Various
Tales Of The Unexpected - The Vinyl Compilation - Volume 1

Listening notes

Released in 1995 on Rain Forest Records, Tales Of The Unexpected - The Vinyl Compilation - Volume 1 (catalog number RF VINYL 001) is a various artists collection spanning electronic, Goa trance, hard trance, techno, and trance. The release is a double LP, spread across four sides.

The twelve tracks are distributed evenly across the four sides, with three cuts per side. Side A opens with "Highlander" at 6:32, followed by "The Birds" at 5:32 and "Gorillas In The Mist" at 5:34. Side B leads with "Whom The Bell Tolls" at 6:40, then "The Last Rites" at 5:40, closing with "Journey Man," the longest original track on the record at 10:31. Side C is given over entirely to remixes: "The Last Rites (Remix)" at 8:39, "Highlander (Remix)" at 6:45, and "The Birds (Remix)" at 6:10, revisiting three of the tracks from the first two sides. Side D returns to non-remix material with "Forever Green" at 7:09, "Mania" at 6:40, and "Spirit Of Darkness" at 6:21.

The inclusion of a dedicated remix side gives the compilation a degree of structural coherence, pairing original versions on Sides A and B with reworked counterparts on Side C. Across all twelve tracks, total runtime runs well past the seventy-five minute mark. The catalog designation RF VINYL 001 suggests this was intended as the opening release in a series, with the subtitle Volume 1 reinforcing that framing.

No further verified information regarding personnel, recording background, or subsequent volumes is available for this draft.