I'm not surprised by the distaste for this album. I rarely listen to it anymore myself. There aren't many albums from the time period I still listen to. That said, I don't think just because an album is dated it's any less good at what it wants to be than it was when it came out. The context has just changed.
To say that there are no melodies is wrong. The problem is that there is too much melody - nothing discordant or noisy in it. Many (if not all) of the old 'chill out' ambient albums from the early and mid 90s have become modern day EZ Listening.
Is it any surprise that the internet radio stations that play all this old stuff are some of the more popular out there? I would be willing to bet hard cash that the majority of their listeners tune in during the work day.
― rockapads, Sunday, 9 September 2007 22:09 (seventeen years ago) link
This is still my main "Did you just say that electronic music is always cold and unemotional? Here, listen to this." album.
― StanM, Sunday, 9 September 2007 22:47 (seventeen years ago) link
heh, i imagine the album and track titles don't exactly help you get your message across.
― aaron d.g., Sunday, 9 September 2007 22:54 (seventeen years ago) link
whatever i love this album
― cutty, Sunday, 9 September 2007 23:06 (seventeen years ago) link
It isn't a horrible record. I liked this a lot better than the reload stuff which was also highly touted at the time. I kinda feel the same way about Chill Out by The KLF which is another cannon ambient record that just doesn't speak to me.
I would rather listen to SAW1 or Amber or Soundtrack313 by Detroit Escalator Company if I am going to throw this kind of record on.
― Display Name, Sunday, 9 September 2007 23:54 (seventeen years ago) link
(I also think that I can't really appreciate a lot of this stuff because I am still suffering from IDM burnout/hangover from the late 90's...)
― Display Name, Sunday, 9 September 2007 23:58 (seventeen years ago) link
which one is "maiden voyage"? 5'23?
― tricky, Monday, 10 September 2007 00:52 (seventeen years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.
― ILX System, Friday, 14 September 2007 23:01 (seventeen years ago) link
xpost yes, but 8:07 and 5:23 are two parts of the same track
tick-tock (14:31) is twice as long as it needs to be, I always found that track and the one with the strange rhythm (7:39? I forget) to be a bit boring
12:18 used to break my heart everytime I heard it and even though I don't love this album like I used to, that track gets my vote
― NoTimeBeforeTime, Friday, 14 September 2007 23:58 (seventeen years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― ILX System, Saturday, 15 September 2007 23:01 (seventeen years ago) link
I have polls turned off -but these results are correct
― blunt, Sunday, 16 September 2007 03:15 (seventeen years ago) link
9 39
― Curt1s is coming to Zwinktopia !, Sunday, 16 September 2007 22:12 (seventeen years ago) link
Hmm I missed this poll, and I've been meaning to dig this one out for a while too. I really love "7:39" and it would have gotten my vote, but I've thought it's a little too songy for this album - not ambient enough to fit in.
― Vinnie, Monday, 17 September 2007 15:52 (seventeen years ago) link
This album gets a little too close to rainstick territory for comfort, but I still bust it out on a regular basis. I also like their remix album, esp. the last track "Wild Horses" which Last.fm says I hit hard and heavy.
― Lie Bot, Monday, 17 September 2007 23:15 (seventeen years ago) link
After like, 5+ years of looking, I finally stumbled upon a copy of this!
Hooray!
― mehlt, Sunday, 22 March 2009 00:53 (fifteen years ago) link
tick-tock (14:31) is twice as long as it needs to be
more like half as long.
― jed_, Sunday, 22 March 2009 02:27 (fifteen years ago) link
is it hard to come by? should i sell mines?
― cutty, Sunday, 22 March 2009 02:36 (fifteen years ago) link
I'm really not sure, actually.
Didn't they (whoever 'they' is) reissue it a few years back? I imagine it might not incredibly difficult to get it online, I never really checked, really. When I first heard GC like 5 years ago I looked all over for this to no avail, and today I happened to go to a book/music store I'd never been to in a part of the city I never go to and whoomp! there it was.
― mehlt, Sunday, 22 March 2009 03:33 (fifteen years ago) link
this one is easy to get... pentamerous metamorphosis is the rare one.
― f. hazel, Sunday, 22 March 2009 03:44 (fifteen years ago) link
Yeah, I think 8:07 is my new favourite.
Also, my highlight of seeing Ricardo this summer was him ending his set by mixing 14:31 with some boompity house, letting the last 6 minutes of 14:31 play out at the end, all outdoors right after the sun had set, amidst the strong winds coming off the lake, right after the rain, on a 10 degree (50 F) early summer day. One of the best set ends I've ever heard, and certainly experienced.
― EDB, Sunday, 19 July 2009 21:34 (fifteen years ago) link
really feeling 9:25 tonight
all sparkly shiny bright
― ciderpress, Wednesday, 18 August 2010 05:02 (fourteen years ago) link
Jeez I'm totally 8:07 for life, or maybe even 5:23. They used to be one track at some point, I think!
― Chanté Ackerman (Stevie D), Wednesday, 18 August 2010 05:06 (fourteen years ago) link
I have this album and U.F.Orb on the headphones and a new prescription for beta blockers. I think I can survive the next few weeks. Yeah.
― Karen D. Tregaskin, Wednesday, 18 August 2010 09:41 (fourteen years ago) link
Pentamerous Metamorphosis is still my favourite thing, though. Footsteps or tick tocks, take your pick.
― Karen D. Tregaskin, Wednesday, 18 August 2010 09:43 (fourteen years ago) link
Shame 4 02 didn't get any votes, second favourite on the album.
Also:
I downloaded it a couple months ago, and it just bored me to death. No melodies at all.― Mr. Snrub, Sunday, September 9, 2007 10:56 PM (2 years ago) Bookmark
― Mr. Snrub, Sunday, September 9, 2007 10:56 PM (2 years ago) Bookmark
Geir?
― Chewshabadoo, Wednesday, 18 August 2010 12:53 (fourteen years ago) link
8:07 is nice but 14:31 is most sonorous song
gonna give 12:18 a go now
― acoleuthic, Wednesday, 18 August 2010 13:11 (fourteen years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2RZLbkBfDc
― r|t|c, Wednesday, 18 August 2010 13:27 (fourteen years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnsbOJ5Igj4
― r|t|c, Wednesday, 18 August 2010 13:28 (fourteen years ago) link
amirite
4:14 for sure
― welltris (crüt), Monday, 12 October 2015 17:34 (eight years ago) link
9:39 for me. That choral sample does it for me so much and creates a mystical atmosphere the rest of the album doesn't quite achieve.
― octobeard, Monday, 12 October 2015 18:40 (eight years ago) link
14:31. This album is a masterpiece.
― the hair - it's lost its energy (Turrican), Thursday, 21 July 2016 16:45 (eight years ago) link