Hallucinogen
The Lone Deranger
Dragonfly Records, 1996
Simon Posford can be considered an excellent musician and composer when it comes to dance, techno, and trance music. With 1995's 'Twisted', he had established himself as a very talented man with the ability to layer different sounds and beats into very potent patterns of elegant, intense electronic music. While 'Twisted' earned him a position as the creator of one of the most influential trance albums of all time, 'The Lone Deranger' can only be described as the album that cemented this well-earned status.
The album begins with the hard hitting 'Demention', a psychadelic mixture of strong electronic beats, pounding bass, and interesting vocal samples. This track is very reminiscent of Pink Floyd's 'On The Run', with the backing electonic effects weaving back and forth, almost resembling the sensation of running. The following tracks 'Shakey Shaker' and 'Trancespotter' both seem to mirror one another at various points in either song. 'Shakey Shaker' carries a much deeper, bass leaden groove, while 'Trancepotter' has more high pitched sounds as well as several samples of laughter (also similar to many songs found on 'Dark Side Of The Moon).
After the triple hits of the first five song, 'Horrorgram' comes as a disappointment, and seemingly goes nowhere, with the electronic layering and beats managing to be both boring and average. 'Sharling' follows suit with more uninspired techno rhythms, as well as some truly annoying effects. Luckily, the album manages to hoist itself back up with the catchy' Gamma Goblins', which, although rather repetitive, manages to stay upbeat and constantly interesting.
'Deranger', the penultimate song on the album, manages to sum up the whole trance experience as a whole, with vocal samples, catchy drum loops, interesting effects, and wonderful synth rhythms. 'Deranger' stands out as the strongest song on the album and manages to remain interesting and catchy throughout it's seven minute duration. The final tune here 'Jiggle Of The Spinx' contains some eastern influenced instrumentation, including what sound like a sitar. Despite this alteration from the rest of the album, 'Jiggle of The Spinx' doesn't pick up enough to be of any particular interest.
All in all, 'The Lone Deranger' may be considered a rather hit and miss album. Luckily, most of the songs manage to hit instead of miss. This album provides an interesting, varied look into the genres of techno, trance, and dance. It manages to be an enjoyable listen, and is certainly worth checking out.
