Nitin Sawhney obviously has talent, and the musicianship is laudible, but most of this album is just too polished, too polite for my tastes. It makes Zero 7 sound like death metal.
The concept of the album also seems a little half-baked with the vocal sample snippets coming across like an afterthought rather than essential parts of the tracks.
Never heard this before (outside of the singles) and have to say it is both more poppy and more retro-sounding than I would have imagined, seeing as it came out in the days of garage and grime. I found it a bit bland to be honest.
Everyone in my peer group was into this album in 2002, it was everywhere for a while. I've definitely overheard it as not listened to it for years. It was interesting to go back to it now. I can still see it's appeal, it's very accessible, and doesn't have to rely on adding vocals to tracks to do so, although there are a couple of good performances by Erlend Oye. Royksopp never reached these heights again. It tails off a bit in the last couple of tracks (especially the last one which wasn't on the vinyl version and so is sort of a bonus track really, and sounds like it).
I’d never heard this. It was a lot mellower than I expected and reminded me a bit of Super Furry Animals.
Superb crossover electronica album. ‘Juanita’ is one of their best tracks, ‘Pearl’s Girl’ is also a fantastic driving breakbeat track with wonderful pads.
Sone of the 1/5 reviews of this are hilarious, these people should really just filter “electronica” out of their albums selections.
Their 5th album, and also their 5th best album. It seems quite garish compared to the graceful sigh of Behaviour (perhaps a conscious reaction to it), but contains some of their best known (if not best) tracks. Can You Forgive Her? and The Theatre are outstanding.
This is a strange one. I think it's a great soundtrack and I am a fan of Air, but there are at least three better albums they have made, and I assume they are not all on the list.
This is very atmospheric, well played and composed, but it is really just a recurring set of half a dozen tunes arranged differently. Standouts include 'Playground Love' and 'Dirty Trip'.
I reviewed the US version as I think it's better than the original UK release.
The album makes an immediate start with the bouncy Beatmasters version of 'Move Any Mountain' which has more energy that the original mix and less Mr C rapping, which can only be a good thing.
The Massey (of 808 state) mix of 'Human NRG' is also superior to the original, mainly because it sounds like an 808 State track (the drums are straight out of 'Cubik'), whilst also still being fairly similar to the original.
Next up is 'Possible Worlds: Deep PSI'. I prefer the original mix of this, mainly because it has more of a song structure and more of the guitar, which I think is the strongest element of the track, but this isn't a bad mix.
'Omega Amigo' has wisely been left untouched, this was the flyer single for the album and is perhaps the most conventionally 'pop' song on here, well produced by Steve Osbourne.
'Evil is Even' is irritating, the vocal samples are ill fitting and it is the weakest track on the album.
'Hyperreal Orbit' is William Orbit's remix which I think edges it slightly, though I find this track quite dated compared to some of the others.
'Lightspan' is, I think, the Renegade Soundwave mix, hard to tell as they are all quite similar , but the production is slightly clearer. A pretty enough tune, but inessential.
'Make it Mine' is again a better remix as it dumps the rubbish Rhyme & Reason rap from the original, quite a jolly, catchy number.
'Oxygen Restriction' is a sleeper hit, a slinky, slightly menacing tune.
'Hear Me O My People' is an Orbital track, rather than a Shamen one. It's great though, and slightly deeper than the rest of the tracks.
In summary, this is a good remix album rather than artist album, but kudos to The Shamen for their production tastes.
I bought this album on the day it came out and returned it to the shop immediately after listening to it as I thought it was rubbish. But you couldn't get away from hearing it in 1997, it was absolutely everywhere and I soon succumbed to its charms. I never liked Block Rockin' Beats as a single, but it was a Number 1 hit here in the UK and a very 'accessible' way into the album. 'Dig Your Own Hole' is rawer, better, and more like the live Chemical Brothers experience. I'm also fond of 'Elektrobank' and the toughness of the breaks, and the vocal sample works well. 'Piku' is the first suggestion of filler to me. Pretty but lightweight. 'Setting Sun' was another monster number 1 hit. At the time in the UK it was illegal to say anything negative about Oasis. This is the better hit for me as it's a bit more distinctive. I have a soft spot for 'It Doesn't Matter' as this was huge in techno clubs in the UK at the time and takes me back to them. Side C of the album is most like the live experience, but perhaps doesn't work as well in album form. If this side was missing I don't think the album would suffer much, even 'IDM' is more of a club track. There's a pretty Beth Orton-vocal track and it finished with 'Private Psychedelic Reel' which is OK but goes on a bit. All in all holds up pretty well, despite my first negative reaction back in 1997
A wonderful sprawling trip and a huge step up from their debut album, this is cinematic, moody, mysterious with wonderful melodies, wouldn't have been out of place in Warp's Articificial Intelligence series.
Great album by the very dependable Hot Chip. They are so prolific I don’t think I’d listened to this through before but am very familiar with Night & Day and Flutes
This album is just a glorious rush. One of the reasons it's just so enduring is that there are so many memorable tunes that could have been singles (but that would have been too corporate for Factory Records).
"Son, I'm thirty/I only went with your mother 'cos she's dirty" is one of the best opening lyrics to an album ever. I was going to give it 4 stars as I previously thought it tails off for the last two tracks but listening in one go it still had me smiling to the end.
This is an odd one. I presume I've listened to this before as I was a big Red Snapper fan in the 1990s and have their first three albums (admittedly the first is a compilation of EPs). I saw them live twice in the same weekend in 1998 and they were incredible. And yet two years later I wasn't bothered about this album. Listening now, I can kind of figure out why. There's nothing *wrong* with it, but there is no real development of the sound from 1998's 'Making Bones', with the exception of some cut up vocals as opposed to more traditional vocals and rapping, although there is some of that as well.
I don't know what else there is to be said about this album, but it is fully deserving of its reputation. I've been listening to it since the 1980s when the cover artwork used to scare me as a child, and it's lost nothing of its enjoyment. Melodic and dense and yet accessible and in some ways simplistic, it defies easy definition in some ways. At times mellow and soothing, at other times eery and haunting. Part 2 is the standout track for me but it works as a cohesive whole. A quibble-free 5/5
The first half of this album is a blast and has the feel of one of their live sets from the time. In the second half they obviously want to be taken more seriously as musicians (vocal tracks, more chill out tunes), but are less convincing as a result. The first six tracks are 5 star but the gloss taken off my the second half a tad.
I was a bit disappointed by this, being a fan of Tracey Thorn's voice and later EBTG tracks. The drums are just too tinny sounding, makes the whole album sound like a demo.
Never listened to this before although a good part of it was familiar as it contains three big hit UK singles 'Souvenir', 'Joan of Arc' and 'Maid of Orleans' which are all great. The whole things screams early 80s (a la Ultravox and to a slightly lesser extent The Human League), but the album is a moody treat.
I remember this being huge at the time but most of the tracks are very simplistic and repetative and it loses its way in the last third. It has some fun tracks though and a nice 80s vibe
This is a great debut which I haven't listened to for a long time due to overplay. It still packs a lot of its power, especially on the 2012 remaster. Unfinished Sympathy is the obvious standout but I am fond of the deeper cuts like the title track and Five Man Army. The only mis-step is the cover of Be Thankful For What You Got which sounds a bit twee and doesn't fit in with the rest of the album. Also not a big fan of the last track, but for the most part it still holds up. Their next two albums are better though, hope they are in the list also.
Bought this album on the day it came out and it was quite important to my musical tastes developing as a teenager. I've overplayed it so haven't listened to it for years. It holds up well. The opening Break & Enter is a brilliant assault on the senses with a great riff. The album flows with a high energy and intensity, but on revisiting it is is too long (78 minutes). The second quarter (apart from Voodoo People) could be missed out as it doesn't really add anything to the album. The singles are all great, and the fourth quarter 'The Narcotic Suite' is The Prodigy at their most musically adventurous. They would never reach these heights again (I don't rate their overpolished follow up Fat of the Land).
This album is fun, but there are niggles. Side A is pretty much perfect apart from the fact that the remixed single version of Last Train To Trancentral which came out after the album is far superior to the LP version.
Side B is quite mellow and doesn't live up to the headstrong sense of momentum and fun of Side A. The versions of 'Justified and Ancient' also isn't as good as the later single remix (and does not feature Tammy Wynette).
Some of the Side B tunes would be better swapped out for other KLF productions, most notably absent is 'It's Grim Up North'.
A 'special edition' with the single remixes would push this up to a 4.
I wasn't looking forward to this as I'm not a fan of R&B but I actually enjoyed it. The vocals and lyrical content didn't really stand out for me (although she certainly sing), it was more that the music was a kind of more abstract R&B, with a much greater sonic palette than you hear in more commercial music. Then after listening I saw it was released on Warp which is my favourite label, which makes sense.
A pleasant surprise.
For some reason I'd never listened to this before. It sounds fresher than the follow up album, mainly because of lack of familiarity I guess. The breakbeat and 303 combos sound great, but it is resolutely one-trick so by the end of it you'll be ready for something different
Not heard this in nearly two decades and it's still an absolute blast. All MY Friends is one of the tunes of the 00s.
Really surprised to see this on here. Not because it's not great (it is), but I thought it was a bit too niche for this Americanized list. Haven't listened to it for ages but it holds together brilliantly. It could lose a couple of tracks (Soft Machine, Damaged People) but moves so quickly it just about gets away with it.
80s sounds are everywhere now but there was nothing uncooler in 1999 than trying to sound like you were from the 80s. Stuart Price really bucked the trend here, totally did his own thing and ended up spearheading the 80s revivial, ultimately ending up with him producing Madonna. She was lucky as he is a brilliant producer and had the midas touch for about a decade, starting with this.
A pretentious title, to be sure, but one that is completely accurate. Flyer single “Inner City Life” stopped me in my tracks when I first heard it on the radio in 1994 and on the album it is expanded into a 20 minute prog opus. In the early days of electronic music that would have been Side A of a classic album, but here it is just the first track. There are numerous classics on this one hour and 45 minute epic. The only mis-step is “Adrift” in which we realise how important the “drum” in drum’n’bass is when it’s missing. But that not enough to stop it getting the maximum rating.
I guess this is in here because MJ Cole typifies the garage two-step sound which was massive in the UK in the early 00s. I was never a big fan, I can appreciate the production values but found it dragged over a whole LPs worth
Bought this on the day it came out and played it a lot at the time. I never truly loved it though and revisiting it l these years later I can see why. It has some great tunes in it, but it is so messy, it sounds like a live DJ mix not a studio album. It is restless throughout, and ultimately the relentless kitchen sink approach is irritating. It's compared a lot to Endtroducing on here, but the difference with DJ Shadow's approach is that everything seems to be done with great care and precision, whereas this has a throw enough shit at a wall approach. A lot of the time it sounds like a trainwreck.
An evergreen classic debut. I was a bit down on this album when it came out as it was so hyped, but I still listen to it regularly 30 years later which proves I was just a stupid teenager. It has a dreamy, hazy quality and all the tracks are good and full of character.
Classic 3rd album which takes a sharp turn from their 2nd (also on this list). There are several spellbinding tracks on this: the jazzy opener Forever, the moody Sad But True featuring Alison Goldfrapp, who also features on the album centrepiece, the incredible 15 minute Are We Here? The grandest thing they did, until the next album. There are a couple of tracks on it I don’t like but I felt that 4 was too low so I’m giving it top marks.
This is a really good selection of tracks, and I enjoyed listening from beginning to end. My only issue is I prefer remixes of all the singles (bar the title track, which is in it's best guise here in the Spring Heel Jack produced version), But I prefer the remixes of Before Today (by Dillinja), Wrong (Todd Terry or Deep Dish) and Single (Photek). So with these versions I'd give it top marks but as it is I can't help thinking of those remixes.
This album screams late 90s in every concievable way. It has four massive singles (from the UK, anyway) and lots of other tunes which are familiar from films and adverts from the time. It's big, fun, brash, dumb and very disposable. Enjoyable but a strange one for the 1001 list.
Unusually, for such a foggy, paranoid, stoned-sounding album, the first six tracks (half the album) were all singles in the UK. None of them were exactly smash hits, but this was definitely Tricky's heyday. The reason I mention this is that it makes the album feel imbalanced, definitely a bit front-loaded, but it's still a good listen. The lyrics occasionally make me feel a bit queasy though.
Hadn't heard this in a long time, It's very 2007. Enjoyable, glitchy tuneful electro. Not sure it belongs on this list though.
The starting point of the Kraftwerk we know and love. The album is dominated by the title track which chugs over the entirety of Side A, and is both hypnotising and rather sweet. Side B doesn't match up and still has traces of the old Kraftwerk (flute in the last track), but the legacy of this album is assured.
One of the cornerstones of British techno. The Lush-Impact-Remind suite is a heavenly 30 mins of electronic music. Halcyon tops it off. Essential
I bought this when it came out but it never really grabbed me. I still feel the same now, it's well played but I don't feel it really commits to anything and nothing really stands out.
This is their best album, certainly their most 'complete'. It's not an exaggeration to say that all 10 songs on this could be singles, indeed 5 of them were, such is the quality control and the PSBs' knack for writing catchy and memorable songs. It also has my all time favourite song of there's on it 'King's Cross'.
Warp Records is my favourite label, but for some reason this album has never really made an impression on me (apart from the wonderful 1st track). Possibly because it's a bit too polite for Warp. It's ideal background music, but nothing really sticks out apart from "Nights..."
Classic British dance album full of anthems. Sounds better now than it did then. Song of Life is the standout track for me
Pioneering UK techno, still sounds good nowadays due to the idiosyncratic nature of 808’s sound. Very melodic and full of quirks. It also has one of THE acid house anthems ‘Pacific’, though my personal favourite track is ‘Donkey Doctor’. I’d be happy if it had more tracks on it, the last track is just a soundscape so it is only about 38 minutes long but so are lots of 5 star older albums. So 5 stars it is
Yet another album I like more now than when it came out. It’s 60s stylings won’t be for everyone but they consistently know how to knock out a memorable tune
An absolute classic of the genre. Some of the other 1 star reviews of this are hilarious (“elevator music). Simple yet melodic in an often quirky and unique way. Haven't got bored of listening to it over 30 years. What this list should be all about.
Their best album. A perfect balance of techno-pop and indie rock, no weak tracks, amazing artwork.
I can see how this collection of grooves got David Holmes the Out of Sight scoring gig. However, the vocal snippets tend to be more interesting than the music which I think is a bit of an own goal.
Incredibly hyped debut, which fails to live up to its reputation. It trundles along brilliantly for the first half an hour, containing Daft Punk favourites 'daftendirekt', 'Revolution 909', 'Da Funk', Phoenix' (which I used to DJ in techno sets back in the day) and 'Around the World'. The problem is the album then goes on for another 45 minutes with hardly anything standing out, some tracks that might work in a DJ set but will just irritate in album format. It's one of the most front-heavy albums on the list I've seen so far.
Although this was when they were their biggest, the bubble had already burst for me. Two bloated and ponderous compared to previous albums, and a collaboration with the lead singer of one of my least favourite bands (Kula Shaker) and L7 (who had been cool five years earlier). Very average
At school a girl who liked me gave me a copy of this but as I didn't like her I didn't give it a chance which shows how stupid kids are. It's actually pretty good, bolstered by having four big UK hit singles on it which I know well from extensive radio play at the time. But the rest of the tracks are strong, with good grooves throughout. Worth a go if you are in a 1992 mood.
I'd be happy enough to watch this band down the bill at a festival but it never really truly excites me. Lyrics and music are fine but the vocals are a little too twee in their delivery.
