Back in the early 1990s, for EDM observers and the music scene, in general, was a very exciting time to be involved in. Great musicians and personalities emerged to create an era that is still largely underrated to this day. 2 Unlimited had already unleashed their Get Ready debut album the year before, which was a phenomenal success in its own way, and that title track is unforgettable. This album was released shortly afterwards and it was another huge success for the Dutch music based duo of Anita Doth and Ray Slijngaard. The album cover is interesting, with Anita and Ray seemingly nude, looking at each other as though they want to get it on. Let’s hear this album and see if it still holds up well today.

No Limit begins the album with a dark electronic set of textures, Ray chanting and some traditional Roland beats entering. This quickly launches into an excellent tune that has power, style and grace. This is much, much better than the music emerging today and it sounds ridiculously good. Anita gets singing very well, with some gorgeously multitracked vocals that sound really great. “No, no limits, reach for the sky!” is sung here by Anita. This is followed by some great Rapping by Ray and this tune is fantastic. This music makes a lot of sense if you have taken Ecstasy, but even sober, this is beyond brilliant, it’s truly amazing listening. There is a great call-and-response harmony section, followed by Ray’s percussive Rapping section. Excellent music, and really great to hear. A simple and wonderful tune to hear. Very memorable.

Tribal Dance begins with some rolled, sampled drums and launches fairly quickly into a decent listening experience with bongo drums and chanting. This soon enough launches into a cool and rather quirky tune that sounds ridiculously good. Ray’s vocals mention the truth about music being a truly universal thing, which it is. Anita’s beautiful singing sounds really great, and she has a magnificent delivery. This is yet another amazing and great tune that sounds really interesting, musically structured and wonderful throughout. Great musical concepts and performances throughout, this is an inspiring listen. The second half is just as great as the first half, sounding really excellent and amazing. Great music to hear, this is fantastic. Top song. It ends with a subtle gong hit.

Mysterious begins with a sort of Acid House throwback, with some really pretty singing from Anita. A really excellent listen, this eventually launches into a looped section of keyboard sounds and enters into another straightforward EDM styled Eurodance tune. There is an air of melancholy to this tune, and it deals with issues of breakup in relationships. A simple tune but honestly not the best thing about this album, the mood present is fairly muted. In any case, this is good, but not that exciting nor interesting musically. This can be easily forgiven though, there are worse tunes out there than this one. The second half has a cut-up Amen break and some good rapping from Ray as well. The sounds present are fairly spacey and although this is not the most original sounding piece of music out there, it is good with some interesting piano in it as well. A really interesting listen nonetheless, although this could have been bettered. The lyrics that Anita sings here are very emotional and are a battle between love and lust present. Nice to hear all the same.

Faces has some cut-up samples, quickly launching into a dark and very Trance like tune. Again, this is a little lacking in energy and perhaps these guys were not as focused as they were on the Get Ready album. Anita’s voice hovers above it all, she really is a fantastic singer here, without question. Ray’s rapping is also very excellent, and this piece of music is really great if you are in a dark and emotionally disturbed mood. Not a bad effort though, the music is good for what it is. A really decent listen in any case, even if the mood isn’t quite happy and dancing. Interesting and good Eurodance styled music, this eventually ends with a quick fade out.

Maximum Overdrive begins with some excellent early use of autotune and singing from Anita which is awesome and drenched in reverb. Some racecar styled sounds enter, before quickly launching into a fantastic piece of music that is super catchy and makes you want to dance all night long. This is quite possibly the best representation of early 1990s Eurodance, it just sounds very perfect. Euphoric, catchy and fun. Ray’s rap section here does sound amazing and fantastic, and the whole piece of music is one interesting and intelligent tune to listen to. Really cool and interesting music, Ray and Anita’s vocals and rapping here do great justice for 2 Unlimited. It’s a real shame that they didn’t last together as a dynamic duo, but in the world of music, people frequently don’t get along. An energetic, interesting and straightforward piece with a great listen here for EDM fans, this is really nice music. Better than your average can of Energy Drink, this is exciting and worth repeat listens. Nice work.

The Power Age begins with some cool keyboard sounding patches, and basic Roland beats. Ray leads the way here. A really cool and excellent tune, something that The Chemical Brothers would seriously dig. This was fairly mainstream music for the time, but today it looks back to a historical era of EDM. A really awesome and catchy piece with some extraordinary rapping from Ray, and some excellent singing from Anita. A lively, upbeat and awesome tune to listen to, this sounds incredibly good. This is something that should definitely be on your own Spotify playlist. A moving, interesting and powerful piece of music, this sounds very upbeat, wonderful and something to move your body to. Interesting music, there is not a dull moment here at all. The second half has a more minimal section of music present, and the whole tune is ridiculously awesome. Awesome, futuristic and fun, the music here is timeless. Excellent tune.

Break The Chain begins with a short intro with Ray, followed by Anita singing melodically and some very Acid House traditional sounding sounds, complete with cheesy sounding piano. An upbeat, interesting and driven tune that sounds ridiculously good, this is great 1990s EDM. A repetitive but top tune, this is the sort of music straight out of the Earthworm Jim video game series. In other words, it is really excellent, especially for the time. Wonderful music to hear, this sounds supercharged and lively. A pumping and powerful tune, this makes you want to dance all night long to EDM based tunes. Very memorable and totally worth your time, it can induce headbanging here. A wonderful tune and album that has been largely forgotten to this day. Top and great listening from start to finish.

Kiss Me Bliss Me begins with some unusual sounding electronic melodies, followed quickly by some other excellent sonic textures, beats and Ray’s rapping. Again, this is an excellent listening experience that sounds awesome and ridiculously good. This music may sound rather dated today, but it works on an intellectual and emotional level. A monstrous sounding tune, it seems that the EDM made on less advanced technology in the 1990s is far better than the EDM music of today. Anita’s singing is fantastic, and it sure sounds essential to this track, and Ray’s rapping as well. The whole album sounds like a logical progression from the late 1980s Acid House music. Towards the end are some excellent sounding textures and sounds, before reaching a final conclusion. Excellemt music.

Throw Down The Groove begins with some string keyboard sounds, a cut up vocal by Anita, and this tune gets kicking along nicely. Anita in particular sounds really cool and amazing here, and is a real star with her vocals here. The rest of the tune is very decent as well, and it sounds very euphoric. Ray illustrates the music here with his excellent rapping. Even if 2 Unlimited is not in its original form anymore, this piece of music and the respective album are both fantastic, and are very good to make some awesome memories to. An awesome listen throughout, the music is very Poppy, but has a character of its own. There are some interesting bongo beats and muted wah-wah guitar in the breakdown in the second half, before Anita leads into the happy sounding conclusion. Her voice is unbeatable for what it is, and fits the music very well. A fun and interesting listening experience, and 2 Unlimited are hugely underrated. Good piece of EDM House based music.

R.U.O.K. is nowadays a pro-mental health support term for those suffering depression. It begins with some unusual and rather 1980s sounding textures, before launching into a fine and fun tune with a real syncopated groove about it. Soon enough, a rather rapid fire delivery from Ray enters. There are some darker emotions on this song, and may point to the difficulties that Ray and Anita had between each other. A really dark and brutal tune lyrically about breaking up a relationship, matched by a very retro sounding tune, this sounds lively and extraordinary all the same. The music on this album is really very good to play video games along to. All the elements of music, vocals and rapping present on this tune are really fantastic. A rather depressing piece lyrically, matched with some upbeat musical elements, this sounds really cool all the same. A nice 1990s throwback, and a great piece of music to listen to. It ends with a load of reverberated echo on the song.

Let The Beat Control Your Body begins with a looped vocal sampled from Anita, before the music gets going and launches into a powerful and repetitive listening experience that is a tad annoying. Soon enough, Ray gets going and this track launches itself into a weird and dark sounding piece. It’s okay, but proof that the album is a bit more patchy than what one had hoped for. In any case, it’s good, but seems lacking energy and excitement. A powerful and interesting listen experience, although not really a great one, 2 Unlimited do have some great EDM sounds on their tracks, even if the music isn’t as euphoric here as it was on the Get Ready album. A great listen in its own way, just not perfect. Good but lacking.

Invite Me To Trance begins with some multitracked vocals and Anita singing in a plain, clear voice. Soon enough, some wet Acid House sounds enters and we are underway. This is a fairly mellow sounding track, and it sounds a bit like something to hear after a come down from a crazy night out. Anita sings straight from the heart here, and she hits all her notes perfectly well, autotune or not. A good listening experience, this tune is exciting, like most of the others on the album. In the second half are some looped sounds and percussion, before Ray re-enters with a simplistic Rap. This is great music, although likely too dated for some listeners out there. A really great listen, this sounds really cool and excellent. Wonderful music, “I want you to give my heart another chance” sings Anita, before this concludes. Good effort.

Where Are You Now sounds horribly 1980s, too much so for its own good. It sounds like 1985, not 1993 here musically, which is a huge mistake. Sure, Anita’s vocals again are on top form, but there is no excuse to used some awful backing track which ruins an otherwise good song to hear. In any case, this is more miss than hit as it sounds horribly dated. Anita sings really beautifully and wonderfully over the top of such an appalling sounding piece of backing track that, without her singing, this track would die. Difficult to know why this piece of music is here, Anita does sing very deeply and in a moving way regardless. It’s also quite boring and should have been seriously rethought here. A bit of a tearjerker, but not the best tearjerker song out there. Ray enters in the second half briefly, before this rather solo effort by Anita here goes on and on. Depressing tune and it doesn’t fit the album either.

Shelter On A Rainy Day begins with some percussion that is delayed, and seems like a continuation of the previous tune. Again, this sounds rather dated and the music isn’t very incredible here as a result. It sounds like an exercise in sonic textures and Anita saves this track from being totally awful and mediocre. The lyrical sentiment on this song is quite nice though, and this is quite a good piece of music about love and companionship, even if the backing track ruins it somewhat. This seems like a solo album by Anita at this point, but still, her singing voice is truly amazing. A fine piece of music singing here: “You give me shelter on a rainy day, my tears have lost their meaning, love has washed them all away” is a great set of lyrics. Ray does a slow and cautious Rap in the second half, before Anita steps back into the spotlight. Great music, despite its flaws. Good to hear. It ends with the backing track to finish up the album, along with the sound of rain.

This is a fairly decent album that, although is sometimes patchy, does work well overall. The music at its best is upbeat and sensational. At its worst it is overly moody and forgettable. Should you listen to this album? If you are up to it, yes, or if you need a great dose of mostly euphoric early 1990s Eurodance EDM. Otherwise, you may be a little disappointed by this. Still, it has lasted the test of time. This is the last great 2 Unlimited album, before the group continued to decline, resulting in Anita leaving in 1995. Still, it is a good snapshot of the era at hand.

A mixed bag of lollies.

7/10