En-Tact

Like being at a rave with all the lights on.

Really putting the shame into shamen

Listening to this record was like washing your dick in a sink after spending two weeks shagging the granny out of your own cat.

Absolute garbage. Repetitive, uninteresting, dated, meaningless new-agey-druggy lyrics, awful sound, terrible singing - tedious beyond belief. Not even close to being an essential album and nothing like the best example of its genre. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

I pride myself on being somewhat of a chameleon. And being able to adapt. But someone, anyone, get me out of this gay bar.

I am tired of music

I'd rather listen to my ass.

Never heard of this. But this was great. An album pointing forward to nineties rave culture. There are way too many dismissive voices towards electronic music on this site. This is definitely accomplished dance music, with varied and surprising layers mixed into its pulsating repetitiveness. It fit perfectly for this Saturday night. Contrary to what a lot of the commentators write, I believe this is on equal footing with the more famous acts of the era. Just look past the 90’s dance rap stuff and you’ll find a good electronic record. Stand outs: “Possible Worlds: Deep PSI”, “Hyperreal Orbit”, “Lightspan Soundwave” and “Progen 91”.

5

Track 1: 9 seconds in and rapidly approaching "No." Track 2: "I'm SMOOOOTH - Like water from a fountain!" *ugh* Track 3: END

I did not enjoy this even a little bit. I don't think I would enjoy this even if I was at a rave all hopped up on ecstasy. Nothing personal against The Shamen, I'm sure they are fine fellows, but it's just not my thing. 2 stars.

Annoying vocals over awful noises.

I don't know man, I am sure this is someones vibe. But as a person not alive in 1990 it feels super old. Like not aged super well, I could see it being like a new synth electronic thing. But man, It's so old, it feels kinda comedic to a certain point. And it's like crazy long. Felt like a slog to get through. to each their own, however this isn't mine.

This is a solid sequence of tracks. With a tab of acid, it'd probably be 6 stars.

Somewhere in 1993 I discovered Boss Drum, The Shamen’s follow up album to En-Tact. I fell in love with the sound and enjoyed listening to that album. For whatever reason I never ventured any further into their catalog. I enjoyed this album as well. The opening track Move Any Mountain and the Pro Gen remix at the end are fantastic. The rest of the album was great. My raving days may be largely behind me, but this is a great high-energy choice for doing work around the house!

Don’t think this aged very well...

This is the music I imagine inspired Jez and Super Hans.

Schwierig. Hat seine Momente. Über weite Strecken allerdings alles andere als abwechslungsreich. Mich nervt solche Art elektronischer Musik sehr leicht, da macht dieses Album keine Ausnahme.

This album started with high hopes from me. A promise of mixing psychedelic rock and hardcore hip hop rhythms from Spotify's band description, however this was not what I expected. This is because this album actually comes from their acid house era which they became known for. This album started out with a bang, and soon became very samey to me. I know that's the case with this kind of music so maybe it needs a few more listens from me to get to grips with the subtleties of it, especially as i'm not really listening well when coding these days. To be honest this is a no from me dawg. 2 because I liked some tunes but mostly it's not my cup of tea.

How many EDM albums are on this list anyway? Better question: how many that made this list will I enjoy? So far there's only been one and this surely wasn't the second. Annoying and overlong. Maybe I just don't get the genre but I know what I like and don't like and I gotta say: I HATED this. Never again. Throw this crap into the bog.

What the fuck is this shit now? I feel a hatred and rage of Joan Crawford proportions coming on. “NO ELECTRONICA!! NO ELECTRONICA EVEEEEERRRR!!!!!”

It's like someone drilling into my forehead. Make it stop.

I’ve always had a soft spot for these early electronic albums, and this one really hits the mark. I’ve known about The Shamen for about 30 years, especially their track “Move Any Mountain,” but this was my first time listening to the whole album. I can see why it was so groundbreaking at the time. It’s a reminder that to really appreciate this kind of music, you have to consider where it fits in history. This album is a blend of early techno, breakbeats, and acid house with a bit of an ambient feel in the background, making it great for either a party vibe or just chilling out. The production is packed with samples and loops, a hallmark of dance music from this era. I didn’t realize until now that The Shamen used to be a psychedelic rock band and switched up their sound with this album. Now I’m curious to check out their earlier albums.

The Shaman were actually pretty good at one point, when Will Sinnott was still around and Mr C wasn't talking over the top of every track. This is probably their peak, when they were still mixing some of their psychedelic roots into a house sound, and before they lapsed into one dimensional rave party anthems.

The Shamen may have made a weird swerve from psychedelic rock to house music here, but I guess they get some credit for embracing house and helping popularize the genre on an album, outside of the club? But the credit for a style that evolved in the Chicago club scene with African American DJs going to a Scottish rock band is kind of weird. And it was early in the evolution of house music, but most of "En-Tact" is pretty boring. Or annoying, as in the case of "Omega Amigo."

One of the worst things I've ever heard. Everything that was wrong with the 90s. Example lyric: "Yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah Y-y-y-yeah yeah Yeah yeah Ooh oh, ooh oh, ooh oh Yeah yeah hyperreal Ooh oh, yeah yeah hyperreal" Hypersh*t. Rating: 1/5 Playlist track: Pro-Gen Date listened: 17/06/23

From the first song, I thought I would need to be wearing parachute pants to truly enjoy this album. But then Human NRG took a left turn and made me think I should have taken drugs to enjoy it. Maybe both were required and would have been epic. In the end, I made it to Hear Me and turned it off.

Horrible pseudo multi-cultural rave music. Truly execrable.

I LOOOOVE IT ITS SO GROOVY AND A LITTLE WEIRD I LOVE IT it feels like i am on a spaceship

8.5/10 - The first three songs I absolutely loved and there were a bunch more that I enjoyed too. I would completely understand if someone did not like any of the songs but it works for me. 666 edit also was fantastic.

Another solid groove for a Saturday dance party. Really enjoyed it!

Really good early 90s electronic music. Solid all the way through

1990 - Techno, Electronica, Acid house, House music

Vibe

I didn’t want to like this alt-euro dance aggressively 90s album but it grew on me. It’s groovy and honestly really nice to have on in the background.

This was so cool. If you're reading this, I implore you to listen to it while playing any N64/PS1/DC era racing game. NFS or Gran Turismo.

Where do I start? When I tell people I love the Shamen, people always think of 'Ebeneezer Goode'. It's very depressing. Their debut is in my top 5 all time great albums, their second is in my top 50 (For some reason, you can't find them on streaming sites!) Where does this fit? Top 2000 probably. I discovered them on the J Peel show with 'Knature of a Girl' in 1987 and loved them from that moment. When I heard 'Omega Amigo' for the first time in 1989, there was a huge departure from their previous sound. Next was 'Progen' in the same year, I expected it to be a huge hit, but no... (that only happened when they renamed it Move any Mountain!). The nearest they got to their old sound was with the single 'Make it Mine' with it's great guitar hook. 'Hypereal' is just dreamy and was probably the first time I came across the genius of W. Orbit. 'Lightspan' is probably the best non single track on this rather eclectic and what sounds like, thrown together album. They were still experimenting and finding their feet in a different environment to which they began. It isn't perfect in any way, and it's not helped with the tracks being rejigged on streaming sites, which makes it a bit different to the original release. It still gets 4 stars

I listened & chose my rating, then looked at some other reviews. LOL I'm sticking with mine, I like this style of music. It's great for work, keeping me energized to get through the day.

I liked the first 4 songs. More interesting than most house music. Then it fell off a bit.

At 880 albums in, I’m starting to feel like I’ve heard every British electronic record that was released in the 90’s. …and now they’ve all coalesced into a megalithic mash of synthetics and breathy vocals that haunts my waking hours.

Awesome music! loved to listen this masterpiece!

This is awesome!! It's like the beginnings of techno in the 90s. I actually really like this so far.

Ik heb The Shamen altijd wat links laten liggen, omdat die hits allemaal wel geinig zijn, maar zeker niet meer dan dat. Ik kende vooral het hieropvolgende album Boss-Drum. Het album van een aantal bekende nummers. Maar niet dat album staat in de lijst (wellicht ook een te kort album), maar dus dit minder bekende album. Een snob-keuze? Zeker niet! Ik wordt positief verrast door dit album. De hit is nog wel een wat suffer euro-dance achtig plaatje wat ook op Boss-Drum had kunnen staan. Maar de rest is een hele fijn begin jaren ’90 geluid dat soms zelfs wat zelf flinke stappen de rave induikt. Een geluid dat ik wel mis in deze lijst. Waar is bijvoorbeeld Experience van The Prodigy? Jullie houden toch zo van debut-albums? Sterker nog, ik ken veel van de geluiden uit latere rave platen. Althans, ik denk nu dat The Shamen vaak eerst was. Maar het is een onderzoek op www.whosampled.com waard. Ik twijfel wat tussen een 4 en een 5. Laat ik de ondervertegenwoordiging van dit genre de doorslaggevende factor maken.

Never heard of them but enjoyed the album. Easy to listen to and good for coding.

I am familiar with THE SHAMEN and the album EN-TACT, since I have it, but I haven’t listened to it to since the early 90’s, since the rave culture went out of fashion. After listening to EN-TACT, I knew I would like it at the beginning from what I remember from it, but I was rather surprised how well the album held up after repeated listening. I thought it would sound dated after a while but, no, it still sounds fresh and vibrant although the rave culture has subsided. I like EN-TACT more now than I did in the 90’s. I’m glad for this re-listen. In 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, THE SHAMEN’s EN-TACT Is the only album listed. Rate Artist: THE SHAMEN (5.0) Rate Album (Year): EN-TACT (US 1991 Original) (5.0) Ranking of THE SHAMEN - EN-TACT songs No. Title Length Ranking 01. "Move Any Mountain" (Progen - Beatmasters 7") 3:28 10.0/10 02. "Human Nrg (Massey)" 4:39 10.0/10 03. "Possible Worlds: Deep PSI" 3:44 10.0/10 04. "Omega Amigo" 4:44 09.5/10 05. "Evil Is Even [Edit]" 4:23 10.0/10 - Instrumental 06. "Hyperreal Orbit" (Early Fade) 5:22 10.0/10 07. "Lightspan" 4:39 10.0/10 08. "Make It Mine" (v1.3 Lenny D Vox) 3:32 10.0/10 09. "Oxygen Restriction" 3:49 10.0/10 10. "Hear Me" (O My People) (Edit) Orbital 5:11 10.0/10 11. "666 Edit" (Move Any Mountain) 4:48 09.5/10 12. "Make It Minimal" 3:18 10.0/10 13. "Hyperreal Selector" (Edit) 4:01 10.0/10 14. "Lightspan Soundwave" (Edit) 4:19 10.0/10 15. "Progen 91 [I.R.P. in the Land of Oz]" 5:21 10.0/10 Original US 1991 Release 149.0/150 = 9.93 / 2 = 4.97

Fantastic indie dance album that I stunned I had never heard of before. Finally this list recommends a worthy album and artist I had never heard of before. While I have never heard of this band, I can hear their influences on Jesus Jones, EMF, Techtronic, Pop Will Eat Itself, Prodigy, and even U2's ZOOROPA and POPMART. I've been following this list long enough to know that my fellow reviewers are probably going to hate on this album, but I truly love it! Fantastic ideas, mixing, and production, particularly for 1990. Very groundbreaking stuff. No pretentious lyrics, just great grooves who brings the emotions without the words. The dismissive voices should try to place this into the greater context of music history.

Never got too repetitive. Nice in the background and found myself nodding along a lot.

7.5/10. It does feel a little bit cheap, but I really like its vibe. This album gives me cool club vibes, and I feel like grooving to it. I don't care about its negative reception!!! :)

Back when this album came out, you have to understand there wasn't much else like this. Rave Music was kind of getting started so to to have a group that were essentially a rock band pick up samplers and sequencers and release something like this was revolutionary. Sure others followed and did it better but En-Tact had made this list because of what pathfinders they were. Move Any Mountain is still an anthem

The vocals make this one of the most unlistenable records on this list, the instrumentals make it essential listening in the techno world, the math adds up to a 3.

listened to 90% of this and thought it was fine background music, then I got onto Facebook and a friend mentioned an album by this French rock band called Magma where they invented a language and also a sci fi story about a bunch of people leaving earth for a new planet and I highly recommend you listen to "Kobaia" by this group because it's awesome. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magma_(Magma_album)

You thought I was gonna give this a 1, didn't you?

En-tact * The only version on streaming was the US and later UK issue, so I listened to that as I couldn’t be fucked to recreate the original track listing as a playlist I Can Move Any Mountain was on a compilation album I had back in ‘91 and it’s still a fun track, a nice bit of rave-pop. It is by far the strongest thing on here, although that’s not to say the rest of it is bad, it’s more that there isn’t enough musical variety or songwriting craft to sustain 15 tracks (1 hour 10 minutes!) of pop-edged rave and dance, it noticeably starts to drag after Hypereal Orbit, and the ecstasy-hippiness of the lyrics does feel rather naive and vaguely silly 35 years on. Still there are some fun tracks alongside Move Any Mountain. I like the dubby bass and feel of Evil is Even, Hypereal Orbit is a good track, Hear Me has a nice groove, Make It Minimal gives the back half a nice shot of energy and Lightspan Soundwave has some nice 80s synths to it. Realistically however I doubt I’ll listen to this again despite liking some of it, but I do appreciate it representing that early 90s period where rave sounds crossed over into the charts. But altogether and with its excessive length there’s not really enough to push it to a 3, so I’ll stick with a 2. 💊💊 Playlist submission: Move Any Mountain

The extended length worsens a sort of flatness to this record; initial enthusiasm falls off, it stops being fun and becomes a typist’s monotony.

Monotonous beginner techno; you can just play the first minute of every track if you're pressed for time. Bumped up a point for "Move Any Mountain", the token raver on the playlist at every indie disco from 1990-1992 until "Ebeneezer Goode" took its place.

I’m sure The Shamen are very kind people and I’m glad they’ve made art, but I wasn’t a big fan. Very repetitive and too lengthy, as well as dated. There were some highlights that offered glimpses of a world where this was a better album, but sadly, this is not that world.

Surprisingly good as background music for studying, as it is pleasant although extremely repetitive. Other than for that use, I have no desire to listen to it again, even if I don't actively dislike it.

A time capsule record, from the London rave scene of the late-80s/early 90s. First few songs I was into, but then it became repetitive. I can see how this fits into the acid house/dance genre. But I honestly wouldn’t listen to this again.

I don't think I've ever listened to an album more reminiscent of the 90s than this one. Some decent melodies and occasional guitar work on here, but it's not enough to escape the LP's datedness or lack of forward momentum.

15 songs Holy slop. This is the sort of shit that your 40 year old coworker who goes to 3 daytime raves a year would blast at work and then would swear to god that this music was THE SHIT back in the 90s and you don't get it because you simply weren't there. Hope you enjoy the line "I can move move move any mountain" (it sure does seem like they were quite proud of it), BECAUSE YOU WILL HEAR THAT SHIT ON 3 DIFFERENT SONGS. FUCK YOU!!! The scots used to give us lads like William Wallace and Robert the Bruce! Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Also, 666 Edit can suck me a fat one.

Oh look another shitty UK Electronica album.

Our run of great albums had to end at some point. We really had like two weeks there of mostly 4s and 5s. The opener to this sounds like when a sitcom parodies a DARE psa hip hop group but the eighth listen of it I’m finding it enjoyable in a making fun of it way, I think. This album has the target demo of Elementary school P.E. Coaches and the band that made the Macarena. Maybe it’s because I’ve loved almost all of what we’ve been listening to recently to then get hit with HUMAN NRG put at the same “you must hear this” importance as fuckin War Pigs is insane. I’m trying to give this a 2, we’ll see how I feel when the time comes.

700+ albums into this list and now my spotify algorithm thinks i’m into the worst the uk has to offer.

This one is not for me... Every song follows the same pattern: Start off with a fast and heavy drum beat, add in some repeating hollow synths, drop a random sample or two and then say some weird inspirational or cryptic shit. Sometimes they even throw in a rap verse for good measure. This may have been groundbreaking when it came out, and blown the minds of everyone at the warehouse rave at 4am high on MDMA back in 1990. But I'm sitting here in my office chair in 2023 and can definitively say I'd rather listen to pretty much anything else.

This isn't the worst thing I've heard, but I think I'd prefer to hear someone vomiting than listen to the rest of this album. Why is this on 1001 albums? It's a tepid example of a forgettable genre from the '90s.

5++

stfu & dance

2026.04.27

Really nice beats, reminds me of the soundtrack of C&C - Red Alert 2 !

I give a 5 if it’s something I’ve never heard of but I end up saving the album to listen again in the future. I liked this!

Amazing. Feels way before it's time.

Loved that!

loveeed it, so bouncy, so creative with the sounds, great way to start my morning, good for when you are getting ready

1990 was a strange time for me but that’s a long story for another day. One thing that kept me going through that time was music and especially electronic dance music. The Shamen were in the forefront of a uniquely British electronica sound, along with Orbital and Paul Oakenfold leading into the 90s rave scene. Sadly, keyboard player and bassist Will Sinnott died in a drowning accident in Tenerife just as this album hit the big time. The band regrouped and produced some notable hits alongside many remixes, live work, procedural software and experimental ambient albums that still sound utterly unique. They now have something of a reputation for being a bit naff, mainly based on a toe curling (and probably chemically assisted) live performance of Ebeneezer Goode on Top of The Pops a couple of years after this album came out (seriously, look it up on YouTube). However, I couldn’t give a hoot about what anybody else thinks - this album still makes me want to throw some shapes and dance, which I think is all the band ever wanted. MDMA-tastic!

Cool old techno!

Perfect! Very underrated on this site

Mega vibe, wszystko co lubię, na pewno będę wracać

classic!

Good stuff.

Electronic music but I liked this. Shorter songs meant that the sound changed pretty frequently and there was a lot of interesting songs.

I can move move move any mountain

Great!

incredible

So much fun

What a vibe it feels so modern and timeless at the same time! And the transitions are awesome

This is great.

Na luzie można dać 5 stars

All the tracks sound mostly the samey, still a classic album

That was amazing. I've never heard of this group. Would have been 100% into these guys if I had discovered them when they came out in the early 90's.

A lot of dance albums rely on repetitive hooks, this clearly sets out to take you on a journey using electronica. only knew them as a novelty with Ebaneezer but this a great piece of music.

Kick back and have a party , this album is banging

Good

Just some proper early 90s dance music

Note: I listened to the original UK release not the US version. OK so it hasn’t aged particularly well in terms of its production but these guys along with 808 State, Orbital and NJoi were the first to prove that you could do dance music as a live band not just DJing, and I don’t think The Shamen get anything like the credit they should (the Synergy live show was groundbreaking). Their ‘peace love and unity’ message was seen as new-age hippy druggy bullshit, but honestly I’d rather listen to uplifting positivity than yet another West Coast rapper bang on about guns money and hoes. The Shamen were way ahead of their time, Progen, Hyperreal and Make It Mine are all time classics.

This was good, much better than expected! I usually like italo disco, eurodance, stuff that tends to exist as singles rather than full albums. But this was a good consistent listen even as just an album! Interesting to see this, in 1990, as a blueprint for the 90s electronic music scene. Favorites: 'Hyperreal Orbit' 'Hear Me'

Feels simultaneously ahead of its time and dated. But dated in a way that takes me back. A bit bummed out to see the overall negative reaction to this one. It's not absolutely amazing, and there's some stuff in the middle that's a bit too repetitive. But for the most part, it has me fondly thinking about those ads telling me that I wouldn't download a car.

yeah ok

The beats were great! Not a huge fan of the vocals, kind of cheesey, but the beats were awesome!

Honestly, it's a bit hard for me to distinguish albums that are heavily electronic-based, but there are some tasty hooks and melodies here.

Fun time at the club