RARE TRAX is a continued series of promotional samplers given away with the german edition of Rolling Stone magazine since the 1990's and has reached volume 80 already. Each version covers a special topic and presents lesser known songs and/or artists.
The third volume in Virgin's Ambient series doesn't change the game much; there are a few newer acts sprinkled amongst the two-disc set (FSOL, William Orbit, Bark Psychosis) but the main focus here is on classic ambient masters (Brian Eno, Robert Fripp, David Sylvian, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Harold Budd) and quieter selections from Virgin artists who wouldn't normally be classified this way (Prince Far I, Holger Czukay, Shu-De, Bill Laswell, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan). The result is another fine collection, a must have album for any eclectic music lover.
The third volume in Virgin's Ambient series doesn't change the game much; there are a few newer acts sprinkled amongst the two-disc set (FSOL, William Orbit, Bark Psychosis) but the main focus here is on classic ambient masters (Brian Eno, Robert Fripp, David Sylvian, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Harold Budd) and quieter selections from Virgin artists who wouldn't normally be classified this way (Prince Far I, Holger Czukay, Shu-De, Bill Laswell, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan). The result is another fine collection, a must have album for any eclectic music lover.
The second volume in Virgin's priceless Ambient series is a bit of a retread from the first, alternating classics from Virgin's rich back catalog with the new school of ambient electronica (of which, the label's store is much harder to come by). The result is an Orb remix (of the Grid) instead of a normal Orb track; the only other contemporary acts are the Future Sound of London project Amorphous Androgynous, William Orbit's Bass-O-Matic, Tony Thorpe's Voyager, and such intriguing but obviously label-centric acts as Verve and U2's The Edge. As far as classic ambient tracks go, Virgin is tops – Eno, Sakamoto, Robert Fripp, David Sylvian, Phil Manzanera, Klaus Schulze – though the lack of more up-to-date acts can be frustrating.