Connected

C-

Not great. Not horrible either, but a bit of a chore to get though

Familiar tunes but sounded a little let gimmicky to me. Can’t help but relate to the Carphone Warehouse commercial.

90s cheese

Song 1. 2/5

Zu wenig Abwechslung

Two classic early 90s dance singles (Connected and Step It Up) get a star each, but like most albums in this genre there's just a ton of filler around them

They find a good groove and then they resoluty stay in it for the rest of the album

Not really my jam, but a few of the tracks are OK; British hip hop just doesn't land for me.

I’m over 900 albums in, and this is easily one of the most forgettable albums I’ve encountered on this list, so far.

Meh. Pretty standard fare as far as electronica hip-hop from the early 90s is concerned -- pretty repetitive beats and all. Didn't really hear anything that caught me or felt revolutionary here. Don't get me wrong, it's passable, but it's another inclusion that I'm not quite sure how it ended up on this list.

This album had potential to be so much better. I wouldn’t say the songs are bad, but each of them lack depth and creativity. Some are catchy at best. The lyricism tries so hard at times it made me roll my eyes. This is just barely a 2 star rating.

Not really my kind of music

As músicas mais conhecidas marcaram minha adolescência. Disco ótimo para um som ambiente mais descolado.

execute the album cover artist

Not my thing. Strong opener (there's probably a reason it was populare and the rest are not) but then it just got repetitive.

One idea per track doesn't make for a very interesting record...

Well this started off especially strong, but became increasingly difficult to get through after the first jam.

this won a Brit Award and was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize? could've fooled me. I'll reiterate that I am extremely American, so I have absolutely no reference point for why exactly this album and this band had such a huge moment in the UK at the time. it's serviceable dance music with some cool drums, surprise horn lines and decent enough rapping, but nothing here really stuck with me beyond that. it gets pretty repetitive just a few tracks in. yeah, dance music is about repetition, but from song to song, I feel like I'm hearing a lot of the same musical tropes. I like the minor pentatonic scale and the Dorian mode, but for a full-length dance album experience, they start to wear out their use after a while. this definitely doesn't feel like an album I should be sitting in a chair listening to; maybe if I was in a different listening context, like a dance party or something, it would hit differently. but as it stands, I'm not sure I'd call this "Must Hear" material. I guess you had to be there. light 4/10.

I remember them from 1992 ... Haven't thought about them since

Connected is a banger, but the rest just kind of blurs together

Reminds a tiny bit of WORLD PARTY, which I surprisingly liked when it first came out, even though I don't care for funk at all. This isn't as good as WP was though, so I'm just giving 2 stars

Hip hop, with some decent melody

It felt very samey.

This one has dated badly. Too much drugs and lazy beats.

207/1001 🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑

Fairly decent beats, they're a one-hit wonder band but pretty much all the songs are on the level of Connected, I think. Totally unessential listening.

Nothing bad for the style, but I can't see how it can be of interest on this list.

Alternative dance from the 90s that absolutely no one would care about today. It was aggressively bad, tho.

I couldn't finish this, I just can't take this seriously. This album really highlights a feature missing from this website. I want to see what versions of the 1001 albums list each album was on. There's just no way this album was on every single list, and the original 2005 list was already pushing it's luck by including this. This album is seriously just a soundtrack. Every song is like... the opening song for a 90s coming of age movie. The kid wakes up and one of the interchangeable songs on this album plays (doesn't matter which one from what I heard) while they walk to school and it fades out when they walk through the doors. For some reason, the album is listed as trip hop, acid jazz, hip hop? Like yeah, I GUESS there's a dude rapping on the album, but honest question... was anyone really listening to this for the rapping? It's kind of like if Cake made way more boring, repetitive backing tracks for their singer. I thought it was more like breakbeat, which I already don't like because it's repetitive as hell and boring, but breakbeat at least has ENERGY. They took breakbeat, slowed it down, and then grabbed the Cake guy to do his laid back rapping. Nuh uh, no way, cannot bring myself to finish. At least it's just kinda boring, not offensively bad, so two stars.

Not good

Just okay

Good reminder on national mental health day to keep that mind connected. Outside of the two singles I remember (which are great nostalgia songs) I didn’t really love this

2.5

Didn't really like the repetitive voiceovers going on in the back, was alright thoug

Helt chill! Vidrig album art

There was a time when what's labelled under "genre" for this one was extremely my jam - acid jazz, alternative hip hop, trip hop - but Stereo MCs never were. I read some "Massive Attack" in the reviews and CTRL+F'd for more: There are nine of those comparisons - including one that ascribes influence of this album ON them, jfc - and alright, I'll roll with it: what if Massive Attack made music to party and get wasted to - right, a horrible prospect. When "Connected" steps on the brakes, it's okay but then, here's Massive Attack one more time: You can sing "Safe From Harm" ('91) over "Playing With Fire" ('92). Fun fact. So, all in all, another lackluster entry from a list of • Forgettable Albums With a Hit Single You Likely Have Heard. •

This is perfectly okay, musically. I'm docking a point because it seems to think it's saying something important.

Meh. This really is not my thing.

Not my thing. I don't care for MC type hip hop. There's some ok things in it? At least it's not the same thing over and over again

Here is another example of an album that is good but isn't really my thing. I did like some of the background touches, though, such as the use of brass and flutes.

🫤

not very good. very british.

Some cool tracks on here. Very late 90s sort of dj rap pop

Stereo MC's Connected is undoubtedly a product of its time, capturing the essence of early '90s dance-oriented hip-hop. The album boasts a vibrant, funky sound that's undeniably infectious. Tracks like the title track are undeniable classics, with their catchy melodies and energetic rhythms. However, while the album has its moments of brilliance, it also suffers from some pacing issues. The overall vibe can be a bit repetitive, and some tracks lack the same level of energy and innovation as the standout cuts. Additionally, the lyrical content, while socially conscious for the time, can feel somewhat shallow and generic in retrospect. Overall, Connected is a decent album that offers a glimpse into a specific musical era, but it's not without its flaws. It's a record best enjoyed in moderation.

Aldrig hørt dem før, anede faktisk ikke at Stereo MCs var sådan noget britisk semi-rap. Ret cool beats men også lidt flad oplevelse

Kæft det lyder som 90'erne. Step up er en banger, men resten er relativt forglemmeligt. Ikke lige noget jeg vil finde frem igen.

Nothing terrible about this album but bit of a stretch to say I need to listen to it before I die. Which to be fair applies to a lot of this list. 2.5 stars rounded down to 2.

Meh.. I remember hearing the track "connected" before. Not a whole lot to be excited about here.

Super nineties-sounding, bland, crisp electronic drum tracks backing tedious neo-hippie "we're all the same, man" lyrics. Has that strange sound that music from this era has where it was probably recorded and mixed digitally but the effects and technology weren't quite there, so it all sounds a bit rudimentary.

Not a great album. And tainted by association with the beginning of the death of the Ashton Court festival when they played in Hengove Park because of foot and mouth. They were terrible too.

Connected and Step It Up are the rememberable ones... the rest, meh!

meh

I didn’t really enjoy this album, but it wasn’t awful. I genuinely can’t fathom why it’s considered an essential listen though. I haven’t done any research, so perhaps it was revolutionary in its time. But to my stupid little modern ears, I’d find myself just tuning out. It is dance music, which has never honestly been my forte, but it isn’t as catchy as other dance music of the time.

tja... altijd maar tzelfde

not offensively bad, but just kind of boring and very repetitive. a lot of what you hear here sounds like first drafts, both lyrically and musically. pass!

Wasn't great when it came out and has aged very poorly. Hi tech but low talent effort.

It's interesting but not super into the vocals... Doubted between giving 2 or 3 stars. If I could I would say 2,5 Favorite Tracks: "Connected", "Creation"

I think it's supposed to be dance music, but I don't feel it. Favorite song: Pressure.

I guess 2 since it was fine, but I was kinda happen when the album was done. Will I listen to again: 0%

I remember buying this one on the strength of hit single "Connected". Alas, as fun as all of this kinda felt at the time, the rest of the album comes off as very lackluster compared to said single, and clearly didn't stand the test of time. Only now do I realize that "Playing With Fire" rips off an old moody cut by the Rolling Stones, to a very cheesy and dated result here. Lost that CD a long time ago. Not gonna buy it again. 1.5/5 for the purposes of this list, generously rounded up to 2 6.5/10 for more general purposes. Number of albums left to review: 133 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 373 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 221 Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 279 (including this one)

The guy singing on the first track reminded me of Oasis goes “trip hop” as Wikipedia described the genre. I didn’t like Everything and after a while I got a bit tired of the tracks.

Another alternative dance record out of '90s UK. I don't think vocalist Rob Birch is all that great here, and the beats end up fading into the background for me.

very repetitive, just didn't get into it

My opinion of this album hasn't changed since it first came out. It's okay, but it's not something I would choose to listen to. It sits uncomfortably in a little crevice between funk, rave, and dance music, a place that was popular for a short time in the early 1990s and then pretty much faded back away. There's a couple of hits here and they are really all that is needed to appreciate the entirety of what is on offer here. The extra tracks don't bring anything new to the table, just rather dull instrumental passages, and quite inane half-rap. It's not truly dire, but I feel 2 stars is still a little generous.

Pretty much what I expected, very laid back, that 90's Happy Mondaysish "vibe" . I do have a strong urge to buy a carphone all of a sudden. Weird.

Connected is a fine song. But I'm stopping at track ten here. This isn't doing it for me and I don't see it improving toward the end.

Pretty generic, even for a time when this kind of music wasn't common.

Generic slop. At least there were black people in it.

Meni kyllä mulla toisesta korvasta sisään, toisesta ulos, vaikka meno sinänsä oli iskevää. Miksi ette saaneet minua kuuntelemaan sanomaanne, Stereo MC’s? Miksi nimessänne on heittomerkki?

Jossain määrin tarttuvaakin, mutta esitettynä eteenpäin tasaisesti puksuttavalla, elottomalla ysärikompilla. Vaikea kiinnostua enempää kuin yhden kuuntelun verran.

Okay

I knew the first song. The rest was more of the same.

This isn’t really for me. It’s an early UK hip hop album but there are much better British rap artists who came later. There are much better acts that do the trip hop/acid jazz thing like Portishead or even Jamiroquai, and there are much better British rappers as well. I guess the fusion is sort of unique, but the sound that Stereo MC’s record still just doesn’t sound that unique. For better takes on the same general sound, listen to The Shamen, Tricky, or Happy Mondays instead.

It's so basic. It's really nothing you need to hear. There are much better examples of whatever this is.

I didn’t entirely hate it, but there was nothing about it that I enjoyed. It’s like a weird middle ground between pop and hip hop, but it doesn’t do either well.

This is silly and fun. But very samey-samey, with the rhymiest of rhymes, and it does NOT need to be 56 minutes long. A solid 2.5 but it's getting rounded down bc I will certainly never listen to this again.

Oh that’s the band behind that one song that I didn’t know was called connected, neat. There were a couple other fun moments on here at least

when i was in college, the intramural theater club director made everyone do a series of one act plays, and one of them involved a choreographed dance to Stereo MC's Step It Up. I still have stress dreams about being pulled from behind the lighting board to fill in for someone who got injured

Started out with quite high hopes for this one, but it fades pretty quickly. The title track is cool, but it's all very much of its time, steady, a bit hiphop, a bit alternative. Doesn't evoke much in me, it's a 2 really.

It's a rap album, made entirely to a brief that says "What is the maximum level of hip hop the least open minded white person would be willing to listen to?" And to which the answer is, "Very little". Connected and Step It Up are good pop songs though

No unbelievable

Pff, ik heb nu 2,5 keer heel het album geluisterd, en nog bij geen enkel moment een specifieke gedachte of opvatting gehad. Het is een beetje strandtent-loungemuziek. Ik wil er gewoon van neerploffen en een dikke boomstronk opsteken. Rating: 5,5/10 Highlights: Het klonk voor mij meer als 1 grote brei aan relaxbeats, ik kon geen onderscheid maken tussen de nummers

De plaat heeft een lekkere vibe om een goed gesprek op te voeren of een lekker drankje te drinken in de zon. Maar zet de muziek dan vooral niet te hard. 5/10 Highlights Connected

I was gonna give it a 1, because it's not good. But then they had a song that repeated "you can't make it fade away" and the irony of it earned them another star.

Very dated. Great opening track, but everything is downhill from there. Lyrics are not great, and the overall sound just screams early 90s in a way I did not miss.

Starts off pretty fun but quickly loses steam.

Enjoyed a few of the tracks, so 2 stars

Not bad but tiresome

Ugh. Another early hip hop record that sounds just like every other early hip hop record. Boring.

I don't even need to hear this after I die either. Plus I've heard "Connected" enough times to last me multiple lifetimes.

dance music. bleh.

A little outdated Not something I would listen to often. Songs are also a bit too long

Musa parani merkittävästi kun levyn jälkeen alkoi soimaan vastaava musa. Simppelit biitit eikä räbäyksessäkään kehuttavaa.

Doesn't belong in this list, all sounds the same. One hit wonders

Esto casi es un one hit wonder, además del Connected el Step it up. Pues en su momento tendría su gracia pero como imprescindible cuesta verlo.

Some reasonably catchy beats at times, but overall pretty unremarkable ‘90s British jazzy hip hop. “Connected” is the strongest song on the album (and their most popular song by quite a bit). There’s a few other decent tracks, but it drags quite a bit at 53 minutes. I don’t have a ton to say about this, it wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t really my thing at all. Favorite song: Connected Other: Ground Level, Step It Up 3/30/24

Im not listening to that album cover. Jk i did not care much for the style, seems quality enough but meh who cares at this point

One hit wonder in a Wonder Bread time of pop music

Not a baggy man myself. Didn't really hate this, but did find it a bit annoying, and very little grabbing me. Fave Tracks: Creation 2.4/5

Dos hits y después para escuchar de fondo

White

Pretty nice sounding album. Groovy. Overall though how it was on the list I wonder. It took a space from someone else.

Seems really dated. One hit song (in the early 90s) is no reason to add this album to the 1001 list.

Bland, boring and instantly forgetable. That would mean 3 stars per my rating system 1 star - hated it 2 stars - disliked it 3 stars - meh 4 stars - liked it 5 stars - loved it But that would be unfair to other albums who got 3 stars so I decided that listening to this album meant that aprox. 50 minutes could have been spend listening to music that was more interresting than this. That is enough to dislike this album and give it 2 stars.

I hope they made a lot of money from the advert, because the one-time ubiquity of 'Connected' via Vodaphone almost put me off listening to this... All that said. Nothing against this, but it speaks to me as indistinctly now as it did in 199-whatever. I think the problem is that the songs are in essence variations on an interesting but not inventive theme. It isn't an album that one really needs to pay a lot of attention to...

I thought the first two songs were pretty good on this album, and a couple towards the end, but the middle was mostly what I expected - dance tracks that feel like they are from the 90's. The best parts of this album made me think of early Massive Attack or The Prodigy, but I'd definitely go to one of those bands before ever listening to the Stereo MC's, again. On a positive note, the album was still better than I expected, as I was expecting something more in the style of "Pump Up the Jam."

I thought this was kind of boring. Easy to listen to, but nothing super innovative and all the songs tend to blend together. I did like the title track Connected, but then it was 50 kins of the same type of stuff.

⭐️⭐️it wasn’t terrible- vanilla sound- like a 70’s group brought into the 90’s, experimenting with music genres. It didn’t make me want to listen to any of their other music.

Dated sounding, mostly pointless, music where the beat is more important than any kind of songwriting skills.

Okayish. Not bad but not impressive as well

Not for me

Overall: I've only really ever heard the title track on this record. I vaguely recalled one other but hardly knew it. I had zero expectation for actually liking this record enough to get through the entire hour. But as I started paying closer attention to the lyrics, I found it to be quite brilliant that such controversial content was packaged up so well behind the dance beats. I can imagine people in the club dancing the night away without much knowledge of what words were driving into their brains repeatedly. Almost subliminal. I'm not too familiar with the success or response to this record, it'd be interesting to know what influence it may have had with people. I'd consider adding a few tracks to a playlist, or even putting this on while requiring something passive to groove to. Track Breakdown: Fade Away - it's super eerie how timely this lyric is in the US 2024 political lens .. "We're birds of a feather, bees of a sting, Listen to the words that the silo bring 'Cause we're livin' in the shadows of yesterday"

I have this on cassette, but alas no working tape deck. I liked this album a lot in HS, but hadn’t listened to it in decades. Still like some of the tracks, but feel a little bored by the bulk of the tracks. The success of this on mainstream radio did open the electronic pop music flood gates, so I suppose that is its legacy, that and funky flute. Younger me would have given it 4 stars, but older me realizes 2 stars is generous.

This wasn't bad but I know I'd never listen to it again. Completely not my style.

Preppy 🧑🏽‍🦳

It’s ok. Some good signature tunes.

Like the bite of a stale cracker

Beats were pretty good but I got bored of each song very quickly with how repetitive they were. The singer also was just kind of there in the song. Wish this was only a half hour long album.

A very bland and monotone record - I guess it’s an interesting curio as a crossover with 90s electronics pop, British hip hop and that earnest hippie culture and political activism that came with it - but as music - yawn.

Ugh really not a fan of this. Just super repetitive and boring. 4/10

not catchy

I watched the video for “connected”. So much denim, I could almost smell it. And looking at the lead singer, no wonder I had such bad taste in men in the 90s. Thank goodness that changed (adding in case husband is reading…) As for the music, tbh it was quite dull. Hadn’t reached the “repetitive but good” heights of Fat Boy Slim and the like. Might be better if I was off my tits on Two Dogs or Hooch while listening.

not good enough

Ok, feels a bit soulless

One of those albums where they had one great tune so put it at #1 and hope that will be people's lasting memory. Bloated album with one or two other catchy songs (Sketch) was alright but for the most part just drags on and on. Too many songs and most of those overrun. Glad it's over.

This kind of music doesn’t do much for me. It gets repetitive and boring very quickly. I mean, maybe it would be fun to make up some groovy dance moves to go along with it. I just couldn’t get into most of the songs.

I was kind of hopeful after the last trip-hop album, but this falls flat. It has some funky grooves that get stale quickly, and the vocals are bland and dry. Would not recommend.

Individual Ratings: 4.2 3 3.3 3.2 2 2 3.5 2.6 2.5 1.3 3 3.8 3.2 eh

boring and generic

A highly irritating album. The first song and I think the hit struck me as a rip of Happy Mondays... But I could be wrong. Very samey and annoying

I saw Chole's review and she's right, this is just a copy of Happy Monday's. So similar. Like A Bug's Life is to Antz, this is just a lesser version of something great.

Yeah, pretty unessential.

Barreja de música dance amb acid jazz, hip hop i house del momengt, tot plegat molt britànic. No està malament, sobretot en els seus millors moments ('One Step Up', 'Connected'), però queda lluny d'acumular grans mèrits

Completely forgot this.It was generic rapping I think with Basic Beats,no idea why it’s here.

Nudne

So it turns out that "Connected" and "Step it up" are two different songs.

So very 90s. A couple of tracks that are objectively good, although not my cup of tea. I liked the songs when I was 9 though? Does that mean I need to give this album a decent rating? I think not.

I have a good relationship with my girlfriend’s mother. She’s kind, thoughtful, laughs a lot, cooks a good chilli. And our music tastes have some great overlap: we share the same favourite song on the same favourite album (“You Never Give Me Your Money”, “Abbey Road”) and adore Kate Bush, Talking Heads, Tom Waits, Bjork and “Pet Sounds”. But every now and then there’s a snag: she has some unforgivable, controversial opinions. I’ve managed six years without writing at length about those opinions on the Internet, but today I had to wrestle with my utter bafflement over her taste. Here it comes… “Connected” by Stereo MCs is featured in her top 20 albums of all time. She’s fifty-nine years old. How does this happen to a person? Hoping for the best - maybe another “Pet Sounds” or “Abbey Road” for us to bond over - I went in with open ears and an open mind. I listened for an album that I might be willing to also place in my top twenty in thirty years time. And I found absolutely nothing. “Connected” is one hour long and it feels every second. Each track consists of hollow, synthetic drum loops, weedy vocals repeating the same handful of phrases, dated 90’s production (scratching, dub-style basslines, synth samples). I’ll reserve thin, hollow praise for the title track, as well as “Fade Away”, “Step It Up” and “Pressure” (nice backing vocals, percussion, brass, a bit more akin to songs than extended dance workouts). But the rest? A hell of a struggle. A final note on my girlfriend’s mother, the heart of my review. I’m aware there’s some irony in me slagging off her taste when I’ve given albums by Yes and Genesis five stars. I’m fully ready to accept that on an objective level, I may be less cool than my mother-in-law-to-be. But I’d rather live with that than give “Connected” too many more listens. Next time I go round there I’m going to hide the CD under the sink and choose some Bjork instead.

this is not good. It is not as bad as hands guy on the cover suggests it might be - at least the title track, anyway, because I'm not bothering with more than that. This doesn't quite get a 1 because it doesn't enrage me, wouldn't cross the room just to turn it off. music: hated. (⌐■_■)

I’m not cool enough to understand this music

-have never heard of these guys -this first song is very catchy -i am really liking all these songs so far -the lyrics are actually super powerful and moving -i don’t really like his voice and i think its taking me out of it a bit -they’re good songs but not super my vibe -overall i did enjoy the album

Electronic dance music is annoying. Very familiar with the first song and thought it was OK. By the time I got to song #3, I was over it and ready for the next listen. I did only listen 1 time, but there's nothing I'm going to find enjoyable with any additional listens. Another album I just have to say, not for me. 2

2 very good songs and that’s all. Doesn’t age well

No, thanks. Next.

This was absolutely terrible. But I got through it all, so I'm gonna say 2 stars for the sheer fact that I didn't rage quit half way through.

Meh

Banger opener, flattened out

Cant see myself ever listening to this again

J en'en peux plus de ces albums d'ambiance absolument nazes, du coup cet album paiera pour tous les autres.

Straight up elevator music. Only Fade Away is worth listen.

I think this record is trying to say deep things. But it's soooooo cheesy I can't hear any messages. This never hit in the US. But there was certainly cheesy crap here in 1992 not too dissimilar to this. This is crap. Let's be clear about that. But it's crap that lives in its moment. And it does that rather well.

Hey - I can swim in the trance of Connected for a dog’s age, but the rest of this album doesn’t rightly click with me. That said, I cannot overstate how much this album did for the all-denim wardrobe.

White hot for a moment in the UK in 1992, and then...poof...gone into 90's fun pub obscurity

I had high hopes for this album; it starts off with an incredibly catchy and unique title track, and then goes into the socially conscious "Ground Level" and "Everything." But after that point, things just feel like they're stuck in a loop musically and lyrically. While the percussion, sax, and keyboards are initially interesting, they never really stick the landing because they don't go beyond their initial catchiness. Lyrically, this album feels like you're trying to get away from someone trying to get you to sign a petition; you feel yourself nodding along for the first minute of their spiel, but then they keep repeating themselves and they can't really tell you what tangible thing they're trying to achieve. The worst part about this album is that the songs, like the album as a whole, tend to go on and on, never really achieving anything by extending their length. This album probably had some significant influence on alternative hip hop, but listening to it is like trying to run a 10K on sand.

Sounds very dated, although probably in a nostalgic way for anyone who liked it at the time. I only knew 2 songs before listening to the album, and didn't really feel connected (!) to them or any others afterwards. 2 ⭐

I remember the single. This came out the same time chronic and doggystyle did, tough competition. Not for me 2.5

2/5 Best: Ground Level Worst: All Night Long

Not working for me

Although overall my interest waned, I do like the grooves on these tracks.

Not my bag

Not offensively bad but also not good.

If you’ve listened to the first 30 seconds, you’ve listened to the whole song. If you’ve listened to one song, you’ve heard them all. Cool vibe though.

Meh

Hmm not for me

There's not much to say about this. I remember the title song being everywhere when it came out. I hated it then. Now? I don't hate it but mostly because there's not much to hate. It also gets very samey. To be honest, I don't really see why it's an album you must hear before you die; there must be a thousand albums out there which express this same thing equally or better. Maybe it's representative of a sound... but I have to return to the fact it's a sound I don't hate but I'm never digging this back out of Spotify again for the simple reason there's nothing to it. I was still tempted to bump it up to a 3 because it's definitely decent background music with a nice feel... but then I look at the last album I rated 3 and they're not even in the same league!

Just didn't hold my attention very long.

The grooves aren't bad if you turn it down low enough to be able to ignore the mostly dumb lyrics. I didn't bother to throw this on the headphones to truly test if the MCs were in Stereo. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

These tracks are so cookie-cutter.

Good production but way too 90s for its own good. Did not age well and a lot of songs sound like someone mocking the typical 90s sound and rap style.

Not focused, and not varied enough. I can see this band going somewhere if they broadened their horizons, though. A dissapointing record.

Connected is the third album by English hip hop/electronic dance group Stereo MC's. This alternative hip hop / trip hop album performed well in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand - being certified platinum in the UK. The music was rhythmic and well produced, but there's so much going on within the tracks that they can sound a little basic and forgettable. I liked this album as it was an introductory form of trip hop and/or acid jazz from the beginnings of the early age of EDM. Although I do agree that none of the tracks really stuck out to me as unique. A great album, but no where near the best, unless you're specifically looking for this type of electronic hip hop.

Very english, very 90's. Sounds like yuppie music but it has quality. two stars

Ganske kjedelig, skjønne at eg har utsatt da så lenge

Solid 2.5 rating

2 bangers and for the rest a snorefest.

Some two hit wonders

Chill out grooves, not horrible but nothing ground breaking or rememberable to come back to. Favourite track - Connected

I sort of like what Stereo MC’s are trying to do - electronic dance rap techno mix - and they undoubtedly caught the mood with three massive singles off this album. But Connected was always going to eventually end up in a phone network advert despite the new agey, vaguely spiritual and environmental sentiments throughout the album and there’s just not enough here to sustain interest. Rhyming Dictionary rhymes does not make for compelling wordplay.

I didn't hate this, but didn't finish.

Connected was one of those songs that was played all over the place. You couldn't get away from it. Now here we are.

The instrumentals were cool but a lot of the songs just felt like generic early 90s rap. Not bad, just boring.

Funky n fun but doesnt do much more for me than that happy new year

Some tracks were a pretty nice groove but that's about it. All tracks settled into a similar tempo and feel.

Sounds like I should be shopping for jeans.

First track is the one I remember from when this dropped in 92. Second track way better than I remembered. Third track is a little so-so, the female vocal accompaniment is a little fomulaic and bouncy. The next couple are similarly poor. We pick back up with the groovy All Night Long. Here the accompanying vocals are excellent harkening back to 70s funk scene call and response. Quick and tight little piano riffs and the overall lack of lyrics help this song immensely. Step it Up is one of the tracks that got more play time when this album was hot. Still holds up pretty well. Nice sax solos, but I could always do with less flute (Jethro Tull ruined all flute for me). Pressure is way too cheesy. Chicken Shake is another nice instrumental (except for the flute flirting in and out). The next few tracks suffer from repetitive and boring beats and by now we've heard the accent of the lead vocals to the point we're getting annoyed. Nice tempo shift on the last one, but it's just not enough to overcome all the flaws. By the time I listen to is, I'm feeling pretty grateful it's the end.

The opening title track, “Connected,” is a certified one-hit wonder song. That was followed by “Ground Level,” which gave me hope that Stereo MCs were more than their hit. But after that nice bit of acid jazz/trip-hop came a string of pretty dull songs that never grabbed my attention.

overall impressions, it was fine, nothing really stood out to me and its not really the kind of music i like to begin with

Not the worst album. Just an almost generic, dull listen. Nothing really grabbed me. As a whole, just slides in at a 2, but no playlist adds for me.

Pretty monotonous but good bar music!

A few decent songs but so many are pretty dang repetitive and boring. I don’t really enjoyed the lyrics just continuously repeating a vague, semi-political phrase either. Not much else to say about it tbh. 4/10

Guy Ritchie heist music? I got away with stealing from the casino in Vegas music? Sure. Hammy heist music to steal diamonds to. Yup.

Not feeling it

Pas mal le portrait du nouveau courant qu'allait prendre la Pop dans les années 90. Ça me fait penser à une évolution de B-52's un peu plus sérieux. C'est correct, mais sans plus pour moi.

Pretty good

I mean it was fine. Not setting my world on fire or anything. V American sound to me.

I didn't really enjoy this. Each song was very repetitive within itself, e.g. just 5 words repeated over and over.

Good feel but completely forgettable

HL: “Everything”, “Fade Away”, “Playing With Fire” There’s some good jazzy/funky flourishes behind a vocalist (Rob Birch) whose delivery I didn’t find all that interesting. It’s fine for a party background/club (and I’m sure I’ve been to a club at least once in my life)

90s dance/hip-hop: some good, some tragic.

Just not feeling it. Bored mostly. Started out great with their hit, and then waned on.

Even their massive hit is meh. Fine for background music while working. But there's no emotional or musical tension to the whole thing.

i'd be pretty embarrassed if this was what i was into. 2

snorefest. first song brings back some memories

This one is fine, some interesting things happening but mostly just mediocre. 2/5

Dear 1001 albums, Can we chill with the British electronic hip-hop albums? 1 was enough. Sincerely, Everyone Every song sounded exactly the same- and since I’m not listening to this in a club drunk, that bothers me. A real snooze fest that was not fun to listen to. It started out as indifference, turned to general dislike, and at the end turned to disdain and loathing because of the sheer repetitiveness. But man, I bet they really thought they did something with this. My favorites: Connected

Good time.

You son of a bitch, I’m in

It's alright, decent for a mid-tempo workout, could do without the rapping. Decidedly not a must hear album, but not a bad hour spent if you relegate it to the background.

(2.5) Nineties^

One hit wonder

First song is great

Being both catchy and monotonous is quite a trick. When this first came out I was about 13. I remember putting this in the bracket of what people in their late 20s probably listened to, along with M-People, Simply Red and Jamiroqui. I later realised some younger people liked this stuff. I did not. It has not aged well and I don't think I was missing much.

The 90s was crap haha

This is a mixture of house and hip hop, and soundwise very much a product of it's time. Connected is a well known track which I can actually listen to. The rest is OK, not nearly as bad as a lot of gangsa rap - albums, but nothing I would neccesarily have to listen to again. 2/5

Some of the songs were quite fun but it was all a bit samey and nothing too exciting

Je comprends l'attrait, c'est bien produit, mais c'est tellement drabe et toothless

Feel good album, better than expected.

Ok as far as background music goes. Not my thing.

Didn’t really grab me.

Not very enjoyable. Music wasn’t engaging, lyrics weren’t grabbing

It was ok. Had two songs I knew from the 90’s. The rest was meh.

Lower key dance beats, loops upon loops and rap/sing/rap stanzas. A simple formula for a decent album.

Production quality is very high, but this didn't really stick to me.

I don't think this is a bad album. I just respectfully do not think it is for me at all. I didn't mind, but I could also do without. Also, kind of hate the sound of the dudes rapping on this. Sounds a bit like gentrification to me. amd I hate it for that. but isn't a 0.

it's aight 2

Oh this album is so of its time. And I’m (slightly) too young to have nostalgia for this one. I’m sure if I was in university in the 90s I would have loved this

This is very catchy....but so is Covid

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah = No, No, No. Why can't I take dance music serious? I pictured SNL skits, all the way through this listen, with even more vapid lyrics.

5/10

Fine, but not long after I finished it I immediately couldn't remember a thing and instead had "The Power" in my head instead. Otherwise, the sound of a scene set in a club in the 90s

Devo dire che l'hip hop non mi piace molto. Ha dei ritmi estremamente semplici. Mi piacciono molto gli ottoni quando fanno capolino.

A few good tunes but I wouldn't call it an essential album.

90s carphone warehouse advert song

Sounds very dated, although probably in a nostalgic way for anyone who liked it at the time. I only knew 2 songs before listening to the album, and didn't really feel connected (!) to them or any others afterwards

It's alright, definitely not the worst album I've come across so far. I don't want to listen to a full hour of it. Should definitely be on the list of ugliest album covers ever.

It's not my genre, and I would be subjective, but Fade away is really good track:)

Interesting fusion of house and hip-hop. The visible - or rather audible - weld isn't a bad thing, but it does draw attention to the material on either side. The beats are good background music but hardly inspiring. The rapping is of its time as well. It's a solid hour of music, but doesn't seem notable.

needs to be on this list?

this probably went hard in a london club in 1993, but its kinda unmemorable now

It was not my favorite. Couldn't really make it past the first couple tracks.

I did not enjoy this. Wasn't my thing.

Oh man, this thing aged badly.

Vibey but forgettable.

Toch echt het openingsnummer wat me het meest aanspreekt, daarna haakte ik na 5 nummers wel af.

This one really didn't hit me.

One dimensional

Grup totalment desconegut per mi. El primer tema, "Connected", fa bé el seu paper de Ciceró per un àlbum que navega per una barreja amable de disco, hip hop i pop. Vindrien a ser una versió descafeïnada dels Scissor Sisters. Un disc que funciona per a tenir de fons, agradable, sense estridències, una espècie de company silenciós al qual no exigir-li res. Correcte, sense més. Però potser ja és molt.

This sound did not date well.

First song, "Connect", is not bad. "Step it Up" is also good. Acid jazz/hip hop kind of sound. 5/10.

Predictable and lacks anything worth remembering.

Found this repetitive and boring for the most part. I liked a couple songs, namely "Step It Up" and "Chicken Shake" but I was more than ready for the album to end.

There was an album that went along with that song? Honestly though, that would have been fairly forward given when it came out. Sound was ahead of it's time within the electronic sphere...

Good writing but couldn't get into it

Not really my kind of album, but not terrible

Naff

Boring, incredibly repetitive....

Much better than I had expected

Kender du typen intro(!), rytmisk, hiphop-beats, melodisk

Tolerable as background music and I suppose this is an interesting period piece if you are feeling nostalgic for the early 90s dance/rock crossover vibe. But you absolutely do not need to hear it and it has not aged well.

If you take all the best bits of pop, electronic and hip hop and mix them up you get Gorillaz. If you scrape up whatever shit is left you get Stereo MCs.

I find a lot of albums mid, but some of the tracks here just hurt my ears

Plastic soul > No soul

Very simplistic music meant to be popular and fun. Like Disney.

No

Its not horrible but I wouldn't add any so 1.5

Bland

What is this doing in the book?! I want not only a disconnection of this from the book but also an H bomb dropped on it. It’s so banal and uninspiring. It’s like Massive Attack if they were more hip-hoppy n acid jazzy and were complete bozos. Blue Lines? More like Poo Lines. Groove Is In The Heart? More like Groove Is In The Shart. Three Feet High And Rising? More like Three Galaxies Of Dried Dogshit And Drifting. The music is so overwhelmingly stale and the raps are completely toothless and lame. Whole album has the effect of paralysingly lame hold music. It’s criminal that Brand New Heavies around this time brought out classic albums such as Brother Sister which had monster tracks such as Dream On Dreamer and the hit cover of Midnight At The Oasis. Only they could bring out a song such as “The world keeps a spinnin’, the world a spinnin’ yeah! The world keeps a spinnin’, the world a spinnin’ yeah! The world keeps spinnin’ yeah! The world keeps a spinnin’, the world a spinnin’ yeah etc” and make it sound like a joyous, incredible, life-loving tour de force whereas Stereo MCs come out with stuff like “You’re playing with fire. You’re playing with fire. You’re playing with fire. You’re playing with fire. You’re playing with fire” and it sounds like absolute mind-numbing crap. What kind of name is Stereo MCs anyway? It’s like the most special thing about this group is that they’re MCs who are in stereo. Imagine if there was a band to come up later in the book called The Guitar Players or The Jazz Men.

No.

Absolutely inexplicable pick. Even as a very small child with a taped copy of this from the library (on the strength of the then ubiquitous and very of its time ‘Connected’) I knew this album was ass. There aren’t really many genres of music more soul-destroying than ‘90s British acid jazz (seeing this has made me realise an appearance from fucking Jamiroquai is inevitable at some point isn't it...). One of the big flaws with this list is that hindsight seems to be a dirty word - just because a load of moronic journalists were on the right sort of drugs to find this shite appealing enough to nominate for all sorts of awards at the time, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t embrace the freeing march of progress and coming down off whatever high to acknowledge that people make mistakes and that there’s a reason no-one under the age of 40 is ever, EVER going to voluntarily hear this rubbish.

First track I figured I wouldn't like the album, but then it got good ... then outright boring. On balance, it's not a bad LP, but it doesn't deserve to be on this list.

This one fills me with dread. know the singles as this was everywhere. Decades of Connected and Step it Up being in different ads provoke an immense dislike. Might be too laid back, and the version on Spotify sounds so flat. 1.5 rounded down Heard before? Some Owned: No, 94/356 (26%) Will I get: No

The 90's was a weird place, where albums like this were able to be successful. Big nope from me.

No way this belongs in the 1001...

Come on already. 1.0

Absolute dogshit that has no business being on the list. Generic 90s electronic music mixed with mediocre vocals and bad rapping is not a pleasurable listen at all. Also, I struggle to think who would be influenced by this insipid album, so it doesn't even have that. Get this off the list.

So... Is this hip hop or electronic music? I am legitimately confused by the album classification vs. the reviews. I listened, and the answer is that it's vocal electronic music. Basically, this was made by writing some basic lyrics and singing them in a not terribly involving way over early-90s rave music. Unfortunately for the Stereo MC's, it's not really a winning formula. I find myself preferring big beat when it's just the music itself rather than with tepid vocals over it. In the end, the effect is the creation of a terrible mid-90s electronic record with shitty rapping. I've had three less-than-good albums in a row now, and this marks a new nadir. Grossly terrible. This album is ranked #19 of 26 albums for 1992. Other 1992 albums rated by me: Dirt(3/26)-5 The Predator(5/26)-3 It's A Shame About Ray(11/26)-3 Hypocrisy is the Greatest Luxury(21/26)-2 Lam Toro(23/26)-3

This is like hip hop for people afraid of hip hop. It's really nothing special. The first song is fun and I remember when it was inescapable on the radio, but it's not enough to carry a whole album that is so same-samey from start to finish. The only other track that stood out to me was "Fade Away", but that's because it's one of the lamest songs I've heard in a long time...

ive been interested to learn more about this era/type of music but trying to get thru this was a slog. like the single tho

certified ass music.

Corny and dated

super samey, not very exciting

Boring, lame and generic trip hop that the 90s produced by the metric ton, except this time with a bonus: awful rapping! There is only one memorable song, which the group must have understood, because they made it the opening track, the first single, and named the album after it. Best track: “Connected”

The title track is ok, but other than that, it's pretty meh. for me. I will say that it sounds more late 90's techno, than early 90's techno... so maybe it was ahead of it's time. But it just didn't grab me.

This record literally has zero appeal. Sometimes it's possible to feel misty-eyed and nostalgic about music you remember from your youth, well, early twenties for me in this instance, even if you didn't like it at the time. To say I didn't like Stereo MCs at the time doesn't really do justice to just how much I didn't like them. There's absolutely nothing essential about this record, and I find it staggering that anyone remembered it six months after it was released, never mind 30-plus years later.

Stereo MCs always seemed to me to be a producer and record execs idea of a band. "So we need a singer who's a bit of a wideboy, yeah yeah and we'll use that drumbeat, and... tedious dross

This made me feel unconnected.

These repetitive one-chord jams might sound fine on a boomin' sound system in da club but ultimately the threadbare nature of these barely-rapped no-melody numbers doesn't stand up to the cold light of day.

Groove-driven hip-house and alternative dance built on looping basslines, steady breakbeats, sampled textures, and laid-back, rhythmic vocals moves with smooth, repetitive flow. Listening feels like cruising through a city at night where the same beat carries you forward without much change in scenery. The result partially catchy and cohesive while mostly its repetition can feels flat over time.

Shouldn't be in this list. Might have been on in the 90s but has not agreed well.

No thank you

Why?

Nääää

Poor memories of this, singles aside. Will give it a try Absolute muck

Album 141. Connected — Stereo MC's (1992) aaaahhh, I'm tired of getting bad albums. It's tedious electronic music from 90-s, don't understand why it's on the list. 1/5 No liked songs

awful.

this did not need to be on here…

2/10

Nah

DATED AF The MC in this group just made me think of this the entire time: "Me and me blokes got some chips and biscuits for brekkie, innit???" When you make your music this many genres happening all at once, the music takes on a swampy, very forgettable quality it never quite surpasses.