Reviews (page 5 of 7)
Low three for me. Thought the first song was great but it got fairly experimental in some places. Very listenable but a little harder to thoroughly enjoy.
Pas pire, fait typique electro anglais des années 90
I listen to almost no electronic music and I’m glad I was introduced to it by this project, including this album. It’s really quite good. Makes me want to learn more about it and listen to more of this artist’s work.
Only know a couple of tracks - seems solid though.
hmm
I like this album. It's very atmospheric and good background music, since the songs have a good ambient feel to them. I think the songs would've been better if there was no talking/words in it, but it's not a deal breaker. Favorite song: Water from a Vine Leaf Worst song: Deus Ex Machina
Unexpectedly good, a little slow.
This album is a bit ambient, a bit house, a bit trance… there were moments I really enjoyed and moments that effectively were background music. Overall, it was an enjoyable if not non intrusive listen.
I might listen again but wasn’t feeling a whole album
eh 3 stars.
Like this a lot. Warrants more listens
Rating: 6/10 Best songs: Into the paradise, Story of light
chill beats to relax and study to
3/5. It had a great first half with enjoyable listens however it dragged on at the end. If this album was only 40 minutes long it would be perfect.
Solid background music with interesting blends of sounds, but when I try to focus on it... it just feels like all style over substance.
An unusual mix of stuff, I'm not really sure what to think. It needs another couple of listens
This wasn’t available on Apple Music so I listened to Strange Cargo I instead.
Enjoyable, not mindblowing
Very interesting sounds, I'm guessing this will make its way to my rotation of ambient electronica after a few more listening session!
Might listen more than once
I can't say that this album made much of an impression on me either way. It was fine, but it was hard to understand why its significant. I don't know that the music is particularly advanced for 1993, though it definitely doesn't sound dated for the time either. The Indian influence on the album is cool. Overall there's not a lot that I can say. It works fine as background music, but there isn't a lot else to recommend it, and the Wikipedia page was not particularly enlightening either 3/5
Enjoyable but some of the instrumentals weren't that noticeable.
Time and a place for this kind of thing. 20 years ago - 04:00 in the morning surething. Not so relevant to me now.
A lot of this was just ambient stuff. Otherwise it was electronica. Descended into SCUNGY UK TECHNO at times, because of fucking course it does. No real feelings either way. 3/5.
The record is an ambient techno classic. (6/10) FT: Water From A Vine Leaf
Electronica, manages to avoid dance music cliches, good background music.
Perfectly fine music to study by that sounds exactly like all the other perfectly fine music to study by that I've ever listened to.
Is not on Apple music US. Good album I enjoyed the tracks.
Well this album starts off fucking awesome. First three songs...or at least two of the first three songs are excellent and the album is pretty damn good. Great dance rhythms, interesting melodies, appropriate vocals. It's still a dance/electronic/ambient album which for me makes it too long and tough to listen to from beginning to end. If someone made an album this good and made it 40 minutes long instead of over an hour it would be knocking on the door of a 5, but it seems that don't exist. Too bad. 3.5 🌟
I liked the first half of this album quite a bit. But then it kind of fizzled out for me. I think that MP3 player have ruined my patience for things like this. I can imagine listening to a track or two of this on shuffle with everything else and enjoying it, but listening to the whole album my attention really wandered. It just did not hold my interest.
I think I like this better than Massive Attack. Easy listening, nothing annoying. It really is arranged quite well. But it's all sort of the same to me. Thought about a 4 for a moment but not sure that's what you give an album that is mostly great background music.
I like his music, but it's fundamentally not much more than good background/mood music.
The beats are chill I guess but it doesn't do anything interesting. It's decent. I think the ambient parts are better than the more downtempo ones, like on The Monkey King.
I didn't hate it Soundtrack to a really boring game Picks up after a while though 3
Today I learned that I'm not super into 90s electronica. I don't think I'd mind a song here and there but I couldn't do the whole album at once.
Via Caliente was a jam. Out of the Ice has a great bassline. Overall, this album is great as background, or even as a movie soundtrack. I don't think I'd put it on as something I'd actively listen to. It's definitely not my cup of tea.
I remember listening to the first song a lot when it came out. It was a staple of the chill/downtempo/electronica movement. The second song has some spirit. Story of Light is good too. The rest is nice enough, at times the dub bass lines and drums kick in a bit too predictably. It’s very soothing, good for a hot yoga class, or good to listen to if you have insomnia. Having learned that he produced and co-wrote Madonna’s Ray of Light, I went back and listened to that album and his influence is left, front and center. But it's a more caffeinated William Orbit.
It's funny that he's worked with so many famous musicians and I've never heard of him. It's also funny that I listened to this album, liked it, and the next day couldn't even really remember what it was. It's remarkably forgettable.
Honestly a lot better than I had expected given his later aural wallpaper.
It's very ambient and moody. I can see what role this played in the evolution of techno in the 90s, and indeed how it influenced pop. I don't think I appreciated this album enough to want to listen again though.
I'm not sure I'd call it "must-hear" music, but it's not bad.
A very pleasant ambient album. I don't know much about the state of electronic music in 1993, but maybe this was quite different back then. Sounds like a movie score and is very easy on the ears. 5/10
All very pleasing and transcendental, but is it an album or a stream of consciousness?
Pendant une heure, William sera en orbite autour de la planète Bonne Musique sans jamais réussir à s'y poser.
1h03, c'est le chiffre a retenir puisqu'il s'agit de la duréee de cet album. De très longues 1h03, qui m'ont bien mis en rogne en cet après-midi ensoleillé. J'aurai bien preferé profiter de ledit soleil plutôt que de la musique sans intérêt du pitre Orbit, que j'espère ne jamais recroiser sur mon chemin. C'est pour toutes ces raisons que j'ai accordé à l'album la note de 3/5.
File under electronic music to play at Luxury Resort pool area
cool vibe - like it for background music
Decent album to listen to while working.
Un disco bastante complicado. Por un lado es interesante y entretenido si se escucha como el soundtrack de una película. Los cambios de escena, los diferentes moods y géneros podrían ir construyendo una historia vaga en nuestras mentes. Por otro lado, tiene momentos sin sentido, pesados y que crean un ambiente no tan agradable además de ser bastante extenso y piezas de larga duración.
If you google 'Strange Cargo' it takes you pages of results for a movie staring Clark Gable from 1940. This alone may give you some insight into how awesome this album is. Despite that, this was far better than I thought it would be, and much better than the album art is. It's important to note that there are at least three Strange Cargo albums, the second I started listening to by mistake and it was a mistake. I should've eaten a sprig of Parsley after listening to SC2, or at least dusted my ears with it. I honestly didn't mind spending time with this. Though since 1993, the robots have taken over the world and today, this music is ubiquitous. It's absolutely something my daughter would splice into her YouTube videos. I blame the machines. At one point SC3 was avant garde and exciting, but time moves on...
Cargo cults may seem strange to us modern first-worlders, but in understanding their culture we can understand much of our obsession with advancement and progression. A cargo cult is "an indigenist millenarian belief system in which adherents perform rituals which they believe will cause a more technologically advanced society to deliver goods." Such groups have been found in Pacific island nations that had fleeting contact with Allied soldiers and air drops of supplies during WWII. After the war ended, the cults arose to try to mimic the behavior and culture they encountered and lure back these peoples and their advanced technology. The indigenous people encountered strange cargo from a civilization they didn't understand, and then longed to replicate it or bring it back. Maybe William Orbit brought us strange cargo of his own, at the leading edge of the electronic music revolution in the 80s and 90s. He never left, but we've been trying to copy and mimic his seemingly futuristic and advanced aural aesthetic ever since. Unlike the cargo cults, who's benefactors and inspirations seemingly disappeared for a time, Orbit continued to be an active part of the cultural exchange, evolving with those he influenced. And at some point during that journey, he air dropped a third load of "Strange Cargo." However, I found myself not mythologizing, venerating, or deifying Orbit, but rather being thankful that his influence fueled a continuous evolution through artists whose work I find better.
so-so. Very much of its time. (cf. Fascinating Rhythm, which is much more adventurous.)
Lo-fi electronic album, this was some solid background music to listen to while I worked. The album playlists on Youtube were all either incomplete or way out of order, so I had to search each song individually to listen to it which was frustrating but that has nothing to do with the music itself. Enjoyed it for what it was, not my usual thing but wouldn't complain if someone put this on.
Música ambiental sin nada especial que aportar. Escuchable en todo tipo de entornos o para buscar momentos de relajación.
Why was it so quiet in my car
Strong start weak mid
Ambient ambivalence
I thought I was going to love this, because of his version of Barber's Adaggio for Strings, but it was just pleasant. One piece I imagined would make good backing to an extremely dull wildlife documentary. It promised so much more from they opening couple of songs but didn't fulfill that promise.
It's alright, good for passive listening (background music).
I don't know how this counts as one of the 1001 albums I need to hear before I die. It's pleasant enough but entirely unmemorable. I don't even know if it's one of the best 1001 ambient albums ever produced. Inoffensive and worthy of playing in the background when you have work to do but it'll never feel groundbreaking.
Pretty enjoyable album. I'm not super into electronic music but I liked the melodies here. Reminded me of Spyro the Dragon.
Cannot lie - really got into it - great instrumentalist, but by the end was desperate for it to finish
its an ambient album, which barely any vocals but somehow it manages to keep your attention
Zweverig album, met wat samples die wel overeenkomen met de albumhoes. Was goed voor op de achtergrond maar weinig speciaal
Interesante.
I never heard of William Orbit of this Strange Cargo III album. I don't think it's something you must listen to before you die, but it was a nice break between all the pop and rock albums filling up this list.
Electronic music is definitely not my wheelhouse, but I like this album. William Orbit constructs his songs as experiences and tones that portray the context of the titles, and it feels like you are creating scenes in your head as you listen. It's not generic bass drops or fuzzy dubbings that overwhelm you in static sounds. That said, I don't really find myself intensely listening to every song and just leave it on as background music. But it's good. Favorite Song: The Story of the Light Least Favorite: Harry Flowers
I think is not my type of beat but is quiet relaxing the first 4 tracks. Would be a good album after smoking a joint.
OK
enjoyed this - it gets a bit samey but really *nice*
Die Sounds kommen zwar leicht datiert durch die Geräte, aber der Kern eines dubbigen Rave/Waves bleibt dennoch klar transportiert. Bisweilen etwas kitschig in seiner Anmutung von Arzt-Serien Score. Macht aber mehr richtig als falsch und bleibt doch etwas schwach auf der Brust. Irgendwie gute 2.8
Electronic, world, house, ambient, trance, hip hop, dub. Bien.
Seems like there would’ve been no stranger cog turning in the early 90s music machine. Pretty cool background music
Bon au debût mais derape en fin d’album. 3*
Electrónica. Ambiente. Se puede escuchar.
cool instrumental electronic music. some songs are vibey and some have techno or grungey sounds. i like Water From a Vine Leaf
Good album. Reminds me of lemon jelly in arts
Nothing too memorable, nothing too bad/good.
It's okay. Kind of atmospheric Enya-esque pop. It's good background noise.
Interesting, liked it, good background for work etc.
Vähän ku Massive Attackia ja Nightmares on Waxia sekasin, I like!
Nice ambient album with some relaxing moments. Pretty enjoyable.
Not bad. Held my attention. Can only give it 3.5 because it's not something I really see myself going back to.
1993. Key Songs: Water From a Vine Leaf, The Story of Light
Decent enough background music
not strange but not exciting
I read all the reviews implying this sounded like a 90s heist film. I agree. They've said it all
Meh its alright for background music. Sounds like a soundtrack to a B movie set in miami! 2.5
Music for YouTube videos. Or maybe tiktok.
My 100th album! 😁 It’s not quite my cup of tea, but luckily it’s not a total let-down either 😊 Two stars…
idk kind of mediocre. beep boop i'm a robot i have no emotions to convey through this organized sequence of sounds.
Your call is very important to us. Please remain on the line for our next available associate. OK, maybe not as bad as “hold music.“ But definitely another album that is better in the background than the foreground.
There’s a lot Apple is saying when it skips over an album in its list of works by someone. This one started off well enough, but it quickly became background noise that I had to keep checking to see if it was almost over. Also, I couldn’t always distinguish when a commercial was playing between songs.
eh, not my thing
Sorry, Bill Orb, it’s a 2 for me. I didn’t even finish this album. I mistakenly listened to his first Strange Cargo initially, and I liked that one more. SC1 made me feel like I was listening to a soundtrack for a weird sci-fi action thing from late ‘80s or early ‘90s. SC3 made me feel like not listening to SC3.
Sometimes there are moments with a pretty melody or interesting riff and then it would get repeated a whole bunch and then I’d lose interest.
Not as bad as some of this stuff, but still not something I want to listen to.
This album is one of those albums that really makes you scratch your head as to why it is included on the 1001 albums to hear before you die as William Orbit had a pretty unremarkable musical career with his own outputs but has done some pretty amazing work for other people. As much as I’d love to praise William Orbit for his work, this album makes it really hard to give any love to the guy. Bass work is really funky at times, and I appreciate that. However, this was far less my taste and was rather dull in fact.
Not really my cuppa, which I feel like I am in need of after the intros make me somnambulent. Lot of dead space. Surprised after that cover art.
I mean ... it's chill, but is this a must-listen?
Water from a Vine Leaf 3 Into the Paradise 2.3 Time to get Wize 2.5 Harry Flowers 2.4 A Touch of the Night 2.5 The Story of Light 2.3 Gringatcho Demento 2.4 A Hazy Shade of Random 2.4 Best Friend, Paranoia 2.2 The Monkey King 2 Deus Ex Machina 1.4 Water Babies 1.5 Score: 2.241666667
Dont really like the vocals
I'm not really sure why this is an album I have to hear? There doesn't seem to be anything particularly notable about this album. Even the Wikipedia page is only about 5 sentences long. It is 100% nothing you have never heard before or won't hear again. Maybe I missed something? 2/5
not terrible background music with a sort of 'Massive Attack' vibe, though i question why it is considered an "essential" album.
Peak "this is just a bunch of noise" album
2/5 boring
Spa music
Standouts Water From a Vine Leaf Water Babies
Normally I kind of default these kinds of albums to a 3 but I found this one particularly boring even in the background. As I say every time, surely this is the last one.
mais uma que eu botei achando que ia melhorar minha produtividade e na vdd era só ruim
first song is not what i thought it would be based on this cover. there was a mission here but it felt unsuccessful Would I listen again: no. Deserves to be on this list: no.... 2.3
I just don't know. I've listened a couple of times over a couple of days as I could not grasp it. Still can't, ther early nineties was an interesting time and he's dipping deep in the well of what was going on, but to be honest I found myself drifting off listening to it, so it's a no.
If I was listening to this when I was very high in a club in the mid nineties, I would probably like it a lot. But listening to it cold, it just sounds empty like so much electronic club music does. The other reviews which say this sounds like the soundtrack for a nineties hacker movie are very right.
Not bad but doesn’t do much for me..
Meh.
No. 396/1001 Water From A Wine Leaf 4/5 Into The Paradise 3/5 Time to Get Wize 2/5 Harry Flowers 3/5 A Touch Of The Night 2/5 The Story of Light 3/5 Gringatcho Demento 2/5 A Hazy Shade of Random 2/5 Best Friend, Paranoia 3/5 The Monkey King 2/5 Deus Ex Machina 1/5 Water Babies 2/5 Average: 2,42 Just not my personal taste.
Background noise at best, soundtrack to boredom at worst. Maybe this would be a fun chill out music to listen to if one was coming down off something. Otherwise leave it alone
Seems great. Didn't get a very detailed listen. I think I could definitely quite like this. As it happened didn't hugely grab me but sounded good in a lot of places
Not available on my streaming service
trop expérimentale pour moi !
Once again more electronics on this list. I question if an album should be on the list if you cannot easily find it to hear it.
boring, ambient electronica music. you forget it's even playing. (so why is it even on this list??)
Nah
Strange one. If I were to sit and listen to this album and pay full attention to it as a piece of music and do nothing else I'd be very bored I think. I listened to this while studying so it wasnt too bad and I didn't really get too bored. I'm judging based on the music itself and the album in isolation so it gets a 2. As background noise it would get a 3.
Random. My kitchen alarm went off at one point and I thought it was part of the song. Kinda fun sometimes?
Apart from some interesting moments, this was mostly just really boring background music. It was alright to listen to while studying but I feel there are much better options. It’s not anything I’ll return to in the future.
Mais ou menos, mais para menos
# Album Name: Strange Cargo III # Artist: William Orbit # Rating: 2/5 # Comments: This is a no from me. Pretty boring if im honest. # Top Tunes: # Would I listen to it again? No
More listenable than I originally feared.
There’s a song on here that kind of sounds like a Kraftwerk song. So I’m listening to it thinking I’d rather just listen to Kraftwerk. They made more adventurous and entertaining electronic music 20 years before this album came out. Maybe this is great to someone out there but hyper minimalist techno was putting me to sleep.
The platonic ideal of trivial background music
Elevator music
I’m just not into electronic music… I guess this was okay background music.
Would rather had been in orbit.
I did not enjoy this! Started off ok but by the end I was begging for it to end. I'm sure theres a target audience for this but I'm clearly not part of it 2 ⭐️
This is just so terribly boring
snoozefest
I don’t like 90s electronic albums. This one had some interesting moments I guess.
I’m just not a fan of this type of music
Just washes over you. Don't really remember listening to it.
Really boring, don't care for this at all
This fr made me die
geit so, gibt Besseres in dem Stil
Inoffensive background music. No more, no less. I will add that when this album was finally over the sudden silence sounded absolutely glorious.
This electronica 80s stuff is just not for me. There were a couple moments where I got into this one, but most of the time no.
3,.... nahhh pensandolo bien es solo un 2
Almost comically 1990s
No
Meh.
When I say I don't bother with lyrics, I just mean I consider them to be the delivery system for the melody. This has neither. Going to listen to Ray of Light now.
This sounds like 4 other albums I’ve gotten from this list. I mean it’s fine but I’m just kinda tired of it.
Some decent ambient music here and there, but it mostly didn't keep my attention. Favorite track: Water From a Vine Leaf
Not bad, I just got bored real quick. Maybe better as individual songs, but all together this was slow to get through
First time listen Pretty boring downtempo album. Not really much to grab onto here, but it was serviceable enough as background music Favorite track: Water from a Vine Leaf, Monkey King Least favorite: The Story of Light 2.5/5
Very ethereal. I will not be returning here, however.
Kappelectronica? Electronicut? In ieder geval hippe achtergrondmuziek.
Beat my expectations by a bit, but just a bit Will I listen to again: 0%
This started off ok but I quickly realized it wasn't for me. Nothing bad, just didn't find it very engaging. Was fine for background music.
Sounded cool I guess but ultimately pretty forgettable.
Saved? ❌ Would listen again? 🤔 Would recommend to anyone? 🤔 Would buy on Vinyl? 🤔
Standard ambient house
#290/1001. What is it with all the Orb, Orbit, Orbital and electronic music? Out of the three this Madonna Ray of Light / Music producer seems the weakest. I've heard quite a lot of good IDM, and this is just some background electronica.
The electronic albums are a bit of a mystery to me. I just don’t know that much about electronic music, and it doesn’t seem to resonate as much with me. This was fine, but I don’t know why this album was groundbreaking.
Elevator music. If this was III what the hell was on I and II. I get it, ambient music is different, but this was just not great. Boring an background
Very boring. I was excited when it started but all the unique elements faded away into monotone electronic musings.
Really wierd album. A few great songs. If only the majority of the album was like these songs, it’ll be getting a higher rank. However I can’t see myself going back to this for a repeat listen
Zzzzzzzzzzzz
Nah. I prefer living on a ground floor, so I don't have to listen elevator music.
⭐️⭐️ is this not just some rejected score for a video game from the 90s? honestly, i was willing to at least give this a 3 but that would imply i found it at least half interesting to listen to. it's a shame, cuz the first handful of tracks showed some promise
Not a fan of ambient, but its very unannoying. There's nothing to hate. If I wanted music already playing in the background quietly while I decided what to put on, this would fit the bill, but its not something I'd put on
Chill but rather boring and too long
This album reminded me of the episode of Friend's with Ross' "sound" combined with the sound of dial up internet. Two star because I'm sure for people who enjoy these noises, it's musically sound but unfortunately, that is not me.
Sounds like a fever dream. Some of it might be cool for a performance piece. Not something I’d pop on to jam to.
Another unknown for me. I've never even heard of this artist prior. Kind of had the vibes of something they would play in a low budget, late 90's action movie. Made me feel like I should be relaying information on a brick cellphone or hacking into the Internet. Decent background music while I painted my chest freezer downstairs, but overall wasn't super interesting for me.
Starts out fine, drags as it goes along. Background music that does not do enough to merrit a close listen.
Ok but nothing special
Interesting electronic album but not very compelling
Atmospheric electronic album. Gets repetitive and drags on a little too long. 2/5 Won't listen again
Music of this sort is crying out for a video accompaniment - or a shop. On it's own, no thank you.
Not my style.
It’s a DJ doin there thing. It’s aight.
Meh.
2.5
Honestly I thought this started off really well in fact I really kind of like the first three songs "Water From a Leaf Line", "Into Paradise" & "Time to Get Wize". It had the Techno beats but it kind of had a funky Groove that just kept moving around and actually had a cool all around feel to it. But as the album went along it just kept on getting diminishing returns up until "Gringatcho Demento". After that it falls off a fucking cliff. For the rest of the album it's just kind of this ambient noodling that just does nothing but make my mind wonder into oblivion. By the time I got to the end I had planned out all my meals for the next week and a half . (5.33) ★★½
A bit repetitive, but nice and works very well as background music while working. 2.5 stars
I don't think this is bad, but it's super tedious. In small doses it would be fine, but an hour of it is too much. 2 stars.
2.5
Starts off as snoozy cargo and then turns into disappearing cargo. It’s the kind of stuff that The Orb, Orbital and Chemical Brothers in chillout mode do a lot better anyways so the whole thing feels pretty average and inessential for its genre but around the halfway point it just slides emphatically into a faint noodly ambient abyss and gets lost for good. I just got a call from the front desk… it was never there!
Boring computer generated crap and people worry about AI
Was an ok album at first but the back half was not good at all. It’s a cross between background music for a tech review on YouTube and 90s tech movie background sounds.
To jest 13 dzień i moja 4 płyta z muzyką instrumentalną i to możliwe że wpływa na moją percepcję, ale nie przepadam za czymś takim.
Experimental background music and effects. Soundtrack-y.
William Orbit worked on one of my favorite albums, Madonna’s Frozen, so I was excited to give it a listen. I guess I should’ve expected it to sound this way, but I was mostly bored albeit a few interesting pieces.
Feels like it should be background music to a casual RPG. Transition between synth to piano and back did not mesh well with me
This is like very strange background music although its not so offensive to warrant a 1
Every song on this sounded like it should be a backing track to a random scene in 90s British crime film:
I thought the first song was pretty cool, and then it went downhill fast and I stopped actively listening.
90s background music. Nothing noteworthy but not hard to listen to
Starts well but peters out so it's almost not there.
This was okay, but not something I would ever want to listen to again if given a choice.
4.0/10 A lot of the songs sounded like background music for a PlayStation video game.. not horrible but nothing I would ever listen to again.
I am not a fan of this electronic style. It isn't bad, but is not my favorite. It just feels like it goes on and on. Actual rating...1.5. Liked Songs: "Water From A Wine Leaf" , "Time To Get Wize" , "The Story Of Light" , "A Hazy Shade Of Random"
it was ok, didn't impress me
28. interesting at some parts
5/10 Favourite: Water from a Vine Leaf Least Favourite: Best Friend, Paranoia
This is not something I would sit and listen to. Yet, I did so and mildly enjoyed it . With that being said will never to it again. Expected a snooze fest, ended up being pretty engaged with the first couple of tracks “Water from a Vine Leaf” and “Into the Paradise”. Experiencing the different sounds feels like letting the music pass through my body and care-free movement. However, it soon progressed to the snooze fest I for-seed it being. Listening felt like a chore. Solid background, soundtrack music.
An okay album. Not a lot of it stood out to me but i’ve now listened to William Orbit.
I like the ambient easy listening and eclectic inspirations he drew from. I’ll never listen to it again. Unless i decide to get a dangly cross ear piercing and choose to live the rest of my life in 90s dance album aesthetics. Not my favorite but didn’t feel like a waste of a listen either. I did save barber’s adagio of strings from his other album when I checked out his Spotify profile. This was better than firehose album so I wish I rated that a 2 as well.
Tbh the vibes were all over the place. There were tracks that made me trippy tho. 2.5/5
I did not enjoy this at all but it feels unfair to give it 1 star so I’m grudgingly rounding up to 2 because it’s not bad, it’s just very much not for me
Didn't get into this one that much. Background
Christ. This is just not my thing - but it is not the worst thing I’ve heard, and I don’t have a 1.5* option.
the transporter 2 soundtrack.
493/1001 🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑
- this is going to be a weird one, isn’t it - I have to wonder if the author of this book just put in a few of his favorite weed albums to go to space with - it’s not *bad*, but how this is unique or transformative in ways those SoundCloud instrumental-focused GarageBand projects with >30 listens per month are not is eluding me. is it the digital effects? is it the mix of conventional instruments like piano with synth strings and a drum machine? is it the artist himself and his reputation? is it the mixing of trip-hop with other musical genres? if you told me this album was by from a 0-follower artist on Spotify, I’d believe you - even though it came out about a decade earlier, there are a few similarities between “Harry Flowers” on this album and Flaming Lips’ “Are You a Hypnotist??” in both general vibe/tempo and the chord progression - this has a lot of similarity to Suba’s Sao Paolo Confessions album, which I listened to previously through this project: the same kind of atmospheric music with minimal vocal attention over repeating beats. I do have to wonder if this is just the author’s personal preference or if this similarity (and potential bias) has also been pointed out previously by others - in the last one-third of this album, I’m no longer distinguishing one track from another; they’re mostly sound effects or audio clips over a looped beat (if that) - this seems like one in which reading the entry in the book would have been appropriate before diving in, just in understanding what the thinking was or why this, of all things, was chosen to be included (and not, say, Hail to the Thief or Hot Fuss, which were both removed in later editions, to my knowledge)
Great background music, but it drags on a little by the end.
This was what electronica sounded like in the early 90s. That’s all I’ve got. It was fine.
This was fine, but sort of bland and everything kind of runs together. I know he pioneered techno in the 80s and 90s, but honestly, the genre kind of sucks, it led to some truly awful electronic music and there are better examples.
Atmospheric and soundtrack worthy. The album has some good elements, but mainly carries a lot of the early 90s with it, including kitschy drum and bass tracks. Not bad, but not my thing.
I kinda forgot it was playing ...
Trip-hop is the one genre of ambient electronic music that I just don't fully vibe with. It's not bad, but there's just so much more interesting stuff out there. 2/5
President sleeper. Twitch.com emotes. Uhh biblethump some shit idk. This thing isnt very good. It would be fine in the background of doing something else but intently listening to this is bad for my health. Some of these could be the backing track to a futuristic racing game or a menu track and id probably like it to some degree but it doesnt have legs to stand on its own. It may be better than alot of stuff of this ilk but that doesnt make it good. Its just too repetitive and doesnt have any kind of hook I can find. Its like im the bass and there is just a bare metal hook floating in front of me. Maybe I check it out but im not putting that crap in my mouth. Just let me swim by. And thats what I shall do. Not the worst thing in the world but as soon as I stop typing it's gone forever from my world
2- Stars (4/15)
Could have worse but unlikely to play again
Not a fan
Meditative. We all have our tastes. This is not one for me.
This was enjoyable, but I didn't get much out of it. It's possible I don't have the ear for different genres within electronic music, but this just feels like that kind of lazy formulaic electronica where there is a slow build and a beat is put under some world music influences and mix in some spoken word here and there. It's not bad, just sounds cliche quite often, and doesn't veer from this formula much at all. At over an hour long, I found myself zoning it out and kind of relegating it to "background music".
I've honestly already forgotten it.
I found it a little boring and bland. Like buttered noodles, slightly over cooked.
Can’t say i cared for this
Not really my taste
This just seems like early electronic music. Not horrible, but also nothing special.
If this was 1993 I would think this was cool and a definite step up from C & C music factory. In 2025, it seems slightly pedestrian. Going for a 2
Not a big fan of electronic music outside of a few artists. I wouldn’t be bothered if someone threw this on but would never put on myself
Two for creativity. Not my sound
water off a duck's back
Jäi igavaks
I mean its good, i found it enjoyable while listening, but I dont really know when I would listen to this again, or feel like it. Maybe if i was someone studying computer science to feel really locked in, but alas i am not. I imagine this playing at zara or some pretentious speak easy. Forgot I was listening to it half the time. At some point it all starts to sound the same.
Meh. I wanted to like this album. I do like some electronica, but this just felt far too introspective to be interesting.
Meh
I honestly don’t know who this is aimed at? People who need music for 90s Amiga games?
Mid Buddha Bar music
Experimental
A bunch of dull beeps and boops
Another instrumental album that I just couldn’t connect with
some interesting beats here, and it's certainly well produced, but an hour of this very much overstays its welcome. i'm not particularly fond of this brand of music, but it's fine in normal quantities. had this had... two? three? more tracks left on the cutting room floor, this might've been up a star for me.
New age-y type album. Not really much to say. It's mood music. Good for studying or something where you aren't really listening to it. But it doesn't really excite or do anything amazing or even distinguish the songs from one another. Completely toothless. 2/5.
Background music, felt like a film soundtrack
Kinda just felt like slightly better elevator music
Sehr späte 90er irgendwie
Couldn't really get into it - sounded decent but not my taste
Album 900 of 1089 William Orbit - Strange Cargo III (1993) Rating : 2.5 / 5 Today’s album was Strange Cargo III by William Orbit. More of the electronica I don’t usually care for, but I was pleasantly surprised again. It wasn’t too grating on the nerves and actually served as some decent background music while I worked. Not the kind of thing I’d ever sit down to focus on, but I could see a place for this sort of sound when you just need something to carry the mood along. Another case where this genre proved me wrong, at least a little.
очень лифтовая музыка. почти неотличимо от амбианса по жизни. намеренно я такое слушать не буду (зачем мне белый шум)
Shitty soft core pen tracks.
Gonna give this the benefit of the doubt and assume it hasn't aged well. This shuffly, triphoppy style has been utterly subsumed by hotel lobbies and holding tones and feels very dated - which is not it's fault! But after two listens, I'm failing to see the edge which separates this from the decades of musak it no doubt inspired.
Sums up the flaws of the 90s
It's mid electronica. Even with over 1,000 albums, I don't think you get past Chemical Brothers, Moby, and Daft Punk.
Not my jam
Had some promise but it died quickly
Another electronica. Strange cargo, indeed.
The amount of albums in this style and genre being included in the list is staggering. And it seems that the more that are added, the more my ability to discern differences between them decreases. Who’s to say this bleep is better than that bloop, or this ambient chill is better than that soundscapey feel? This album continues to tick all those boxes. Background music that in the end is…well…fine.
Sure. More background music. It’s fine but my review is the same for all music in this genre. I just don’t see much separation and as long as it’s listenable and I don’t pay too much attention, it’s fine. But the difference of this album vs something else. 🤷♂️ 1.5 but rounding up because it was fiiiiine.
Totally fine background music. Didn't love it or hate it, it was just...there. 1.75/5
Kind of okay dance music, but repetitive. And kinda creepy.
Helt ok
Boring
Для мене така музика - виключно фоновий прикол. Не можу сказати, що взагалі без цікавих шматків. Той сами дабовий вплив тут відувається достатньо. Але скоріше не моє
Not my thing
... ... okay, this is serviceable and somewhat interesting in the way it sounds like music from someone who, years later, would produce Madonna's esteemed Ray of Light, but did I need to hear that person's early noodlings? Absolutely not. Jfc, if this book's editors treated rock music like they do electronica, we'd only have Boston, Aerosmith, Europe and the one album by the author's cousin's thrash metal combo. It's 1993, Albumoftheyear.org has a list of the 28 (on their site) most reviewed Electronic Album Releases from that year: sorted by ratings, "Strange Cargo" is at the bottom, #25. Where it belongs. Some of those albums above it, much more interesting and of much greater cultural significance, not in this stupid ass book: Plasticman - Sheet One Autechre - Incunabula µ Ziq – Tango N' Vectif Seefeel - Quique Jeff Mills - Waveform Transmission Vol. 1 Polygon Window - Surfing on Sine Waves Go listen to those.
Electronica almost always starts at the two-star level for me. The needle didn't move on this one at all.
I was bored by this but didn't hate the sounds
When it resembled a song it's ok. However, most of it does not resemble a song.
Wenn man das experimentelle wegdenkt, ist es mir zu poppig. Teilweise songwriting mit Chancen und für mich falscher instrumentierung
I don’t hear anything on this album that makes it stand apart from many other electronic albums. It was hard to stay awake for the whole thing as it felt very repetitive both within itself and within the genre.
Ambient electronic, not very interesting
I keep on picking up this album, dropping it, then trying to listen to it again. With electronic music I guess I'm more into the more busy and high energy kind of music, so this isn't something that keeps my attention
Good background music (sorry to say)
OK. 2/5
Some of the songs were cool - made me feel like I was in a bourne movie or something. But holy cow I can't listen to that much instrumental/electronic music. Falling asleep so quitting on the album.
Boring, too long, thinks it’s a lot cleverer than it really is
It definitely was strange but not in a good way. Some of the tracks might work as backing music for budget sci-fi films, but not just to listen to on its own.
1.5/5
Didn't bother me, didn't move me, didn't compel me. Clearly this project is the result of experimentation and dedication to this genre, but it just doesn't do it for me. Fell completely to the background no matter how I managed my attention.
Super-dated 90s electronica
Pleasant background music, but all the tracks sound the same.
I know William Orbit only from his work with **Madonna** on _Ray of Light_ and even then, only through the singles. there were a couple of decent moments, usually when the bass was prominent and there was a bit more groove to the trakcs. But much like **Aphex Twin**, this largely passed me by and probably demands a more focussed listen than I was able to give it. As such, it was little more than background music and not engaging enough for me to return to.
Pointlessly long and boring electronic music, my favourite of course.
Kind of a nice vibe but I started getting bored halfway through
Moments that I really enjoyed, but not enough of them. I could see this influencing Faithless and others, but that doesn't mean I necessarily need to have it on. Track 4 sounds like I'm walking around a village in Dragon Warrior IV or something.
Not actually horrible, but waaay toooo loooong.
I don't know, maybe some other day I'd give it something better, but it's just not terrible background music...
nonplussed
2/5
Cool beats bro
Reminded me of a lot of OST stuff I like, but as an album itself it isn't particularly anything special. Considering Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works dropped a year before this I don't think theres even an argument to be made for it being groundbreaking.
In agreement that this would have made a lovely ost for a cute sci-fantasy adventure game - otherwise pretty forgettable imo. Water From a Vine Leaf (7/10) Into the Paradise (3/10) Time to Get Wize (5/10) Harry Flowers (5/10) A Touch of the Night (5/10) A Story of Light (4/10) Gringatcho Demento (6/10) A Hazy Shade of Random (7/10) Best Friend, Paranoia (4/10) The Monkey King (4/10) Deus Ex Machina (5/10) Water Babies (5/10) 5/10
Links not good, I deduct a point for having to search. Strange Cargo II is actually better
Weird
This is really not a genre for me. It’s not bad, but I would never put this on
I may have appreciated this more on a different day in a different headspace, but I largely just found this boring. It wasn't bad, but it didn't do anything for me today. 2.3