Reading the reviews for this CD I felt it my obligation to write one myself to clear up some obvious misconceptions a lot of you seem to have about Oakenfold and his music.

For those of you who rant and rave about how this 2CD can never compare to Tranceport, you're missing the point. First of all, Tranceport was not the first or the most well planned of Oakey's Dj-ing career; Flouro takes those honors, and if you have never heard it, then i suggest you invest 40 $ and revamp your idea about who Oakenfold is. Second, Tranceport was a product of the late nineties trance scene where it was but a reflection of the trance in its prime years when so much quality was being put out that making a classic mix like tranceport almost seems easy in retrospect. 1998 was a year in trance the like of which will never be seen again, and Tranceport was but a reflection of this fact.

But now we're in late 2003/early 2004 and the trance scene has evolved greatly. No longer do epic buildups and classic sequences rule the scene; Matt Darey and Space Brothers have been supplanted in popularity (in large part) by gabriel & dresden and others. If you're expecting another Tranceport out of Oakey, i assure you it will never come. Instead, the Great Wall seems to reflect where trance is going in future years; smooth, melodic loops and chilling vocals seem to be the order of the day. Oakenfold guides the listener through a mix that has been thoroughly combed to include enough big names to be bought by fringe trance listeners but incorporates enough prog to keep his own fans happy. It is a mastermind of self promotion, very well thought out, and well delivered. It is a publicity stunt much like Bunkka but much more subtle and tasteful. But that is another rant for another time.

To sum it up, trance has evolved, and oakenfold with it. Try to listen to the mix without reminiscing to the Tranceport days, but with an open mind and you will see where trance is going.

Paul Oakenfold was the founder of the Tranceport series, a ground breaking cd collection dedicated to foward thinking progressive trance. At one point, people associated his remixes with Goa tracks because of the techy production mixed with repetitive melodies. Nowadays however, it seems that the formula to selling more mixes is including more mainstream tracks, a la this mix session.

Of course all the blends are flawless, as are any dj's mix cd released comercially. There are programs like mix meister that can do all the beatmaching for you these days, so putting out a mix cd with perfect beatmatching skills isn't that impressive (unless the mix is recorded live, which I doubt this was).

So what makes a good dj mix? Selection of songs, flow of the order they're put together, and freshness of the sound. I gave this cd two stars because a few tracks on this cd (Infusion-Legacy) are quite good on their own and can stand the test of time of being a good remix. As a mix as a whole though, there's nothing new or inventive. If I'm going to a store and buying a mix cd, I want to buy something that I don't own at least half the tracks alreday, otherwise I'd mix it myself in my bedroom. A good mix cd will include tracks that aren't available yet, to give the feel of going out to a live DJ set at a club, having to guess track titles, and just being moved by the music itself, not the name of the artist.

If you're not a DJ, you don't go out clubbing at all, and you generally don't buy that much electronica at all, this cd might apeal to you. For any seasoned veteran of the trance/rave/electronica movements this will just be another trance cd to go next to all the other trance compliations at your local cd store.

Some of you here on Amazon.com may have read how I lambasted Oakey's latest mix album before this one (Perfecto Presents Ibiza)... and I still stand by that review. It was power pop laden hogwash, and to some extent, this new mix falls in the same category. Almost. Oakey has done some cool things here on this CD and that's what saves it from the possible quaqmire.

So, you may be asking yourself, what the hell is this guy talking about??? I shall enlighten you...

The first CD is classic Oakey... Starts a bit progressive and gradually builds into a fine example of melodic trance. Solarstone gives another timeless track, Gahan's "floors" may be "sticky," but Junkie XL unsticks the tune with a fantastic remix, even Madonna's "Hollywood" is masterfully re-worked by Oakey to be an instant trance banger for this year.

The second CD however leaves much to be desired. Besides Ian Brown's "Fear" and the Patient Saints "Imperpetuem Mobila," the rest of what's being offered isn't very much... I like melody, especially with my "superstar" djs. There isn't much "good" melody on the second disc.

Overall, I wish I could give Oakey a little more credit... but taking pop songs to another level is one thing, and making them fuse into a dance ensemble is another. Oakey misses the boat this time around, but hopefully he can bounce back and create more of the euphoric offerings we are used to. Melodic trance is back, and the godfather of melodic trance should know that... here it just doesn't seem like he notices or cares.
3 1/2 STARS

If for one reason Oakenfold is a pioneer then that is that he is not afraid to experiment. That has lead him in a few bumps on the road. However this album is far from a bump. More like a classic smooth house collection. Big mid tempo beats that fit better in indoor spaces.
As with all compilations who want to become classics a good step would be not to focus on individual songs. Still, one cannot neglect that Great Wall features the best mix of Motorcycle's As The Rush Comes, Deepsky's fantastic mix on Oakie's Hypnotised and another fantastic mix on Dave Gahan's Dirty Sticky Floors. I have no problem whatsoever with Cry Me A River. In fact it fits in just perfect!
I would agree with other reviews that the new release by Perfecto (The Club) was a mediocre work and should never have reached the stores. But Great Wall is a whole different story. It gave me fantastic times during the 2003-2004 winter and now some one and a half year later I can't but recommend it! A winter mix classic!

This album is good, and i do listen to it... but it just doesn't have the same flair that 'another world' has, for example. like others have said, this album is not groundbreaking. but it does have the oakey feel to it, which is most of the reason it is worth listening to (how the guy can possibly pull off such a unique sound is amazing). so it's worth the money if you liked tranceport or another world, but it's probably not going to be one of your favorites in the long run... track 4 on disc one is good stuff.