Resident: Two Years of Oakenfold at Cream

Cream started in October 1992 as a weekly house night at Nation, a club in Wolstenholme Square, Liverpool. By the mid-90s it was pulling around 3,000 people a week, and Paul Oakenfold held a residency there from 1997 to 1999. “Resident” collects two years of those sets into a double CD, released on Virgin on 15 March 1999.

The two discs run just over two and a half hours total, moving through progressive house and trance with a few detours into breakbeat and acid house. Names on the tracklist include Tilt, Underworld, Armin van Buuren, Push, and CJ Bolland — mostly UK and European producers who defined the sound of British superclubs in the late 90s.

AllMusic’s Jason Birchmeier called it “a picture-perfect snapshot of a memorable moment in dance-music history,” and gave it four stars. The Nation building itself was demolished in 2016; Cream’s weekly night at that address ran until 2002 before the brand moved on to Creamfields and residencies elsewhere.

CD1 (1999)

CD2 (1999)

Tracklist

CD1

1. “Mystery Land” (Original Mix) — Y Traxx
2. “Butterfly” (Tilt’s Mechanism Mix) — Tilt
3. “Blue Fear” (Extended Mix) — Armin van Buuren
4. “Shine” (Full Vocal) — The Space Brothers
5. “Someone” (Original Vocal Mix) — Ascension
6. “Sin City” (Original Mix) — Brainbug
7. “Dark And Long (Dark Train)” (Original Mix) — Three ‘N One
8. “Flash” (Club Mix) — Underworld
9. “Netherworld” (Vinyl Cut) — B.B.E.
10. “Prophase” (X-Cabs Remix One) — L.S.G.
11. “Vavoom!” (Original Mix) — Transa
12. “Ever Rest” (Mystica Mix) — Man With No Name
13. “The Prophet” (Original Mix) — Mystica
14. “Summersault” (Original Mix) — CJ Bolland

CD2

1. “Summersault” (Original Mix) — Taste Xperience feat. Natasha Pearl
2. “Wide Open Space” (Perfecto Mix) — Mansun
3. “Rendezvous” (Quadraphonic Mix) — Tilt vs. Paul van Dyk
4. “Everything’s Not You” (Quivver’s Space Edit) — Stoneproof
5. “Children” (Tilt’s Courtyard Mix) — Tilt
6. “Skydive” (Original Mix) — Freefall feat. Jan Johnston
7. “Universal Nation” (Original Mix) — Push
8. “Rollercoaster” (Oakey’s Courtyard Mix) — Amoeba Assassin
9. “Nautical Bodies” (Original Mix) — Planet Heaven
10. “Eisbaer” (Soul Hooligan Radio Edit) — Groovezone
11. “Dream Universe” (Original Mix) — C.M.
12. “El Nino” (Matt Darey Mix) — Agnelli & Nelson
13. “Breathe In You” (Tekara’s M & M Dub) — Tekara feat. Lucy Cotter
14. “Enervate” (Original Mix) — Transa