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.
–
John Bush, Rovi