Naturalized [Audio CD] Ralph, Dave

Mix creators are always best judged by their ease with shift and overdrive, and on this double-disc effort, Dave Ralph officially confirms his metamorphosis from a Toyota MR2 to a sleek and sophisticated Porsche. Slipping effortlessly through the likes of Laurent Garnier and Oliver Klein, Ralph moves his brand of trance like a driver in one of those sleek four-wheeled beauties on a coastal highway.

Naturalized is an airy compilation designed to transport listeners to a world where rivers flow, hills roll, and mountains climb. Even Ralph's own tribal trance intro, "Islands of Light," invokes a sense of serenity; it's a mature and comfortable introduction to the progressive energies that lie within. Indeed, Piece Process wastes no time with the hypnotic, techno-tinged "My Mind Is Going (Original Mix)," while Indart, Wally, and Kucho put heads even further above the clouds with the aptly named "The Devil." The shuddering backbeat that holds up the melancholic "Ozone" from Planisphere is joyous stuff, while Fatboy Slim's fun, sweaty ass-shaker "Star 69" folds perfectly into Garnier's dramatic, sax-tinged "The Man with the Red Face." By the last two cuts, Fragma's "You Are Alive" and Junkie XL's "Sinycho", Ralph's mix peaks. The record's only flaw is that it leaves the listener begging for a third disc. --Steffan Chirazi