Unique collection of songs signalling a move away from drums'n'bass to a more orchestral backing, yet ironically with otherwise the character of a dance set. Hypnotic rhythms and repetitions, kicking off with a clear indicator that their focus had changed at this point, the first song including the words "I am the rhythm thief....say goodbye to the beat....oh no, where did the groove go....lights out Ibiza".
Every song is a highlight, but I particularly like the bitter sweetness of "I married myself" (I'm very happy together now THAT'S mordant wit, Thomas!) and the Glass-like minimalist structure of "My Baby's Taking Me Home".
However, my favourite track is "Suburban Homeboy", which matches a barnstorming melody with a biting indictment of rich white boys pretending to be from the 'hood. ("I am a suburban homeboy with a suburban ho right by my side - I am a suburban homeboy and I say 'Yo dog' to my pool-cleaning guy").
To call this pop music is like describing van Gogh's activities as "colouring in".
Have you heard their score to "Knock Off"?
Sorry - overlooked this...
I know the song (from the "Balls" cd) and enjoy it. Did they write the score as well? Must look it up.
For those who don't know it, Lee Holdridge is the conductor of the orchestra (the Royal Phil.) and also the arranger of most of the songs - the rest were arranged by Alf Clausen!
Just received this set tonight and replaying disc 1 for the third time in a row. I'm going to savor every morsel of this 16-disc set for the rest of my years.
Nice pick, Phelps. As a kid I spent many a summer visiting extended family up in Washington state, and during one of our road trips--I was 14 at the time--we visited the the town of Roslyn (which would serve as the setting for the TV show Northern Exposure). Upon entering the town's centuries-old cemetery, I decided to document the experience by securing the headphones of my Sony Walkman cassette player to the microphone of my hand-held camcorder and videotaping my journey through the forest of weather-beaten, moss-covered grave stones, many of which were quite ornate and still adorned with the age-crippled neo-Goth ornaments of yesteryear. I don't need to tell you what was playing in that cassette player. Not long after, my parents decided that my taste in music was significantly reducing my chances at everlasting life in the kingdom of heaven, so they trashed all of my home videos along with my entire music collection.
now THAT'S mordant wit, Thomas!) and the Glass-like minimalist structure of "My Baby's Taking Me Home".
