Reviews (page 5 of 6)
Not available to listen to on Spotify but based on the description it's not something I would like anyway.
A rarity that was not available on Spotify (forshame). Funky and hits just right.
Difficult to find, but I finally managed to hunt down the US Release and then listened to the tracks that were missing to finish the job. It wasn't really worth all that bother to be honest. There were a few okay tracks, but I honestly knew them better from remixes that were superior. The rest of the album was just a mess. Two stars feels generous.
maybe this would have been 2 stars as the only forgettable Brit DJ album on the list now that we've heard 20 others we'll never know. they've got Mark E. Smith on a track and it's still getting 1 star. bleep bloop: hated. (⌐■_■)
This is better than some of the English DJ stuff that’s come up so far, but only because it has lots of samples of music that isn’t by English DJs. Still not great!!!!
Not my cup of tea
Very dated. Very 80s. You know it’s 80s electronica when the Tarzan sound appears numerous times. Annoying.
Fun! Definitely sounds like how I might have imagined dance music from the early 90's. A little chaotic, a little weird, but I thought the long run time kind of flew by, which has not been the case for many albums throughout this project. Glad to have learned about Coldcut this way.
doesnt exist
Almost didn't listen because it wasn't on spotify. Glad I did cause this was solid
The sheer number of electronic/house music that has made its way onto this list, as well as the sheer number of obscure British artists, as well as the sheer number of debut albums has continued to astound me. This album checks all those boxes. So going, I honestly thought this was going to be severely mediocre. You see, I’ve had really mixed experiences with each of those categories listed above to this point. The obscure British artist that lacks appeal or significance outside their home market can be really grating at times. The electronic or house music can be good but really repetitive and any given album might not offer much by way of something new to the genre. And I’ve written before about my feelings on debut albums. So, again, I was skeptical. I loved this. Defied my expectations on all three counts. This felt original, fresh and lovingly crafted. The samples from other media enchanted the tracks instead of distracted from them as is often the case. Hell, the fact that they used a ringing phone as part of a beat is incredible. I really am impressed by this and am definitely happy to have heard it. Four stars. Too bad it was hard to find. Standout Tracks: People Hold On, Fat (Party & Bullshit), My Telephone, Stop This Crazy Thing, Not Paid Enough
first listen it was alright
sounds like jet set radio so it slaps
Fuuuuuuck this 80s club shit. Ok, there's some stuff here that I can appreciate but did I really need to listen to this?
7/10
I thought this was really fun! Varied. upbeat. Lifted my spirits amid December grey. I imagine really fun to party to
I liked this. Never heard of it before but I found it very enjoyable and a bit different.
I like Lisa Stansfield's voice but there is very little to enjoy here but an awful lot to annoy
-1 star bc its not on spotify, but itis a fun disco-ey 80s album. hovering at 2 stars cause ater the first track it gets much more aggressive and 90s, sadly. damn they earned an extra star, 3, at being a catchy middle bit.
Made me want to listen to other, better, artists who did all the heavy lifting.
This is so irrelevant for music history that it was removed from Spotify. I think the reason it's in this list is that is so generic and uninteresting that it can't be replicated. Meaning that even if an artist actively tried to be so plainly irrelevant they would become interesting for trying, so it belongs here on the basis of being THE perfect shit album
These guys held up a record store, and while getting away they threw on every record they got their hands on, and it sounded like...
OK at times but not an album I would reach for again
the album was not avaiable in spotify
This started out okay, but took a sharp dive pretty early on. I'm also not sure why these British beat tapes from the 80's insisted on being so long.
It sounded very 90s to me. It was interesting but didn’t hook me
Maybe my brain's broken, but this sometimes reminds me of the Pizza Tower soundtrack and that's a good thing.
I get this was probably groundbreaking at the time, but not amazing listening in 2024 for the first time
Nah
Such a lovely snapshot of 1989 - Lisa Stansfield, Queen Latifah, Yazz - and a heaping helping of unpretentious sample-heavy house music. Party and Bullshit has a well-deserved legendary reputation in house circles. I’ve never heard this album before but I can hear the stories pouring out from those that heard it when it was newly-minted. Those are undoubtedly some wild tales.
Fiilikset vaihteli laidasta laitaan levyn aikana. Oliskohan yksi aidosti hyvä biisi joukossa ja muuten sellasta ja tällaista.
Tosi hyvä mixtape. Harmi, ettei voinut yhtäjaksoisesti kuunnella ja tuunin mainokset katkaisi menon vähän väliä.
This went way too long and the Tarzan yelling was distracting as hell. There's an album in here I like more than a two but it needs to be edited to that. Fun at times.
Some fun stuff here. Great samples. For it's time, it obviously would inspire. Overall could have been tightened up, it's a bit long. Should be much closer to 30 minutes Beats and Pieces is the favorite track, but even it hangs around too long.
This was an amazing album of beats and hook ideas, but it felt incomplete. An enjoyable listen for sure though
What’s that noise? Why, it’s over an hour of pretty good house music! It is a shame it’s so long, because it really wears out its welcome and loses its shine. This was not an era known for its restraint.
Big noise, great house music. The 90s. An era of Houmous & Chutney I won’t forget. Remember that bit on Ride On Time. The shouty bit. Whaaaaa-ho, Wha Wha Ho….that was actually Len. No one else could maintain the vocal. People still think it’s one sample repeated. But every one was Len. One after the other. Incredible vocal performance! 4.1
Too much electronic on here
Not on Spotify
FUKKKKKKKK GLÖSCHHTTTTT s erste lied und my telephone sind sehr funny iwie au sehr es produkt vo sinere ziit grundsätzlich hani na e gueti ziit, v.a. bim choche vorher dad brüelle isch chli beestörend bim zweitletschte lied jaa not paid enough isch arsch ussert die frau wo singt isch na cool HAHAHA s letschte lied isch extrem arsch gsi, eifach random noises wo per zuefall de glich takt hend joooo bin chli zwiegespalten. es 3 gits aber trz will ichs bi gwüssne teil echt fun gfunde han
Not available on Spotify. A rare day off.
animated, pumping synthy dance music from the late 80s. this is music that would fit right at home at a party, whenever it's one you're having in your house or one in a big nightclub. making usage of scratches, samples, creative drumbeats and processed vocals, this album is fun, above all else. i prefer the anthems and cool ambient breaks; i really could care less for the corny breakdancing music.
Never heard this, it was wonderful.
nice sound, fun vibe.
Not sure why a album full of other people's work is considered to be necessary. It had moments, but overall it was not that enjoyable.
This was a lot of fun!
Not on spot Gave it a go on YT Not interested lad x
It's fun to hear people messing around with new tools and technologies in emergent genres, using copy-paste sampling, drum machines, scratching, synths and all the rest to create some upbeat beats and dancefloor filling rave music. It's incredibly dated and specific in a nice way - the sound you'd hear in the party scene of a Gregg Araki movie where everything is day-glo goth and covered in neon graffitti.
Started off strong with "People Hold On" and progressively got more electronic and boring.
part of the reason i love this project is listening to albums i ordinarily would never have. a lot of the electronic music i've run into is just that. i always go into them with an open mind, even though it's not my favorite type of music. i'm still waiting to find the album that will sway me. this was not that album. i actually enjoyed the first track, but the rest of the album did nothing for me at best, and at worst, was monotonous and annoying. i appreciate cool sampling and there were some neat samples here, but none that i felt were used in a mindblowing way. really just wasn't for me, unfortunately.
I know Tim Curry when I hear him 8/10
This lovingly-machined, possibly revolutionary, party music can, on the wrong sort of day - like now - have the secondary function of being a biting Dadaist taunt.
Very nostalgic - contains songs that were regulars on pop radio right on the cusp of when I stopped listening. The acid house peace'n'luv stuff sounds pretty stupid and naive 35 years later as we stand on the brink of another ugly Trump travesty, but I might enjoy the dulcet tones of Lisa Stansfield and Yazz as they push me into the ovens.
Really wasn't feeling it until about the last 15 minutes or so. 2.5/5
Got me out of my chair to boogie a little bit. And that's not nothing.
Excellent grooves. One star for each ten thousand headmen.
One star because I couldn't find this album anywhere
Electronic music that sounded like the intro to a porno. Stand-out: People Hold On
Not for me :(
What was that noise?
Funky! I love this stuff, thought this one was really fun.
Aah ça je m’en souviens, c’était d’la bombe synthéto-scooby-dooèsque
Not bad. Overly long songs. For anyone wondering why this album is on this list, I had to read the artist's Wikipedia page to understand a bit more because the album's article was pretty sparse 2.75
This is pretty funky stuff. Solid beats.
It's fun and upbeat. First track was very interesting; pop influence with a bit of a 70's soul or disco feel to it as well. As usual, when this becomes just beats I sort of lose interest. Not Paid Enough/Paid In Full being a perfect example of how great this stuff works with an MC.
Meh
Very cool
I enjoyed this album. It had that old school 80’s sound mixed with house and techno. This was fun and I would happily listen to it again. My only note is that it was twice as long as it really needed to be.
Coldcut (o Acid Ant, Bogus Order, Euphoreal, Floormaster Squeeze, Gideon, God & The Prophets, Matt Black & The Coldcut Crew, Sweet Tooth Sonny Switzch...) han sido uno de los faros de la música dance británica. Ya fuera con Yazz (a quien produjeron el inolvidable The Only Way is Up), Lisa Stansdfield (a quien produjeron el éxito masivo All Around the World y su disco entero) o remezclando a Erik B & Rakim en esa gema que es Paid in full (Seven Minutes of Madness) sus temas y producciones son sinónimo de calidad. Este album de debut (ya eran bien conocidos por sus exitos publicados años antes) contiene algunas de sus obras maestras: People hold on (que se incluiría posteriormente en el debut de Lisa como bonus track) es una delicia. Doctorin' the House, que se publicó a la par que Doctorin' the Tardis (y un reguero de temas que serían los señuelos por el que avanzaron multitud de bandas y productores) de los inimitables KLF (pioneros y maestros del Cut&Paste además del saqueo) es otro clásico. Stop This Crazy Thing con Junior Reid & The Ahead of Our Time Orchestra es otro rompepistas. Fat (Party And Bullshit), Theme From Reportage, Which Doctor?o No Connection son piezas sin (apenas) apoyo vocal, en la línea que habían avanzado M|A|R|R|S (Pump up the Volume) o Bomb the Bass/Tim Simmenon (Beat Dis) que a su vez se habían apoyado en Say Kids What Time Is It? de los propios Coldcut). Por cierto KLF lanzaron What Time Is Love? en el 88... (I'm) In Deep si parece haber cogido influencias de New Order (que ese año publicaron una obra maestra como es Technique) y que luego servirá al sonido Madchester (podría estar en cualquier disco de Happy Mondays). La voz es la de Mark E Smith (The Fall), toda una declaración de intenciones. My Telephone fue el único sencillo nuevo del álbum, el resto habían sido grandes éxitos publicados previamente. Smoke 1, luego la usaría Queen Latifah en Find a way, que es quien pone la voz. La titular What's That Noise, con sus bongos en medio de una fusión electro- funky, cierra el disco. Soul II Soul eran más elegantes y KLF eran más todo, pero Coldcut ayudaron a borrar del mapa las producciones de Stock, Aitken & Waterman. El problema es que esos sonidos de baterías sintéticas y cajas de ritmos se han quedado ancladas en una época muy concreta. Aquí teníamos a Toni Peret y José María Castells (con sus Max Mix) y a Raul Orellana (con sus Bolero Mix), que realizaron trabajos sensacionales. En esa época estaban (al margen del Acid house, New Order y todo el sonido Ibiza), Soul II Soul (publican en el 89 el imponente Club Classics I), el Hip Hop y los híbridos dance estaban a velocidad de crucero (Paul´s Boutique de los Beastie Boys, Rhythm Nation de Janet Jackson, Lōc-ed After Dark de Tone Lōc, 3 Feet High and Rising de De La Soul, No More Mr. Nice Guy de Gang Starr, Raw Like Sushi de Neneh Cherry, All Hail the Queen de Queen Latifah, Done by the Forces of Nature de los Jungle Brothers, Pump Up the Jam de Technotronic, etc.) aunque nada como el piano house... Otros discos de un excitante 1989: Stone Roses de Stone Roses, Playing with Fire de Spacemen 3, New York de Lou Reed, Doolitle de Pixies, On Fire de Galaxie 500, Disintegration de The Cure, Paul´s Boutique de los Beastie Boys, Technique de New Order, Freedom de Neil Young, Let Love Rule de Lenny Kravitz, The Seeds of Love de Tears for Fears, Automatic de Jesus and Mary Chain, Love and Rockets de Love and Rockets, Dum-Dum de las Vaselines, Spike de Elvis Costello, Rhythm Nation de Janet Jackson, Mind Bomb de The The, Mothers Milk de los Red Hot Chili Peppers, Full Moon Fever de Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Ojalá Que Llueva Café de Juan Luis Guerra, Shahen-Shah Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, The Raw and the Cooked de los Fine Young Cannibals, Primal Scream de Primal Scream, The Whitey Album de Ciccone Youth, Lōc-ed After Dark de Tone Lōc, 3 Feet High and Rising de De La Soul, 101 de Depeche Mode, Like a Prayer de Madonna, Nick of Time de Bonnie Raitt, No More Mr. Nice Guy de Gang Starr, Raw Like Sushi de Neneh Cherry, The Real Thing de Faith No More, Liquidizer de Jesus Jones, Heart Shaped World de Chris Isaak, Bleach de Nirvana, Velveteen de Transvision Vamp, Pump de Aerosmith, The Healer de John Lee Hooker, Crossroads de Tracy Chapman, Hats de The Blue Nile, All Hail the Queen de Queen Latifah, Done by the Forces of Nature de los Jungle Brothers, Back on the Block de Quincy jones, Me and a Monkey on the Moon de Felt, Ninety de 808 State, Hallelujah EP de los Happy Mondays o Pump Up the Jam de Technotronic, If I Should Fall From Grace With God de The Pogues, Soul II Soul- Club Classics Vol. One. Y como placeres culpables: Cuts Both Ways de Gloria Stefan, Foreign Affair de Tina Turner, ...But Seriously de Phil Collins y Neither Fish Nor Flesh de Terence Trent D'Arby
The title made me worry but this was overall pleasant to listen to. Only place I could find this was YouTube Music so I can't speak to individual songs because it was on LONG file. I emphasize long because it was long. I think that might be my problem with house, trap, party, electronic (whatever you call it!) music. I don't mind the beats and the rhythms but they just keep going and repeat over and over with little changes here and there. I personally need something more to break it up, otherwise I zone out. I also know its for dancing and just dancing to the same exact beat and rhythm over and over gets boring to me. It wasn't bad to listen to, I just didn't need it to be sooooo long. I am also not sure what was so influential about this, sounded a lot like other music in this genre.
Fun album. cool. I like it.
This is a funky fresh dance party! And sampling that's actually done well. It's a shame it's not on Spotify because I'd like to add a few of these tracks to my playlists. Stop This Crazy Thing was my favorite.
Not for me.
hot garbage
loved and hated it in equal measure but I'm in a good mood so rounded up to 3 stars
Neat stuff. A little too long for me
Cool
Instrumental songs and parts are timeless but any singing is instantly 80s.
Interesting beats, it was an enjoyable listen. I think it sounds pretty basic nowadays, but maybe when it was new it sounded innovative.
Some of it sounds pretty dated - particularly the singles which sound very much like 80s dance music - but the more intense the level of DJ mixing, the more it sounds "Frrresh!" I enjoyed it!
Euhm ja, 'wat is dit voor herrie?' Nou, eigenlijk best leuke herrie. Blije technohiphop, of wat het ook maar mag wezen. En oh wat waren ze blij toen ze ontdekten, 'Hee, met die nieuwe apparatuur kunnen we er ook allemaal gekke stemmetjes van de TV ertussen gooien!' Dat is wel wat gedateerd, maar verder spat het plezier ervanaf.
Dit album heeft lang in mijn playlist gestaan. Ik zag het altijd wat als een quilty pleasure. Met een euro-dance nummertje hier, een gesampelde telefoon daar en af en toe een heel kinderachtig melodietje. En toch…Ze weten het allemaal prima te laten klinken. En buiten die hele opvallende delen komt er een prima stukje Acid voorbij en dan weer een fijn stukje hiphop. Het zijn allemaal ‘Beats and Peaces’, maar het vormt toch een geheel. En als je daarmee zoveel kanten op kan en het allemaal en uniek en toegankelijk weet te maken, dan verdien je gewoon 5 sterren.
Ik kan niet helemaal goed plaatsen of Coldcut nu origineel was of juist anderen nadeed. Wat ik wel goed kan plaatsen is dat dit album van rond 1990 komt, want dat hoor je meteen. En ik hoor ook allerlei bekende samples. Maar of ik die nu van deze mixen ken, of juist van het origineel, of juist van een latere mix van een andere artiest. Geen idee. Het is in ieder geval een brede mix van van allerlei stijlen. Er zit al wat in van de latere bigbeat, maar ook van de vroegere acid. Lisa Stansfield maakt een nummer ongelooflijk jaren 80 dancehousepop en op het tweede deel staat gewoon bijna onvervalste hiphop. Maar alles zoals gezegd wel duidelijk uit de periode rond 1990. Ik vraag me zoals altijd af of dit nu per se in onze snoblijst hoort, of dat dit gewoon 13 in een dozijn is wat in die tijd werd gemaakt. Ik heb wederom geen idee, dus dan moet ik het maar beoordelen of ik er luisterplezier van heb gehad. En dat levert het wel redelijk, alhoewel niet alle nummers. De afwisseling van genres is soms sterk, soms juist storend. Ik denk dat ik gewoon in het midden uit ga komen.
7.5/10. It's not the greatest electronica album of all time. However, it still has its gems, namely "People Hold on" and "Smoke Dis One". :)
Meh. I could see how some could like it, but it's definitely weird. Not really for me though. It it pretty long for what it is.
I was feeling good with this generic house music at first but after a certain point I realized it was making me irrationally angry. I think too many samples is not enough samples but this is too ding dang busy!
Not bad. Not great. I did get a Meat Beat Manifesto vibe off the last song. I wouldn't add it to my collection but i also wouldn't change the song if it found it's way into a playlist on YouTube.
Not a big fan
House music of the highest order. Lisa Stansfield has never phoned in a vocal take in her entire life.
Really hasn't aged well, and I count Coldcut as one of my all time favourite groups
Ugh, this really is not my bag, but there were a couple of good tracks, I guess. Otherwise, I was just waiting for this to end. Just sounded like a lot of dance music from that era.
Electronica, house. Me ha gustado. Un 4.
Dance. Funny.
Chilly!
Loved it. Had never heard it before either
crazyyy, but good crazy! very energetic driving music... after a while you realize that listening to it strains the nerves somehow...
Talk about music not matching album artwork or artist name. Another one I had to listen to on YouTube. Started out as 80s disco inspired dance music. Took a turn but was expecting it to be a bit more trippy - it’s pretty straight ahead stuff. Not my favorite genre ever but it’s fine. Certainly not bad.
It's the first time on the list that an album has a self-explanatory name, right? The answer to "What's That Noise?" could be "Just another generic and forgetable 90s electronic album." One extra star because I learned to respect synthesizer players, and the album's upbeat is nice.
Not available to listen
Interesting album. Found on YouTube. Some classic tunes.
Got that 90’s feel. A bit Fatboy Slim mixed with Fresh Prince beats.
don't know this band
I don't hate it, but it definitely fails the Vanilla ice test. Hard. I was more interested in what the original piece sounded like than actually listening through the song. It never felt like it was re-contextualizing or elevating any of its samples, just that they didn't really want to come up with much themselves. I am not against sampling, but if I'm either thinking about the original as I listen, or am only really engaging with the sample and not the new work, it's not a sample. It's a crutch. I'd rather listen to Super Grit. I'd also be open to someone sampling it and really exploring the musicality of the original, but this does neither. It's, at best, memberberries, but it comes off more as feeding on the roadkill of better artists. I don't hate it, but I don't really think it earns anything,
Not available on the usual streaming services - I'm guessing it's a sample clearance issue. This was super fun, sample driven, bouncy house music. A had never heard of this group, but lot of the grooves sounded familiar - such is the experience with sampled tunes.
I was familiar with Coldcut from the 80s hip-hop world going into this, with their superb (and better than the OG) remix of Eric B and Rakim's 'Paid In Full'. The standout element of that remix has to be just how many samples they decided to throw in there, all without interrupting the song's flow. Plus I noticed while listening to this, that some of those samples are also used on the song 'Theme from "Reportage"'. I wasn't quite expecting this to go in a house-y direction, though it was pleasant for the most part. I loved 'People Hold On,' and Mark E. Smith's appearance on '(I'm) In Deep' was interesting (it kind of sounded like proto-LCD-S). 'Stop this Crazy Thing' I liked quite a bit just 'cause of how out there it is, especially with those horns driving the main melody. I mean it's fine, but far more enjoyable when you're not forcing yourself to pay attention to it. There's admittedly a certain charm to how cluttered and all over the place it can be.
Big beats are the best, get high all the time. Is this album too long? If you include the remixes, yeah, it is. But I don't really count them, they can definitely be skipped (a 10 minute remix of a song we already heard is grim). I still managed to give it 3 listens and it still kept my attention. Fuck this album was good, I've heard People Hold On before, but that was my extent of experience with Coldcut. It's a shame this album isn't on Spotify. Guess I'll have to buy the vinyl. There's no chance electronic music of this age - when drum machines were really only starting to come out and electronic was only just being defined - could ever not show it's age, but you have to respect your elders in this case. You wouldn't have people gurning their face off on MDMA on Coolangatta Beach listening to Fisher's shit ghost-produced house (ironically with pop samples from around this time) without the precursor records like these. The synths are sloppy, the samples are dated, and the bass and drums sound like they're straight out of a 1990's aerobic workout-at-home VHS tape that your mum used to work out to so she could keep fit for the neighbour she was cheating on your father with. But, I fucking love all of that. It's cheesy in the best way. I loved this thing, and yes my bias is showing here, because I love old house music and trip hop. Easy 5.
"Are you gonna dance or what?" Sadly I mostly listen to these at work otherwise I would be. Maybe I'll crack off a quite 2-step when nobody's looking though. Just as a quite aside before getting into the album. Doing this list is what motivated me to stop being a broke piece of shit and actually stick to a spotify premium subscription. and yet less than 40 albums in I manage to get an album which isn't even on the platform. And that part's a real shame too, because I really loved this album. The collection of different elements from the synth, drum machines and different vocalists between tracks keep things very fun and fresh. The only song that I think left a bad impression was In Deep, where I was able to enjoy parts of it but was distracted by the drunkard that came in the booth and started sticking his tongue out right into the microphone. Thankfully he got it out of his system and security were able to escort him out of the studio before the next track was being done. I imagine this had to be pretty influential at its time, I recognize a lot of these samples that were used in other electronic music later on (Theme From "Reportage" was sed as the opening for an old Japanese prank show a while ago). I'm glad our first electronic album for this list was something so funky. Now I suppose I'll just have to see if I can still put local files onto my spotfiy somehow.. Highlights People Hold On, My Telephone, Theme from "Reportage", Stop This Crazy Thing, Smoke Dis One
People Hold On - Stone-cold banger Smoke Dis One - Clean as fuck, really liked it. Cool and funky album overall. Steady quality throughout. Probably didn't need the Headmaster mix at the end, or the Beats and Pieces Remix, but wasn't intrusive enough to knock my score down. It boggles the mind that this album was put together in 1989, when the technology at the time was a series of tubes, switches and dials. This album walked so many of my favourite artists and albums could run.
this shit had to have been sampled a million times. im not going to be much help on individual song reviews because i listened to this album on a single youtube video and it made it hard to seperate the songs, but everything blended together in a good way, where the music was so well blended, funky and transitional that every beat blended into the next. it was never repetitive or boring, which the genre often is, and remained Phunky Phunky Phresh throughout.
These tracks probably went so crazy while you were K-holing in the bathroom of some scungy Brixton rave in 1990. Music can be a nice time capsule for an era, but electronic music especially does this in how delineated sounds and trends are between different sub genres and movements. You hear this shit and you think 90s British house. I listened to a few tracks from these guys on Spotify before listening to the whole non cleared sample album on YouTube and even without having heard anything from this specific artist the influence these guys have had on their genre is absolutely immense. That rave piano sound is so iconic to dance house around this era of music that you could pick any song adjacent to this era and you’d hear something trying to follow that sound trend. This isn’t my favourite type of EDM but man if I didn’t appreciate this, it felt like listening to a history lesson, and while a lot of these “influential at the time” albums don’t really age well compared to modern fare this one really holds up. Special mention to “Stop this Crazy thing” definite contender for favourite track on this album.
Great Album, (Im) in Deep and Which Doctor are masterpieces easy. Just kinda liked other electronic artists around this time a bit more, Larry Levan or Brian Eno for example. And I understand this is doing something different and is extremely influential but I'm generally more of a fan of what came to be than what's on display here. Still great though with a few tracks I love. 8/10 Fav tracks - People Hold On, Fat (Party & Bullshit ) , (I'm) In Deep, Which Doctor, Beats & Pieces [Mo Bass Remix], Stop This Crazy Thing [Hedmaster Mix] Least Fav - None
Starting off, great album, you can really feel the great energy and mixing in this one. Always had big love for DJ's and particularly the early ones and I can see why this was on the list. Ended up going down the rabbit hole after listening to the opening for not paid enough, the opening was the same sample used for the opening to Candy Shop by 50 cent. So I can pick up that similar sampling has been used before and makes me wonder if this album influenced other albums use of sampling in anyway. 4/5 Loved my time with this one
Absolutely funky, cannot believe this album is from 1989 feels extremely ahead of its time. Hard to put into words exactly how I feel about this album but it’s like the music equivalent of patchwork rug that smells like incense. Both sides as good as eachother, this album is absolutely going to be getting a lot of spins from me and it’s a crime that this isn’t on Spotify, copyright be damned. Favourite tracks here are People Hold On, Which Doctor, No Connection.
This is not my jam, but I can at least see why some people would be into this. Some of the funk is kinda fun, but some of it is annoying. 2.4
In response to the query in track number one, no thanks.
Not a fan of the early British electronic scene
What’s Coldcut? --well, I'm finding out, thanks to 3dou on YT. First couple songs are good, third had the Fall's frontman on (distorted) lead vocals, which was unfortunate Bonkers Tarzan sample on "Stop This Crazy Thing", I dig it Ah :/ I realize I have to do a bit of further digging, since "Smoke 1" and "Doctorin' the House" of the original UK album are replaced in the US version, aka the aforementioned YT upload. Seems there are other differences, like track lengths... but I don't really care about those Okay, done the album- definitely earns the "Big Dumb Fun" award from me personally. Reminiscent of the sound of Gorillaz and the Avalanches. Now let's see what the US version is hiding... "Smoke 1" plus Queen Latifah is maybe my favourite track now, but it was decent as an instrumental too, ngl. "Not Paid Enough" is fine, but long HL: "People Hold On", "Which Doctor", "Smoke Dis One" (US Version), "Doctorin' the House" (UK Version) September 17, 2024
sáttur með þetta
Ridiculously enjoyable!! 1989 was a fun year.
I like some house music but this album just didn’t do it for me.
Maso
Still a sampling masterclass. Beats and Pieces is a banger 4/5
Wasn't able to stream this exact record on Spotify but listened to couple of albums and generally positive. I'd do 3.5 if I could.
Not available
Hip hop/beats, a little singing
Very goovy, dig it
big 80s-early 90s cable television vibes.
Not my jam really
Bardzo bardzo fajne. 4/5 można trzymać na repeacie.
A little too close to EDM for me to really like but I easily made it through the hour plus run time and wouldn't mind hearing it again sometime.
I like that noise. Sure, it’s silly. But it’s also interesting, groovy and fun. Cool find
Not for me
Well, there definitely were some moments that made me wonder what, in fact, that noise was. Very experimental but I thoroughly enjoyed it, the perfect thing to keep the vibes up as I collapse after work but not too stressful despite its eccentricity. Just very engrossing music, a journey into sound or whatever that guy was saying holds very true! Plus a super wholesome youtube comment section, so that's always a bonus :)
Whoa, that one caught me off guard. Cover showed up - an upbeat dance Trip Hop producer's debut? "Oh No", I thought, thinking of the other underwhelming turn-of-the decade electronica albums the generator has served me, and how Coldcut has always been the... lesser bits on Ninja Tune or other compilations I've heard or own (Interesting, sure, but just not music I typically enjoy). Well, surprise! Still not my cup of tea - and boy, is it old! - but I'm having proper fun with "What's That Noise" and the sound bites I recognize. This seems truly 1001AYMHBYD important and must have been a behemoth of an album, in '89. Also, what a cool reminder to read up on what force of good Coldcut were for not just 90ies music but culture in general. Pretty good stuff. This is a strong 4.
신선하지만 매력없는
The album in total is not my cup of tea. Just because of the really good hit single "People Hold On" (feat. Lisa Stansfield) I give it the three stars. Worst: "In Deep" 2,5
its cool
OOOOOOOO what is this? Cool sampling with rock solid structure. Smoke Dis One is pretty rad.
Peut-être que cet album est essentiel dans le monde electro, mais une chose est sure est que ça n'a pas tellement bien vieilli et j'ai eu de la misère à le terminer. La production laisse à désirer. 4/10
A relic from a past best appreciated on the dance floor. Not my cup of tea but not wholly terrible.
Album is okay. Not really my kind of music, especially just sitting around and listening. Maybe I would enjoy it more if I was at a party or club. 2.5/5 Probably won't listen again
Really loved this one!
they don't answer the question btw 2/5-2.5/5
Totally all over the place but I loved it
It's kinda what I needed this morning as it's dance/trance/house which feels like great gym music....man does it start to drag though.
lovely time
Please judge this album by its cover. It's not any better than it looks.
I couldn't remember a song off of this album to save my life. Bunch of polished nonsense.
So odd
What's That Noise? I don't know ... This album was not on Spotify
Hmmmm not the sort of late-80s stylings I was hankering for today.
Pretty bog-standard house music with DJ sound effects sprinkled around to give an air of legitimacy. But the music's quality is undercut pretty significantly by the track length, which (with an average of 6+ minutes per track) is just too long to maintain interest for most listeners. The music also generally lacks hooks or any key elements to keep the listener engaged. It's extremely repetitive, and not in an especially great way. The percussion is almost all (if not entirely) electronic, and that's a bad thing. It makes the music sound dated and is pretty exhausting after an hour of club-house tunes. But it could be worse. Stop This Crazy Thing has a great big-band-esque horn riff (almost like a samba melody). People Hold On has an unusually loud synth/piano/drum combo to complement the already clear-cut vocals – which are the best vocals on the album – making it pretty memorable. It's quite disco-y, which is a contrast from the otherwise hip-hop-like atmosphere. 2/5 Key tracks: People Hold On, Stop This Crazy Thing
The Avalanches, but 15 years earlier. Sample electronica that works pretty well and actually has aged pretty well in my opinion. There are highlights with Stop This Crazy Thing (insanely fun song) and People Hold On. Lots of disk scratching and sampling and weird sounds, I liked it a lot.
One distinctly remembers this being way oversold upon release in late '80s and boy does it sound rooted in that time now. What is it really innovative to use "Pump Up the Volume"? All these silly sound clips – it's the equivalent of pop art collage, which is perhaps aging somewaht more gratefully. Editors description suggests a major overweighting of having been in the know when this was underground or only available on "private London radio." Not even Mark E. Smith (or Lisa Stanfield or Queen Latifah) can save this from being oh so tiresome (and way too long). The "party and bullshit" reference is funny and good to know – that's the best that can be sai, for it's far too dumb to be dope.
Meh
Honestly not bad at all - much more enjoyable than I was expecting. It did feel too long and started to wear out its welcome, but worth the listen.
I like the album cover. The music I can forget about forever now though. Will I listen to again: 0%
Vi blir lidande bara för att författaren är hörselskadad.
I've enjoyed Coldcut in the past (particularly "Timber", but I found this a bit grating. The collaborations are good, and I didn't realise they did "People Hold On." But some of the more sample-based songs feel like they're little more than tech demos that fail to come together as fully-fledged songs. I know that's kind of the point, but it's something hip-hop was doing far better on the other side of the Atlantic.
cool guy samples
Is that noise the uncleared sample police knocking at the door? Simpler times.
beats and pieces
Brilliant sampling
didn’t finish this. started out okay but good god it went downhill fast
Well didn't I judge a book by its cover? For some reason I presumed it would be 80's new wave crap but I was pleasantly surprised at how refreshing and entertaining this music was.
Wow never heard of this before but it's got some beats and is a beautiful time capsule of the late 80s! This could be played at setbreak and has some rhymes. One to revisit
With the lovely voice of Lisa Stansfield. Many of this songs past the test of time. Still relevant music. Love it.
Strange album. Starts great but then nonsense takes over.
Pretty fun!
Byrjar ágætlega en feidar rosalega hratt út í eitthvað blah...
Kinda fun at times, kinda annoying at other times
The kind of album that makes you want to end it all.
What's That Choice?
Had to listen to the album on YouTube, probably because of copyright issues. A funky and groovy electronic album. Used a lot of samples and sounds, cut and mixed. Just goes for a fun vibe. Not impressed by anything here, but it was not a bad listen. Catches the sound it goes for from the jump.
Not a fan
+: Fat (Party and Bullshit), (I'm) In Deep, My Telephone, What's That Noise +-: People Hold On, Which Doctor!, No Connection, Smoke 1 -: Theme From "Reportage", Stop This Crazy Thing, Doctorin' the House 4,6/10
Elektronisia biittejä ja sample musiikkia. Tarzan sample alko vähän jo ärsyttää :;D Mutta ihan jees taustamusiikkia tekemiselle. Vaikee sanoa parhaita, kun youtubesta kuunteli, mutta parhaat: People Hold On, Stop This Crazy Thing (Se Tarzan kappale)
I can hear how this influenced later works in the genre. Good beats and a playful style with the sampling.
This one was not on my streaming service, so I listened to a couple tracks from a “best of” album and was underwhelmed at first. Then I found the whole thing on YouTube and gave it a full listen in the background and it really impressed as a complete package. I can see how this influenced so much in the 90’s
Cool find
Not on Spotify
Boring
Some Lisa Stansfield with a mix of Dee-Lite. Funky stuff. Just good enough to listen to once.
Really struggled through this... the 80's DJ scratchy, repeating samples, with either hip hop salt n pepa vibes or corny electronic beats is really tough to make it through. My Telephone was almost passable, but that was the high point for me.
I liked this. I’m a big fan of electronic music with found audio clips. Big Propellerheads vibes here; perhaps Coldcut was an influence on them. Would rate 3.5. I’d consider coming back to this in the future.
Pretty interesting
I really missed the boat on this at the time but listening back now I recognise a lot of the tracks and this was there for others to follow. Not really my thing but it's a definite genre and this is one of the top albums in that genre.
Meh
An ok album
not much to say. im not very into house and this is a very simple early version of it. 5/10
Pretty cool. Amazing what you can do with an S1000 and an Amiga.
Didn't much appeal. Very little substance to it. Electronica (is that what this is?) does very little for me anyway.
I liked this. I particularly enjoyed it as background music while I work, which is almost certainly not what it is meant to do, but in this regard it was good. As a record to go dancing to, there are others I will always put ahead of this one.
it was cool for 20 minutes. then it played for another 30. would definitely be a good record for some background music at a function
This album alternates between innovative ahead-of-its-time electronica and cringy Ross Gellar music. Rating: 2.5/5 Playlist track: People Hold On Date listened: 30/06/24
I regret I didn’t make listening to this a priority now. Google wasn’t helpful in finding the album and it was a busy weekend. I enjoyed what I heard and I will listen again in time so for that reason high 3, low 4 ?
It was sort of OK. I liked bits of it and I liked that it was very different from one song to the next...
This really grew on me. Excellent 90s throwback, great samples and DJ work.
Found it on youtube. It was fine, I guess, but not my type of music
3.5 some really cool ones, some not so cool
This is fun and it feels really ahead of its time. It's also going right into my list of favorite albums from this list that I hadn't even heard of before.
Aptly named "What's That Noise?" cause this was definitely some sort of noise.
Like alot of Electronica of this era, it just ages quite poorly. I suppose it's pioneering of modern electronica and as a lover of electronic music, this just isn't all that great but far from horrible. 6/10.
Opens with the worst song, so I was ready to just make my review "Crazy Frog-ass music" and move on, but it got way better as it went on. This is essentially proto-Avalanches, and it's a lot of fun. Some of the songs on here are actually batshit insane with crazy samples of old cartoons, movies and TV shows, and I love it. "Theme from Reportage" was apparently used in a Japanese gameshow, and judging by the Youtube comment section being 90% Japanese, this album got really big over there. Interesting! Really pleasant surprise. 4/5
Proto avalanches found sound electronic music
Good
High 4 Thought it would be boring and repetitive - no! Guess I do like music “like this”.
My streaming service didn't have this album. So I tried another of theirs and, as though, please file under 'did not listen.'
I’m a big fan of house and dance music and this album is one of the best. A couple of missteps, but almost there
It's innovative primarily in it's eclectic use of cut and paste samples and things really get cooking when it features one of several guest singers. There's an array of sounds and beats which amount to a cool listening experience with plenty of variety, with an emphasis on fun.
They sure did put together some nice beats. Beats to make you tap your feat. Beats to make you nod your head. Beat to make you get up and dance, dance, dance, dance… 🕺
What a banger, with some absoulute classics. I know it's all samples but cut and mashed into a new and fresh sounds (well suppose it's not new no more).
This sounded witty and innovative and fun 30 years ago. Dated now but earns it's place on the list
Absolute classic. What fun!
Great stuff!
This sounds so ahead of its time - it's a shame it's not streaming outside of YouTube!
What's That Noise? is one of the better electronica-based albums we've had, it must've sounded fucking amazing at the time because 25 years later this still feels fresh and creative and varied. Has great fluidity, some cool vocal guest stars, it's just let down a bit by the length, makes some spells seem overly repetitive or last longer than they need to, if it was a tighter edit I'd maybe give it a 4 but otherwise it's a solid 3.
Another one that I enjoyed more than I expected to - annoying that this album isn't on Spotify. Feels like it's very much from the same family as The Avalanches, but this is 15 years older and you can barely tell. Same criticism as everyone else - it's definitely too long and not tight enough - but it's a great sound, blends seamlessly between genres, some great samples and guest contributors, a really good listen. I think it merits a 4, a low one, but could've been a comfortable one had it been 10-15 minutes shorter.
This kinda worked for me.
Fun band. First time hearing. Nice mix of electronic/ alternative/ jazz/african. Impressed.
Note: Not on Spotify or Amazon Music. Had to go to YouTube for this one. There was a stretch where I was way into artists like DJ Shadow, Nightmares on Wax, Tricky and Massive Attack, and other folks from the trip hop scene. And every single one of them owes a debt to Coldcut, apparently. I'm still stunned that this was made in *1989*. It's a pretty vibrant collection of beats, samples, and sequences -- all kinda jostled together. Musically pretty cool -- because you can just tell that everyone in EDM-land owns a copy (or have chopped up tracks from) this. You have to be in the mood for it, but it's pretty darned solid.
This was a fun album overall. Lots of familiar samples in here, which is very reasonable for this period. It also clearly had an influence on the sample-based dance music that came after it 4/5
Nice Coldcut album. I knew about half of the songs, some of which were hit singles at the time. The album sounds dated of course. I can still much appreciate the sound of pop music from the 80s, say until 87. But am less keen on that early 90s sound, it's hard to describe... (I also remember to be much impressed by their mix album ColdKrushCuts with DJ Krush and DJ Flood and it would be interesting to revisit that album.)
Crazy mix of electronic tunes. Quite catchy at times, and I sort of like the vocal contribution by Mark E. Smith.
I felt under the influence of ecstasy and was completely sober. What kind of music is this? How can the union of so many different sounds make you so "fast"? It's definitely not the kind of thing I hear every day, but it's definitely the first time I've heard something I can't understand. Therefore I am not able to apply a true assessment. I will give 3 stars
This was not good, but I enjoyed it. I really don't understand why this album was on the list. Very 80s / 90s sampling and mixing, also lyrically with "work together, sort the world out" stuff.
- Habe bei der Platte ein ähnliches Gefühl wie bei En-Tact von The Shamen. Zugegebener Maßen waren hier jedoch einige Parts und Beats, die mich dann doch etwas zum Mittwippen bewegt haben. - Ansonsten ist das einfach wieder so 80s Electro-Remix Mist. In keinem anderen Genre hat sich in den letzten 30-40 Jahren so viel getan, wie in der Tanzmusik. Und bei einer Musikrichtung, die eng mit technischem und digitalem Fortschritt verbunden ist, geht das häufig dann doch meiner Meinung nach mit einer Verbesserung der Qualität einher. - In den 80er und 90er klingt der ganze Quatsch für mich halt nach "EY YOOO, GUCK MAL WAS MAN ALLES MIT SO SYNTHIES MACHEN KANN", also einfach mehr nach Experimenten, die meinetwegen dann auch schon gute Ideen haben) - Alles ab den 2000ern war dann "nagut, den Quatsch haben wir jetzt ausprobiert; Zeit, dass wir auf der Basis mal wirklich den Anspruch und die Qualität erhöhen" 1,75/5
Not on Spotify, check YouTube instead! - hat mich nicht abgeholt, waren einige coole Ideen dabei, aber die Umsetzung gefiel mir nicht wirklich
I like the playful approach of this album, not sure that there are any tracks that stand out to me, better than most electronic dance.
2.25
неплохой, летний альбом алкоальбом: текила с солью bbq
Забавное полотнище, будто лоскутное одеяло. Второе лето любви, клубы, эсид... ну, как будто мы уже неплохо в контексте держимся?
weird and cool
way too long but there's some fun stuff here
Very very 90s - even the telephone dial up sounds. Feels like a time capsule. Kinda fun and would probably put it on for a drive but everyone would ask for different music 5 minutes in. Also not quite for me.
Couldn't find this album on my streaming service so I picked the oldest one available (Philosophy from 1993). I like it a lot. Dreamer so far is my favorite. Also, is the most recent track I've heard. I like the "modern" jazzy flow.
Had to search around and found this on YouTube. Good house music is not always easy to find but this is great!
This was a cool and yet unsatisfying album at the same time. The house music had good samples and the beats weren’t bad just felt like as the album dragged on it was a tad repetitive. Not sure how much better this album could be though. It’s some good house mix but not the best stuff and definitely not necessary to hear. 4.7/10
Pretty cool can’t rlly remember but think I liked it
Actually shit electro house icl hurt my ears
I was not thrilled about this when I looked in to what this was. Electronic music is not really my jam, and it's my personal opinion that it's overrepresented on this list. I love all the samples, grooves, and melodies on this album. I can't help but think it was something that would have heavily influenced Beck and The Dust Brothers in the making of Odelay. Really enjoyed this whole thing.
Always thought that "People Hold On" was a Lisa Standfield song, instead of a song officially "featuring" Lisa Standfield. What's hilarious is that this "commercial" dance music hit single opening this record doesn't compare to anything else in it. Mostly because everything else sounds like a (somewhat dated) dada collage of bleeps, bloops, vocal snippets and off-kilter samples. That said, Coldcut has often been an interesting "electronic" act, and this debut is no exception. And you can sense the two Brits had a lot of fun recording it, at least. The thing is, *What's That Noise?* is definitely not up to the level of the essential LPs its usual fans compare it to. It's not as "focused" as a classic Kraftwerk album, and it's not as lively, driven and hectic as the Beastie Boys' *Paul's Boutique*, for instance. It lies in its own niche space, and dust seems to have covered said space for a while now. I guess that an album gathering guests as different as Lisa Standfield, The Fall's Mark E. Smith, Queen Latifah and Junior Reid probably deserves to be mentioned somewhere. The question is, where? If you think this short review has too many hairpin curves, this album is definitely not for you. Come to think of it, I *do* think this review of mine has too many of those 180-degree turns. Therefore... 3/5 for the purposes of this list. 8/10 for more general purposes (5+3) Number of albums left to review: 183 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 355 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 204 Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 260 (including this one)
This album was a smooth listen that I really enjoyed. Dont think that I would listen to it again, but it was very enjoyable.
Wow, this album sounds so ahead of its time. Cool samples and turntable work. Great album (not on Apple Music)
Sort of like a more funky, electronic Avalanches? But harsher 80s experimental sound with more actual DJ mixing and a raw sound. Liked the stuff that actually had singing. Can't see myself ever going back to this but it wasn't terrible.
It was really trippy, reminded me a lot of pizza tower
3.75
Couldn't listen not on Spotify
If sampling was the industrial revolution of music, this album is the moon landing
The DJ scratches have perhaps aged. Some vibes I guess.
Again, another "don't know the album or artist". Very much of the era, and very much not a genre I was listening to at the time, but fabulous breaks, beats and rhythms - enjoyed!
I remember being exposed to Coldcut a long time, specifically the video for 'Timber' which was unlike anything I'd ever seen. And it was absolutely impossible to find any albums by them in America in the 90s, which further added to their mystique in my mind. I did eventually track down a copy of 'Let Us Play'. It was a strange album, like a massive collage of samples. Unlike artists like DJ Shadow who managed to seemlessly blend the samples into something new, Coldcut's sampling was exposed for all of the world to see. They were playful, funky, and even politically conscious, and anything was fair game to be sampled. This debut album was already long out of print by this time and remains so, as far as I'm aware, not even appearing on Spotify. It's less developed than 'Let Us Play', which is the better album in my opinion. But 'What's That Noise?' already has many of the key signatures of their sound. It's a pretty fun record that deserves a reissue, at least on streaming platforms.
Revolutionary album at the time it came out. I was amazed after listening to this for the first time in nearly 40 years how commercial sounding this is by today's standards.
https://youtu.be/tgYhZ5Ennig?si=xz5WT1BlzaDatZvX
4.1 - Review haiku: Classic house music Hard beats, samples, danceable What is not to like?
Did I really need to hear a dated dance album before I die?
Not my favourite, but an amazing house record, very ahead of its time. Not on Spotify though...
Coldcut's "What's That Noise?" is a seminal album that fuses elements of electronic, hip-hop, and dance music, released in 1989. With its innovative production techniques, socially conscious lyrics, and eclectic blend of genres, the album remains a standout in the realm of electronic music. Here's an in-depth review covering lyrics, music, production, themes, influence, and a look at the album's pros and cons. **Lyrics:** The lyrics on "What's That Noise?" are socially and politically charged, reflecting the cultural landscape of the late 1980s. Tracks like "Stop This Crazy Thing" critique consumerism and the rapid pace of technological advancement, while "My Telephone" addresses the intrusive nature of modern communication. The album's lyrics are often witty and thought-provoking, offering commentary on issues that remain relevant today. **Music:** Musically, "What's That Noise?" is a dynamic blend of samples, beats, and electronic sounds. Coldcut's use of sampling is particularly innovative, incorporating snippets of dialogue, music, and other audio elements to create richly textured compositions. Tracks like "Doctorin' the House" and "Beats + Pieces" showcase the duo's skill at layering complex rhythms and melodies to create infectious grooves that are simultaneously danceable and intellectually engaging. **Production:** The production on "What's That Noise?" is top-notch, showcasing Coldcut's mastery of sampling and studio techniques. The album's sound is crisp and polished, with each element carefully crafted to create maximum impact. Coldcut's use of sampling is particularly notable, with the duo seamlessly blending disparate sounds and genres to create cohesive musical landscapes that push the boundaries of what was possible at the time. **Themes:** Thematically, "What's That Noise?" explores a range of topics, including technology, consumerism, communication, and social change. The album's lyrics offer incisive commentary on these issues, challenging listeners to think critically about the world around them. Coldcut's use of sampling reinforces these themes, with snippets of dialogue and audio clips adding depth and nuance to the album's message. **Influence:** "What's That Noise?" has had a significant influence on the electronic music landscape, helping to popularize sampling as a creative tool and paving the way for future artists to experiment with the medium. The album's innovative production techniques and socially conscious lyrics have inspired countless musicians across genres, cementing Coldcut's status as pioneers of electronic music. **Pros:** - Innovative use of sampling and studio techniques. - Socially and politically conscious lyrics that remain relevant. - Eclectic blend of genres, including electronic, hip-hop, and dance. - Crisp and polished production that showcases Coldcut's skill and expertise. - Significant influence on the electronic music landscape, inspiring future generations of musicians. **Cons:** - Some tracks may feel dated to contemporary listeners due to their production style and sampling choices. - The album's thematic focus on technology and consumerism may feel somewhat narrow to some listeners. - Coldcut's use of samples may raise questions about copyright and intellectual property rights, particularly in today's music industry landscape. In conclusion, "What's That Noise?" stands as a landmark album in the realm of electronic music, showcasing Coldcut's innovative production techniques, socially conscious lyrics, and eclectic blend of genres. While some tracks may feel dated to contemporary listeners, the album's influence on the electronic music landscape remains undeniable, making it essential listening for fans of the genre.
I like what I like, and as someone who listens to DJ mixes on Soundcloud while she works, this is 100% up my alley. I just like everything about it – the gaudy female vocals, the frequent cutting, the sample flips to give the illusion of lyrics, the tacked-on raps. It is the Platonic Ideal of an NYC Block Party circa 1985, even though this is from 1989 and was made by two Brits. It is a hard album to rate, though. Not as a matter of personal taste, because again, I know this is to *my* taste. But it’s hard to listen to some albums on this list and not consider what is “missing,” especially when you consider genre pioneers. And this album/Coldcut feels distinctly ~lesser~ if the focus is to highlight innovators. It took slightly too much research to figure out why Coldcut was influential, or if they even were influential at the time, even though I could identify flags like the Tommy Boy US label distribution or the remix of “Paid in Full” being on that album’s CD reissue. And while I walked away concluding that Coldcut is, in fact, an important band in the history of House/Electronic music, I can’t help but wonder if Inner City’s “Paradise” or Fingers Inc.’s “Another Side” would work better as pioneer representatives, or even Lords of Acid a few years later, even if “Lust” is more New Beat/Techno. Still, I can justify “What’s That Noise” as perhaps influential on the DJ mix aesthetic so many use today, although I’m not entirely sure if that influence is as direct as others. Then again, House/Electronic music is not an album genre, and the pioneers can’t be easily summarized in a list like this. I can’t shake the fact that this is not on streaming, though, and all the YouTube comments are noting either a single track’s use in the Japanese game show Gaki no Tsukai (which is already a niche within a niche of online cultural awareness), or its inclusion on the 1001 Album list…which means this probably isn’t even directly influential to DJs today. “What’s That Noise” seems to suffer most from the fact that it sounds secondary, even for its time, and therefore can read as inessential. If you can strip your brain away from the challenge and listen to it on its own merit, though, I think this is a wonderful ‘80s House album, and if you like turntablism, sampledelia, and DJ mixes, you’ll probably enjoy this like I did. Ultimately, I think it earns its keep on this list, but I’d feel better saying that if early House was better represented overall.
2 Generic 90s techno. I don't know why the hell this is on the list.
Important step in the development of bad music. Big inspiration for the techno to come, I guess. I hated this when it was new. Usually I come round a little over time, but not in this case. Still hate it. Writing on the wall that this isn’t on the major streaming services. Least hated song: smoke dis one
Lots to like on here but unfortunately a fair bit of messy noise too. Needs a second pass with to edit it down to a tight 35mins to bump it to full marks.
The album opens with promise, upbeat, poppy and infectious melodies and the record continues with a light, breezy electronic dance, club, house vibe. The music is fine, but after a while I was hoping it would end, not because it was bad or unappealing, it just got to be too much and too long. This might be a good album to spin at a party, get people up dancing and schmoozing, but at the same time, if you play it long enough it might be a fast way to clear the room when you want everyone to leave.
Remember albums? Things that were 35-45 minutes long? Not this thing. Let's make it over an hour, with 2 extra mixes that were just as repetitive. "Stop That Crazy Thing" would have sounded like a guy with brand new looping software tech if not for Junior Reed. In fact, most of the featured performers really took the songs to another level. But I really did not need two versions of "Stop That Crazy Thing". That really got annoying after awhile. Top tracks: "My Telephone," "Smoke Dis One".
The album asks a good question, though an even better one might be what's so special about that noise? Boring, cheesy 80's hip hop / house combo. Splicing together a bunch of samples does not a good album make. My Telephone wasn't bad and I guess there were some other decent moments. Too few and far between though.
Coldcut come in at the right place and at the right time with this musical patchwork boasting some of the mighty names of pop, reggae, indie and hip-hop. Although very of its time and place, one could sense the vibe emitted from the grooves within. Is it a masterpiece? No but it is certainly worthy of the title it wields. https://youtu.be/l13T8AboN7U?si=06nNNFhoNqLe9EZL Favorites: People Hold On, Fat (Party and Bullshit), (I'm) In Deep, My Telephone, Stop This Crazy Thing, Doctorin' the House.
Tää oli vähän tällänen sekasotku. Välillä aika nasta ja välillä tosi rasittava. Ekalla kuuntelulla en saanut oikein muodostettua mielipidettä joten lykätään nyt kolmoseen ja katotaan nouseeko vai laskeeko uusilla kuunteluilla. 3/5
Mahtava house-lätty! Kiva ettei tanssimusan kulta-aikaa ole listalta täysin unohdettu. Paljon on moni artisti mm. Avalanches tälle velkaa. People Hold On, My Telephone, Stop This Crazy Thing ja No Connection todella priimaa edelleen. Muuten ehkä vähän epätasainen. Sanotaan 4,5/5, joka pyöristyy ylös, koska genresympatiat.
Hauska funk?-sekoilu. vähän epätasainen ja liian pitkä, mutta lähellä nelosta.
Nice sexy chill out vibes to work to.
For some reason I am not supposed to listen to this as neither Spotify nor Qobuz had this available (in my country). I did find two tracks on youtube (featuring Lisa Stansfield) ant those were pretty good (I generally like Lisa Stansfield). I also listened to some tracks from other Coldcut albums that were available from Qobuz and I liked those too. None of them could be called masterpieces but they were very enjoyable so 4 stars.
A bit of a nightmare to get the original tracklisting together. Anyway there were some bangers but also some tracks that made me scratch my head. I guess it averages out to a 3.
This album isn't streaming in my location and I'm glad I tracked it down because this is such a great piece of electronic music representative of a period where the genre was discovering its capabilities. I strongly recommend listening to this album, if it's not available where you are, seek with your soul and you will not be disappointed. 4/5
Never would’ve heard this album without 1001 Albums, and now if I ever come across a copy I’ll be snatching it up because it was quite an enjoyable listen.
Coldcut rule. They're masters of patchwork sampling, and this album is no different. Every song is packed to the gills but still manages to feel cohesive.
Loved it. Sample based like the avalanches
Oh this is groovy. And I'm not the kind of person who calls things groovy.
Another fun little electronic record. Definitely wouldn’t say you have to hear this before you die, but I found myself enjoying the vibe of the aged production
Absolutely terrible.
“I can’t live without my telephone” is simultaneously very dated and very applicable today. The rest of Coldcut’s “What’s That Noise?” is just dated. And sometimes pretty annoying.
AI 90s alternative rock 8 months ahead of it’s time.
I get it pushed things forwards, but it's aged less well. People Hold On sounds so 1988 it's painful. Later on, Mark E Smith is a highlight, as is the stuff where it's celebrating a more DJ led approach. Bin the housey stuff, keep the bizarre and hip hippy.
Really liked this, and if it it was on Spotify I would have spent more time with it.
this one isn't on Spotify, so i can't listen :(
sad this isn't on spotify. it isn't bad at all, but not the thing I'd listen to on a regular basis. would give it 3,5
This a pretty good example of this kind of music, I think. Good 3/5 for me. I wouldn't choose this, but it's not bad.
So dissapointed that this isn't on my streaming services but so glad I was able to listen to it because it's right up my alley and so good I'm finding it hard to pick a favourite track. As soon as Smoke Dis One kicks in I'm hooked and Stop This Crazy Thing ramps up the vibe, Not Paid Enough is so much fun but I couldn't find a list of all the samples. Which Doctor? and My Telephone are great and Fat (Party And Bullshit) keeps the party going.
I was a bit nonplussed listening to this, but when I realized it was released in 1989, yeah, fair enough! It's undoubtedly been influential on a bunch of stuff I like, even if getting through it now feels like a bit of a chore. Hip-hop, trip-hop, turntablism and house have all gone on to do more interesting things, but it's good to see where it came from, I suppose! Fave tracks - "(I'm) In Deep" for the Mark E Smith cameo!
2.5/5
Unavailable via Spotify.
Relatively generic 80s electronica. I'd put this on in the background of an 80s party, but probably wouldn't seek it out on it's own. Very creative samples and the nostalgia of hearing "Not Paid Enough" bump this up a half a star.
Finally some decent EDM. Some real fun tracks on here. ***NOT ON SPOTIFY***
Rating: 7/10 Best songs: People hold on
I could only find this on YouTube. My guess is that they couldn't clear the samples that were used. Too bad - good stuff.
A nice history lesson, shame it is a little too long.
Fun and innovative for the era, this collection is an intense kitchen-sink approach to capturing a huge range of electronic music capabilities of the time. Great samples, vocalists, and even song structure. This calls to mind "Paul's Boutique" in it's approach to sampling everything on planet earth, but in a tasteful way. Not an everyday listen, but complements to the chef.
it was fine. kinda just made me wanna listen to erik b and rakim though. it was interesting to see this sort of early style of "electronic" music for lack of a better term, knowing what it would evolve into later on. 2 feels too long because it wasn't actively bad so i will give it 3.
I think I enjoyed most of this. Its not my cuppa tea at all but enough to appreciate the good bits. Its a bit mental which I quite like. I imagine Jez from Peep Show wanted to sound like this when he wrote that ‘This is outrageous’ song. Cant see me coming back but glad I heard it. I think.
Painfully 90s, all of the beats and sound effects were completely of their time. The song with all the phone calls was particularly annoying and I'm not sure this album achieves anything that you couldn't get just by listening to pump up the jam a few times. I'm sure it achieved what it set out to, Mr motivator probably has it fairly constant rotation, but I can't think when I would ever actually want to listen to it.
Solid 2 stars. Parts were interesting, other parts were not. First half better than second half. Some tracks merged together too much.