Connected

Reckon I could have waited until I died to hear this one tbh

I imagined a backstory that this album was created for babies. Specifically for babies on their morning commute to finance jobs in London, wearing navy blue baby business suits, and all listening to Connected on big (for babies) over ear headphones. With that clearly established, this album is perfect. It's stone cold 5/5 star British business baby breakbeat. Minus 1 star for adult content. A

It’s like a mix of moby and smash mouth except not a good combination. They have that 90s feel to it but it’s in no way a rap album. Nothing special here. 5.1/10

A good album... but I am struggling with why it's in the 1001.

SEE???? Electronic music CAN be good! All it has to do is not be the same looping beat for 12 minutes to be good.

I don’t think I’m gen x enough to like this record

This album is straight good vibes. The Bari sax on Connected is great. Also, funk flute? That's a definite yes for me. The album was great to run to and for some reason it reminds me of summer. It does kind of feel like workout music but in the best way possible. It's just a really fun album and while I suppose there's nothing incredible about it and most of the songs are quite repetitive, I still really like it. Favorite songs: Connected, Ground Level, Step It Up, , Pressure, Creation, The End Strong 8/10

Any album that lends a track the soundtrack of the 1995 Angelina Jolie & Johnny Lee Miller fillum "Hackers" has to be a great album. HACK THE PLANET!

Someone called this "dated". It's not. It's got all the features that were eventually taken over the top and turned into cliches in the 90's. But Stereo MC's have kept their cool and the result survives time better and sounds very effortless.

Having commercial success doesn't make something a must hear, despite the heavy volume of albums included in this project that are trying to argue otherwise. This is another forgettable, tedious album, and it makes you question if it's really so difficult to come up with 1001 essential albums. If you can name me 3 artists that wouldn't sound the way they do if this album/artist never existed, then maybe you can justify its inclusion. I suspect, however, that you can't.

This is an intriguing group I've never heard of. Electronic-hip-hop? Interesting combo. Lets see if it pans out. My first thought as I start listening is that the title track kinda goes on too long. After the first few tracks, I noticed the trend seems to be some slow-to-medium rapping over a kinda slow beat with some female backing vocals. There are some occasional flutes. Some record scratches. Oh, a couple notes on a guitar? Predominantly drum and bass. It screamed early to mid 90s to me, and its an electronic dance type thing so that tracks at least. The whole album continued in this fashion. This album didn't really pump me up, or bring me down, or really do anything to move me one way or the other. Was it phoned in? I' m not really sure how this album landed on this list. Even going through the band's wikipedia, there's just not much about them. Was this some super influential UK hip hop deal? I'm in the dark here. Standouts for me were: "Connected," "Step It Up," and "Creation." Honestly I added them as highlights as I was going through, but every song sounded so similar to every other song it was hard to pull these apart. Overall, I could do without this album. It wasn't like some horrible experience, it just didn't feel like it had any soul. Just some mediocre raps that all went on for way too long. I got to the end, fittingly titled "The End" and I was happy to stop listening and go about my day. There wasn't enough variety in any of the songs to make any part of it compelling. I don't really want to listen to any of it again. This is probably like a 1.5 out of 5, rounded down to a 1. At the end of the day it was just boring ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

How is this album on this list?

Cool album!!! I enjoy it a lot :) :) :) 1992 was an inspiring year :P

I remember the opening track "connected." Very of it's time. Some of the lyrics really grate on me. Not really offensive or anything but I wouldn't want to listen this again for any length of time.

Never heard of them before and had negative preconceptions based on the band name but there's no two ways about it: I loved it. I'm not sure why I loved, since it's very rare that I enjoy electronic music and even rarer that I enjoy rap/hiphop. Somehow this album hits my sweet spots for both genres. I found myself dancing along on my chair from the first track. Will definitely spend the rest of the afternoon listening to more by Stereo MCs.

All the cheesy calls to action and generalized observations about how society is crazy, yup this is a 90’s dance/pop crossover. My favorite song was “Ground Level”, and the cheesiest song was “Playing With Fire”. But this little point in time for dance music never landed with me. I’d rather have something hypnotic and focused over the span of 9 minutes than have all these 3-4 minute tunes that sound the same and cover the same few topics. Let’s say it’s a super soft 3/5. Once again, this list fails to provide a dance music album you should ACTUALLY listen to. Skip ahead a few years to the advent of trance and find something by Rank1 or early Tiesto. Or maybe “Movement In Still Life” by BT. That album is so cool and substantive

Staid and respectable. Lyrics a bit think piecey and therefore a bit irritating. Vocals nasal. Contemporary comparisons are Sault and Self Esteem--artists who send middlebrow critics into headstands because they act edgy while successfully courting a suburban listenership who can no longer hang with raucous irreverence. Get past the initial novelty and it smells suspiciously like zombie funk.

This is a quintessential 90's album. It's great to re-listen and revisit an old memory, full of jenko jeans, motorcycle boots, frosted tips and colored contacts.

I really should have owned this cassette, damn

I liked this album - it felt old-school.

I'm really glad (and a bit surprised) that this album made it into the collection. I saw them live back in 1993 (part of the impressively eclectic HFStival lineup), and really enjoyed their live act, enough to buy this album not long afterwards. I'll admit it doesn't hold up as well as I imagined it would--listening to it now everything sounds like it's in slow-motion--but I still enjoyed revisiting this beat-and-rhyme-heavy collection of tracks. I think my favorites are the title track (although the video is a bit embarrassingly dated), "Fade away", "Step it up", "Pressure" and "Creation". It would be easier to give them a full-throated four stars if the album wasn't quite so long and meandering (and perhaps a few fewer flutes), but I still feel like it's considerably more than a three-star album, and there's the nostalgia factor....

Ah, I was worried I was in for another techno garbage album. I know the first song, and it's a relief that they clearly have the skills of those bands like Boards of Canada, but know how to make a song too. Connected is a great song. Good beat, strong production. Love it. I'm pleased the album doesn't fall off after that stellar first track. Ground Level has the feel of 70s funk/soul mixed with this new techno jazz sound. That being said, the lyrics of these songs so far have not been my focus. I like the vibe, and have no clue really what, if any, message there is to these songs. I do sense an anti-war sentiment at the start of Everything, but then when the rap starts, it makes no sense. Overall, this was a surprisingly fun and enjoyable album.

I was pleasantly surprised by this album. I didn't like the first song, but I liked all of the rest of the songs and I can see myself listening to most of them again. 4/5 stars.

"Connected" was actually good so I was expecting something better from this album. It all kind of blends together, like many other albums on this list. No idea why they were picked. Just for commercial success? For being critically acclaimed? It would have been a good thing to have Dimery's reasoning as to why anything was chosen, but I guess we'll never know. I'm not saying I have to LIKE an album for it to be worthy of its place, I'm just saying pick something that's actually influential. Not something that was in the charts for 3 weeks in the UK or in the US. Pick something that, I don't know, influenced the whole genre and not just in one country, in the whole world.

some nice enjoyable funk but not anything life changing

Connected to the jock jam grooves of the early 90s.

A very 90s sounding album, but not in a bad way as such. The fusion of acid jazz, baggy and hip hop culminates in a fun time and a listen that flies by fairly quickly, relative to the album's running time. I can imagine a world where some of these tunes would've nestled their way into nightclubs, though there weren't many moments or individual offerings which made themselves truly known above the rest.

Not my cup of tea but not bad

This whole album sounds like the opening credits music to a 90's British crime movie. I am a fan of 90's British crime movies, but I do often feel like those long opening sequences, usually a car driving around rainy London at night, last just a little bit too long and can become tedious as you're waiting to the movie to start. This album wasn't offensive in any way, I actually found myself grooving along to a couple of the tracks, but it definitely is a bit too long, and a predictable.

I listened to this album first thing in the morning, but got interrupted before I had a chance to write a review. Now, 6 hours later, I don’t remember anything about it other than the fact that the rapping and vocals felt quite dated, but I still enjoyed it more than I was expecting.

Dancy

Cool groves

On est en 1992. J'ai 22 ans, je bosse en radio, je traîne mes guêtres chez les disquaires, et mes oreilles sont nourries au grain par de la noirceur industrielle, des dépressions sublimes et des expérimentations bruitistes. Bref, je suis un jeune con élitiste (et fier de l'être) qui pense que si ça ne fait pas saigner les oreilles ou pleurer dans sa bière, ce n'est pas de la "vraie" musique. Et puis, il y a ce truc qui débarque. Un ovni, ou plutôt un bus à impériale rempli de bonnes vibrations, qui vient se garer en double file sur les ondes. Stereo MC's et l’album s’appelle "Connected". À l’époque, on ne pouvait pas y échapper car c’était partout. Dans les clubs, à la radio, dans les pubs pour bagnoles, et probablement même dans la salle d'attente de ton dentiste si ce dernier se voulait un peu "dans le coup". Avec le recul, et en réécoutant la bête pour les besoins de cette chronique, le constat est sans appel : c'est l'archétype de l'album "capsule temporelle". Tu l'ouvres, et ça sent le début des années 90, l'espoir naïf, les pantalons trop larges et cette espèce de fusion pop-rap-acid-jazz qui semblait être le futur à l'époque. Mais l'ensemble a mal vieilli... Très mal vieilli... Pour comprendre "Connected", il faut se rappeler le paysage de 1992. Le grunge explosait aux USA, le Shoegaze faisait du bruit en regardant ses pieds au Royaume-Uni, et la dance music commençait à muter. Stereo MC's, c'était la réponse britannique, un peu proprette, au hip-hop américain. Là où Dr. Dre sortait "The Chronic" et redéfinissait le G-Funk avec une lourdeur menaçante, Rob B. et sa clique nous proposaient une version soft, "anti-matérialiste et positive". Le leader, Rob B. (Rob Birch), c'était ce mec avec une dégaine improbable, mélange de "chaman de Lavender Hill et de Vincent Van Gogh", connu pour ses gestes de mains bizarres sur scène, comme s'il essayait de tordre des cuillères par la pensée. Il avait cette énergie, c'est indéniable mais bon sang, qu'est-ce que ça sonne "gentil" aujourd'hui. L'album précédent, "Supernatural", avait donné le ton, mais "Connected" a marqué un tournant. Nick "The Head" Hallam, le maître d'œuvre musical, a décidé de lâcher un peu les samples purs et durs pour intégrer de vrais musiciens live et une troupe élargie de choristes féminines. Sur le papier, c'est l'évolution logique mais dans les faits, ça donne cette production "brillante et éclatante" qui, trente ans plus tard, sonne aussi lisse qu'un comptoir de cuisine Ikea. Alors, soyons honnêtes, tout n'est pas à jeter, et c'est pour ça que j'ai mis 3 et pas 1 car il y a un groove indéniable. Le morceau titre, "Connected", est une machine de guerre. Dès les premières mesures, cette ligne de basse, ce beat... c'est impossible de ne pas hocher la tête. C'est le genre de morceau qui te chope par le colbac et t'oblige à bouger. "Step It Up" est l'autre gros morceau de bravoure. C'est efficace, c'est carré, c'est calibré pour la radio FM et les dancefloors pas trop exigeants. Les chœurs féminins (Cath Coffey, Veronica Davies, Andrea Groves) font un boulot monstre pour donner de la soul et de la profondeur à l'ensemble. On sent l'héritage du reggae des années 70 digéré et recraché sauce brit-hop. Mais passé ces deux/trois tubes (on peut ajouter "Ground Level" ou "Creation"), on se rend compte que la recette est toujours la même. Rob B. scande ses textes avec ce flow caractéristique, un peu traînant, un peu prêchi-prêcha, sur des instrumentaux qui, s'ils sont techniquement irréprochables, manquent cruellement de danger. C'est de la musique confortable, c'est du hip-hop pour les gens qui n'aiment pas le hip-hop. C'est de la soul pour ceux qui trouvent que James Brown crie trop fort. Le problème majeur de cet album, c'est qu'il est devenu la bande-son par excellence de l'époque. Il a été tellement utilisé, usé, rincé, qu'il est difficile de l'écouter aujourd'hui sans avoir l'impression d'être dans un spot télévisé pour un opérateur téléphonique ou une voiture citadine. La production, qui se voulait "gleaming" (étincelante) à l'époque, sonne aujourd'hui datée. Non pas datée avec le charme vintage d'un enregistrement analogique des années 70, mais datée comme un logiciel de PAO de 1995. C'est propre, trop propre, ça manque de gras, de sueur, de ce petit truc sale qui fait qu'un disque traverse les âges. Comparé à "Blue Lines" de Massive Attack, sorti un an plus tôt, "Connected" fait figure de jouet en plastique à côté d'une sculpture en marbre. Massive Attack avait une noirceur, une mélancolie urbaine intemporelle. Stereo MC's avait... de la bonne humeur et des chapeaux bizarres. Et puis, il y a cette lassitude qui s'installe à l'écoute car les morceaux s'enchaînent et se ressemblent. "Creation", "Ground Level", "Step It Up"... On reste sur le même tempo, la même ambiance "on est cools, on est conscients, on groove". C'est sympathique cinq minutes, mais sur la longueur, ça devient aussi excitant qu'un dimanche après-midi devant un téléfilm allemand. Il est intéressant de noter que le succès phénoménal de cet album a littéralement cramé le groupe. Ils ont tourné sans fin, épuisant leurs ressources physiques et mentales, au point de disparaître complètement de la circulation pendant neuf ans après ça. Neuf ans ! Et dans l'industrie musicale, c'est une éternité. Quand ils sont revenus, le monde avait changé, la Britpop était morte et enterrée, l'électro avait muté dix fois, et plus personne n'attendait le retour du messie de Lavender Hill. Cet épuisement se sent peut-être en filigrane. "Connected" est le son d'un groupe qui donne tout ce qu'il a dans une formule unique, sans garder de réserve pour l'évolution future. C'est un feu de paille brillant, qui a illuminé 1992 et 1993, mais qui ne laisse que peu de chaleur aujourd'hui. Ma note est juste, je pense. 3 sur 5, c'est la moyenne, plus un petit point pour les souvenirs. On ne peut pas mettre une mauvaise note à "Connected" ou "Step It Up". Ce sont des morceaux qui fonctionnent encore, qui ont ce petit truc accrocheur, cette efficacité pop redoutable. Si tu passes ça en soirée (une soirée rétro, s'entend), les gens vont sourire, peut-être même danser un peu car c'est de la musique conviviale. Mais est-ce un album essentiel ? Est-ce un album qu'il faut absolument écouter avant de mourir, comme le prétend le bouquin ? Franchement non, et si tu meurs sans avoir écouté l'intégralité de "Connected", ton âme ne sera pas moins complète. Tu auras raté quelques bons grooves, certes, mais tu auras aussi échappé à pas mal de remplissage. C’est un album témoin d’une époque où l’on croyait que le mélange des genres allait forcément accoucher d’un futur radieux et métissé, où l’on pensait que porter des fringues trois fois trop grandes était le summum du style. C’est un album "sympa", et dans mon panthéon personnel, rempli de disques torturés, complexes, violents ou divins, "sympa", c'est souvent synonyme d'oubliable.

Perfectly solid, really a 3.5. No true standout tracks but Connected, Playing with Fire, The End were all enjoyable

Mid.old white hiphop

Echoes of the baggy movement and there are also some trip hop vibes on this album. Solid grooving from the era when indie kids started dancing.

I remember when this album came out. Connected played to no end and while I liked the track at first, they soon burned it out for me. I don't think I've ever listened to this all the way through, however I had mates who would listen to this a lot, so I might've as well. This type of old school club music is really not my kinda thing. It's not bad, quite the opposite actually with lots of groove and rolling beats, but it's just not meshing with my music taste.

3.5. Enjoyed and then really enjoyed the music that came after that from Spotify. It’s always interesting to see which music gets spawned by an album.

At nearly an hour play time, it's runs a bit long but it never had me grinding my teeth hoping it would end.

Connected One of my favourite ever festival memories is Stereo MCs playing the dance tent at about 3am at Fuji Rock Festival back in 2001. They were excellent, picking things up after James Lavelle had played a terrible DJ set, or had, more accurately, played a DJ set terribly. With that, and with the presence of Connected and Step it Up, I went into this expecting to enjoy it, which I did. It definitely has a dated streak running through it, a very early 90s, hip-hop and electronica influenced jazzy sound, with strong notes of Soul II Soul, and his 90s rapping style, which can best be described as very white and very evocative of canal boats and those thick woven hoody things. While there’s nothing quite as good as the two big songs, and they seem to very much favour one particular drum pattern, the songs are pleasant enough, with a nice bass sound and laid back vibe, with some nice flourishes, the strings on Chicken Shake were very nice I thought It's a fun, nostalgic listen, although there’s nothing quite as good as Connected and Step it Up. I think that makes it a solid 3. 🚗📱🏭 Playlist submission: Connected

Overlong, but good, even if it does now sound a little dated. A bit of judicious pruning would have made for a tighter, more exciting album.

2.5 Ran a touch ling and got repetitive. The singles are decent

Boring

Ugh, why? Did they write up a whole article on this thing?

Dated and lame as fuck. They sound like a rejected Gorillaz feature. Also, their album art makes me irrationally angry.

Slow jams dance tracks. Yawn.

I do like the song "Connected" but the only way this album would get a five from me would have been if they'd sampled Tammy's song from the KITH (1988, S3E3) on their song "Creation" which disturbingly sounded a lot like that. Start at a minute in to get straight to the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDfH4BVHN6w

Voor mij zijn dit one-hit-wonders uit een telecomreclame. Na wat me de afgelopen dagen is aangedaan is dit prima om te luisteren, maar voor mij hoort niet niet thuis in dit soort lijsten. Erg 90's, huismerk Moby gecombineerd met The Streets. Het voelt wat kaal aan en dan heb ik het niet over Moby.

Connected actually sounds good, with is no small thing for a dance record. That's thanks to liberal use of horns, flutes, electronic piano, in addition to scratching and basic hip hop drum beats, and no horrid synths. In addition, the elements really are tastefully layered, and the textures are varied throughout the album. The vocals are pretty white bread and the raps are bland, but who knows, many that helped Connected cross over to a more general audience--it's not a deal-breaker for me. There really isn't all that much more to this music, but it's enough really. After all, nobody is actually going to listen to this, they're going to dance to it, right? Right? This stuff has a danceable beat, and sonically speaking, it doesn't make you want to hurl. What more do you want? I dunno. How about an album that doesn't bore you to tears?

Maybe put the first track on the 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die list and forget the rest.

“Connected” by Stereo MC’s (1992) It’s almost embarrassing to listen to the British so desperately attempt to cash in on authentically American art. On this album, the funk is too clunky. The drums are way too mechanical. Horns sound like a suburban high school lab band. Some nice compositional grooves, but poorly performed, with super weak vocals, (especially the backing vocals, which seem to have been recruited on the basis of something other than talent). Lyrics are plastic, with faux Ebonic appropriations that prompt a cringe. Listen to the main rap in “Everything” or “Sketch” and tell me if the unsuccessfully suppressed British accent doesn’t give you the heebie jeebies. Let me boil this down: Two white British guys making money pretending to be East or West coast urban rebels. Sheesh. I just wasted an hour. 1/5

Meanwhile, in the UK. While most of the world was gobbling Seattle's knob, Stereo MCs were making dance music ahead of its time. Almost 35 years late this album sounds as fresh as it sounds timeless.

This just feels like the earlier part of the 90's, which I don't remember because I wasn't alive yet you old fucks

Liked it better than I thought I would

This was fun. Starting with connected and setting a tone and mood and not losing it was nice. Short and sweet. I can understand how some may not be into this style and time in pop with being heavy with hip hop on top. Too me its Too Sexy and Connected but Connected a way more interesting and complex song than Fred’s jammer. So, if ya dig Connected like I do , then the this album will be great for you too.

I loved this. This is up my alley all the way. I seem to have fallen behind on the album generator site so I will keep this one simple. This is part of my "core genre" and it is a core group (whether I was reintroduced by the site or not (which I was!)). I can just groove to this without any need for mood or timing or excuses. For me, this band. All in!

i thought this SLAPPED. funky and chock-full of vibes. i even listened to a few tracks several times, which i basically never do. what a great discovery. i can't wait to see a whole bunch of really normal reviews when i check the global stats...

Great. I loved this. Like B-52s mixed with C&C Music Factory and Young MC

Wonderful band, amazing album, not only Connected & Step It Up are gems here

Music goes crazy. Trancy. 5/5

This was surprisingly good and I've added it to my library for future listening

Almost shutbitboff, but then I loved it

Not a single skip..if you want a 10/10 jam session, look no further than this album. & this was also my first album using this site. & I had so much fun with it! Listened to this at like 6 in the morning, & it had me energized lol

The Brits are right on this one. I wish this kind of electronic music persisted but ever since labels have been cracking down on sampling it’s pretty tough to do. Anywho I really enjoyed this, i was expecting something a bit more hip-hop forward, but the first rap verse isn’t till song 3 if I remember correctly? This album is pretty hard to categorize into one thing, it’s like a more upbeat version of trip hop I guess, whatever it is it’s great, and intriguing.

Fantastic album. Every song a banger

I've always loved Stereo MCs, and Connected stands out as their finest work. I'm thrilled to give it another listen and glad to see it recognized on the top 1001 album list. This album is proof that electronic music can be not just good—but great. Favorite songs: Connected, Step It Up, and Ground Level are the big hits, but there are also some excellent hidden gems like Everything, Pressure, and Playing with Fire. Least favorite: Honestly, there isn’t a bad song on the album. Album artwork: The cover is very cool and perfectly reflects the vibe of the music

Got me hitting moves I didnt know were possible

5 stars. For a band I have never heard of, I really enjoy this album.

The best of the best!!!

Ohhh haven't heard Connected in ages. Totally holds up. Every track is a banger that takes you to the club or just bopping around the kitchen. I miss the 90's.

Not usually my kinda thing but this was great. Loved it.

I didn't realise I had heard so many Stereo MC's tracks. It is a greatest hits!

Pretty good, rap like J5

10/10. W O W!!!!! I really didn't expect this album to be THIS good!!!!! :) Hip hop music isn't my cup of tea. However, something about this album in particular just hit me in all the right spots, and scratched all of the right itches in my brain. It's nothing short of absolutely enjoyable. The instrumentation is dope, and so were the vocals. The album did not get dull over time. While I didn't enjoy it as much as I enjoyed Rage Against the Machine's self-titled album, it's pretty freaking close to being as enjoyable as that album. I certainly plan on re-listening to this album in the near future. :)

I knew 1-2 songs from this album, but it was great to dig into the whole thing. “Don’t let up” was playing as I was on a tough hiking trail, the perfect motivation music.

I absolutely loved this one. Made me nostalgic for a time I didn't really get to experience because I was so young.

love it

Loved it! Best surprise album I’ve gotten by far.

Saw these this month, they were great live! Fantastic album.

buen flow

Fun album! Great to discover it :-)

One of my favorites so far

funky electrónico y fuera de mi estándar pero está genial

Just love the beat. Was something new when it came out and still pops up on the radio.

5 Erstes mal von der Band was gehört, aber irgendwie komplett Gefühl. Geile Mischung.

Awesome! Never heard of it. Like the 80s hiphop crossed with electronic vibes! Personal top3 in no order: Connected Everything Sketch

"Am I on an episode of Fresh Prince?" "Am I walking down a California boardwalk with a boombox on my shoulder?" "Bro can I borrow this tape to listen to on my Walkman?" Phrases that might have been uttered while listening to this album. Does it get any more '90s?!

if i were asked to describe what the 90's sounded like, this would be it.

Epic album! I am so glad for this site, for 1001. One of the Best things I have discovered in my life. Thank you <3

I've always liked the title track to this album, although I was never really aware of Stereo MC's as a band. It was good to hear the rest of the album, and the early 90s cool funkiness really grew on me as it went along.

What a nice album. This shake my chicken:)

Loved this. Dancey fun!

Acid jazz. Me ha gustado bastante. Vinilo, incluso.

Acid jazz. Me ha gustado bastante. Vinilo, incluso.

FUCK YES!!! Lesgo 90s

Sorry bruv, but I can’t stand listening to Brits rap. I was out after 4 or 5 tracks.

I really like this music, it’s clean and funky. I might buy this vinyl. It’s smooth and transitions well, has good quality music, great instrumentals, and overall great presentation.

Had never heard this other than the title track. Absolute gold. I enjoyed every single track on here. What a fun early 90s vibe

This is the first album that I haven’t heard that blew me away. Loved it.

What an outstanding slice of 90s dance music this is. Listening to it is like time travel to a more carefree time.