VA - Mo' Plen 3000: Space Killer Tracks from the Past...Till the Third Millenium (1997)

Like the other volumes in this series, Mo'Plen 3000 presents a diverse array of cuts whose styles cut across rock, jazz, soul, and other genres while still managing to fit under the lounge music banner. The rock side of things is ably covered on cuts like Mirageman's "Thunder," which manages to drown its jazz horns with fuzz-drenched electric guitar and hard-hitting drums and I Componenti's "Sugar Ray," another punchy track with plenty of distorted guitar lines. Elsewhere, the proceedings get quite jazzy on cuts like "Budapest" by Giovanni Fenati E La Sua Orchestra, a mid-tempo track whose moody melody is anchored by a gritty saxophone line, and Giovanni Lamberti Orchestra's "Moquette," which layers sprightly flute and piano lines over a jaunty jazz beat. A number of nifty genre hybrids pop up between these moments: the standouts in this respect are "Tropical" by I Gres, which pits psychedelic guitar lines against a frenetic Latin beat, and Orchestra McKarl's "Misty," which underpins an airy, flute-driven easy listening medley with a funky wah-wah guitar line and jazzy horn breaks. Overall, Mo'Plen 3000 makes an enjoyable listen because its selections are consistently melodic and are programmed in a manner that allows the shifts in style and tone to be entertaining instead jarring. The result is a compilation that triumphs over its fellow volumes in both quality and consistency, making Mo'Plen 3000 the best of its series.