.S. by getting every indie-music darling he can find to sing on his latest album, Kaleidoscope (available in the U.S. on October 6th). Will it work?
Let’s look at the album’s roster. You’ve got Jónsi of Sigur Rós, Nelly Furtado, both Tegan and Sara, Kele Okereke of Bloc Party, Calvin Harris, The Cary Brothers, Kianna Alarid of Tilly and the Wall, Emily Haines, Sneaky Sound System, Priscilla Ahn, and CC Sheffield. Actually, you should feel a little put out that he didn’t invite you to join him in the studio. Everyone else was there.
Some of the artists he’s worked with before (check out his remix of Cary Bothers’ “Ride” if you haven’t already), but surely snagging this crowd of musicians to collaborate on original tunes for a trance album is a big victory for the genre.
Tiësto wants it all with this record. He brilliantly changes up his trance formula to fit the wide array of talent he’s working with, but I don’t think he goes quite far enough. The songs are too trance for American tastes, but perhaps too much of a departure for Tiësto’s fans.
His constant morphing on the album is subtle and excellent, however. The Tegan and Sara contribution, “Feel it in My Bones,” is perfectly crafted for their style of singing, their harmonies, and their vocal counterpoint. It’s about as “rock” as I can imagine Tiësto getting, and Tegan and Sara might just want to adapt the tune for their own live show.
Nelly Furtado is supplied with a sticky sweet pop jam to sing her party lyrics over—”Don’t take me home ’til the sun comes up.” Jónsi gets some ambient soundscapes to wail over in the title song, and it’s fun to here Kianna singing bubblegum pop lyrics over the boisterous dance track of “You Are My Diamond.”
The Cary Brothers emote their brains out in “Here on Earth,” as you’d expect, and Bloc Party’s Okereke does the same over a sparkly piano track for “It’s Not the Things You Say.”
The duets are strong tunes, and to Tiësto’s credit, they sound like original songs that were written in his own genre, rather than strong melodies that were simply remixed to include a trance track. And there’s a whopping 11 of them. The album could have easily stood on the strength of those songs alone, but Tiësto crams in six instrumental tracks as well, which don’t quite measure up overall. (Though La Ride is a good one, and is my favorite of the instrumentals.)
If we want to play with fractions and percentages, 12 good tracks out of 17 is quite a strong album. I’m not sure if Tiësto-the-duet-slut is going to conquer America with Kaleidoscope, but it sure is fun to listen to him try.
Rate this album:
Stream the entire album here, thanks to Lala. All you need is an account. If you don’t have one, make sure to set one up. It absolutely free and only takes a second.
To enter to win a copy of Tiësto’s Kaleidoscope, all you have to is leave a comment. Have you heard the album? If so, rate the album (above) and leave a comment with your thoughts on this review and the album in general. If you haven’t heard the album, comment about your expectations. Or just listen to the album on the player above. Make sure to leave a valid email address in the comment field. Entries will be accepted until October 21st.
Tags: Bloc Party, Calvin Harris, Nelly Furtado, Sigur Ros, Tegan And Sara, Tiësto
Horrible. I expected something like trance. But it’s the bloody pop. Disgusting. I couldn’t memorize not a single tune. i’m still a great and faithful tiёsto fan, i love all music he’d ever done before this shame. Tiёsto what’s happened with you?
Horrible. I expected something like trance. But it’s the bloody pop. Disgusting. I couldn’t memorize not a single tune. i’m still a great and faithful tiёsto fan, i love all music he’d ever done before this shame. Tiёsto what’s happened with you?
Number One Dj Tiesto (;
I really enjoy this for what it is. Some fun song. Nothing particularly memorable other than the Tegan&Sara contribution. It's just unfortunate what is well-done won't get much play in dance clubs.
I agree with “tiestoforlife” there is Nothing wrong with the album or the cover!!. Best dj in the world. TIESTO FOREVER BABY!!!!! WHOO!!
I agree with “tiestoforlife” there is Nothing wrong with the album or the cover!!. Best dj in the world. TIESTO FOREVER BABY!!!!! WHOO!!
If you buy in Itunes u will get 2 tracks more than a regular album i don't know why maybe tiesto has some contract with them that sucks
the 2 tracks are
Tiësto – Bad Behaviour feat. Dizzee Rascal (Bonus Track)
Organised Chaos (Bonus Track)
I love “Feel it in My Bones,” not so sure about the rest of the album.
I used to go to te same recordshop as Tiesto in 1997. I was amazed and proud that a dj from my town became a worldwide dj hero. Anno, 2009, im quite disappointed with his latest album. Other artists would use their pseudo's, but tiesto thinks he cud use his own name…and i think by this, he will create alot of fans in the States…and loose alot more worldwide!
I love “Feel it in My Bones,” not so sure about the rest of the album.
I used to go to te same recordshop as Tiesto in 1997. I was amazed and proud that a dj from my town became a worldwide dj hero. Anno, 2009, im quite disappointed with his latest album. Other artists would use their pseudo's, but tiesto thinks he cud use his own name…and i think by this, he will create alot of fans in the States…and loose alot more worldwide!
Strange album haha.
ABEY MADARCHODS………………….MOTHERFUCKERS………….Y THE FUCK R U ALL TALKING NONSENSE DONT GIV UR FUCKING TAUGHTS FOR DEEJAY TIESTO'S NEW ALBUM……………..DO NOT TALK RUBBISH ABOUT HIM………..HE IS THE WORLDS NO:1 DEEJAY………..IN THE HISTORY OF DEEJAYS HE IS THE LEGEND………SO DONT COMMENT ANYTHING FOOLISH THINK LIKE OOOOOO THE ALBUM COVER IS HORRIBLE OR TRY TO RATE THAT IT MAY BE TERRIBLE OR NICE……..IF U DONT LIKE IT THEN JUST FUCK OOFFFFFFFFFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Click the link that I included in the review–Tiesto's own manager is position this album as a way to gain American fans.
Actually, here's the link: http://www.billboard.com/news/dj-ti%C3%ABsto-en...
hahaha the purpose of kaleidoscope is to “conquer” America? There go all the clichés about Americans being insular, arrogant and obnoxious. Oh… wait….
Of course, I'm not saying that all Americans are like that, I'm just saying that the tone of this review isn't helping!
I made this same mistake a while ago but Cary Brothers is actually one person. His last name is Brothers. They should probably fix that, even if it is making mountains out of molehills.
dabbled in a little tiesto before but all these guests are exciting.
I loved this album, what are you guys talking about? It blows NASA and SMD out of the water.
A 70 is good in my book. It doesn't sound too bad from what I've heard on the lala player. I loved the Tegan and Sara track, also the Bloc Party track.
This album was very… boring. It was good, but I'm not going to listen to it over and over again. 3 stars at most.
this album comes no where near to the greatness of Elements of Life. Collabs are for hip hop artists, not trance artists.
What a horrible album cover. What is up with that pose?
I've wanted to listen to this album ever since I saw how many awesome collaborators he was working with. This review has me hopeful. It could be amazing or it could be terrible. I'm betting on amazing.