Underworld vs. Orbital

I would say it's the opposite. A huge portion of Underworld's material is straight 4/4 techno. "Beaucoup Fish" is particularly homogeneous. Orbital changed styles far more drastically from album to album -- "Snivilisation" was relentlessly experimental and was completely unlike anything else around at the time.

I do agree, however, that Orbital came up with some annoying songs, mainly toward the end of their career. But the Brown/Snivilisation/In Sides triumvirate is arguably the finest three album sequence EVER by any band.

I love them both, but Orbital are my clear pick.

they are better live too

i tend to like individual Underworld tracks more than their albums as a whole.

Orbital, when they were good, had lots of fantastic songs.

So, Orbital.

Though I have to recognize Orbital for providing one of the great eargasms of my musical youth on one of the first albums I ever purchased (In Sides -> Out There Somewhere?)

what?????? Underworld are a thousand times better than Orbital.

for example.

wtf

(maybe one more category, the "wtf.")

Yeah, of course the point I was making was that Underworld had less tricks than Orbital, not less actual individual songs. Will try to avoid metaphor in future for the folks at the back.

And I can see why Ronan would obviously prefer Underworld, but I don't think either of them necessarily appeal to the techno part of my brain. I probably like Orbital especially because they appeal to my prog-rock sensibilities.

But on the other hand, I first heard "Out There Somewhere?" whilst E'd off my face. And "Born Slippy" ended up being me and Mrs Vague's first slow dance at our wedding (true.) So it's not like I'm saying Search one and Destroy t'other.

CLEARLY Orbital.

This thread should be an Orbital rout(e).

If by "best" you mean "best at boring me to sleep," then yes....it's the best Underworld album.

Yes, this is part of what makes their good tracks great.

I do prefer Orbital though.

- ha x-post.

100 Days Off is soooo much worse than [insert name of any other Underworld album] it's ridiculous. Except for "Two Months Off" which KICKS FUCKING ASS AND DON'T LET ANYBODY TELL YOU OTHERWISE!!

orbital for me too. matt dc OTM. i do like a lot of underworld stuff, but when the desert island beckons, it's the orbital stuff i'd grab first. although 'rez' is one of my all-time fave tracks EVER. i have it on a junior boys own pink vinyl promo, and when i showed it to karl and rick (interviewed them once many moons ago) they freaked, since they didn't even have one of their own...

Now Orbital has been great - Brown/Snivil/In Sides is an awesome trilogy - but they haven't been up to snuff lately. I didn't like a single track on Middle of Nowhere, and only enjoyed a couple of tracks from the last few albums.

I have to say I'm not a big fan of Orbital's sound/production. They obviously have a soft spot for the pastoral/ethereal side of dance music, and lately their tunes have comes across as fluff to me.

Whereas Beacoup Fish I think really plays around with one's assumption as to what Underworld are by just being so brutally uncompromising and tracky so frequently, and because Karl is so often very aggressive. Like, I find the first four tracks to be a totally emotional suite, but not emotional in the sense that the group inject "rock" emotion into a dance setting - the ebb and flow of intensity is much closer to a DJ set. And I perversely enjoy the fact that the slower tracks are just really odd and unwelcoming - it's like the group want to avoid people finding any sort of "relief" in them. Instead, the slow tracks are the uncomfortably, unsettling moments and the hard-edged tracks are the heart and soul of the album.

I think they have more of a sense of unity from song to song than Massive. Even though you have your brooders and your wtfs in with the big anthemic ones, things flow and make a solid piece. Love Massive, but they don't do that like Underworld (IMO, obv).

I've totally failed to love it even a little on previous attempts.

Orbital tracks, on the other hand, use vocals purely as a melodic, harmonic or textural device - one of the many dodgy things about Illuminate was that it felt so WRONG for Orbital to be using male vocalists singing proper words.

I generally dislike male vocalists in dance music, mind - Black Strobe's weakest tracks are those with that dreadful guy singing over the top.

1) The introduction of that madhouse siren synth during the second iteration of the chorus.

2) "THESE ARE MY INTENTIONS."

The song builds directly into both of those moments and can't come off without them.

Rick Smith is a huge Steve Reich fan so the end of Little Speaker (praised above) can be directly attributed to Mr. Smith's Reich obsession. In fact, there are loads of instances of this Reich-ian repetition in Underworlds tunes.

Underworld are better than Orbital.
Dubno is better than Green Album
STITI is equal to or greater than Brown Album
In Sides/Snivilisation are better than Beaucoup Fish (my least fav. UW album)
AHDO is better than anything Orbital has released in the last 4 years.

UW's recent Peel Session is better than Orbital's recent Peel Session.

Darren Emerson is a terrible, mainstream Tech-House DJ who deserves to rot in "SuperClubs", forever followed by (ex Underworld) on the flyers.

It's simple, set up two playlists on your iPod, one filled with your favorite moments from each band, it's essential that you include the killer remixes Underworld have done (most of their mixes from 92-94) and Orbitals greatest in another playlist (this one is easy because Orbital have never turned out a good remix!)...select a playlist, get on your bike and pedal. Whoever's list makes you want to bike longer, wins. Underworld for me. Tested and true.

what do you call what he plays? it's generic TechHouse to my ears. I have been to several of the huge cheesy clubs in the UK and i don't care to go back...Fabric excluded. I've personally wasted 30bucks on watching Emerson mix (two seperate events) and was disgusted by his obvious track selection. Listen to the recent Underworld hosted John Peel Show to see where the creativity in the band lies..here's a hint, it wasn't with Emerson.

What is this "acoustic version of Born Slippy" that :| mentioned at the top of the thread? I tried the link, but unfortunately it's expired.

tougher pick now imo

still Orbital for me; Underworld made it easier by falling the fuck off with their most recent album

ha! Orbital fell the fuck off like three albums ago, dan
best of underworld >>>> best of orbital

I mean if I had to throw out everything by one or the other it's absolutely no contest

juanita/kiteless/to dream of love vs out there somewhere

Underworld.

More human.Superior tunes on the whole. Better live.

Love them both though.

So much that I haven't bought the last Underworld. Read too many 6s,3 stars etc.
Maybe I should make my own mind up

Oblivion With Bells, live discs available through LiveHereNow, internet radio broadcasts with live jams of loads of old tunes = Underworld all the way. new album is great. Peach Tree + Loads of Birds are great b-sides. plenty of amazing music coming from Lemonworld studios still.

orbital because 1) better 2) no shitty 'stream-of-consciousness' lyrical bs.

wow, just found this thread and it's a tough choice indeed.

I have to pick Underworld because they're my favorite band ever, but Orbital IMO were the only electronic act that came close to them; stuff like Chemical Bros. and Aphex were good too but these two stood above everyone, mainly because everything they do goes down so smooth

This would be a lot harder choice if Orbital's Live in Glastonbury album was anywhere near Everything, Everything!! I really anticipated great things there but it's all audience boots which sucks hard

seriously tough choice but I find myself coming back to underworld a whole lot more than orbital.

What would settle this for me would be if someone could point me to a collection of Underworld just-the-vocals mixes.

Sugar box. sugar boy.
Riding in. sugar box.
Sugar boy.
Handheld candle.
Sugar boy.
Your rails.
You're thin.
Your thin paper wings.
Your thin paper wings.
In the wind.
Dangling.
Your sun.
Fly high.
Your window shattered in the wind.
Your coca cola sign rattling.

Remember "spoken word" albums?

Yeah, the vocals ultimately are what put this over the top for me. There are some good Orbital vocal tracks like "Halycon", but UW just had an ace up their sleeve and that's Hyde. Really one of the best vocalists not just in that scene but in any kind of music. Even when he was in Freur he was pretty good.

I'm trying to think of beloved Orbital tracks with male vocals; I think the closest you get are the samples on "Satan"

Oh frogbs, I'm sorry dude, I wasn't serious. I mean, I can't stand Underworld's vocals, even though everything else is sublime.

lol I had no idea! I love the way "Juanita" is sung. You almost never hear someone point to the vocals as a weak point!

xxp: remember "Illuminate"?

"Fiie-wurrks, in the buu, yonnn der maa ee-yooo now shoow me where the reea-liii is"

Naw, 'sdifferent strokes and all, but it frustrates me. Not enough to keep me from listening to Underworld, but it seems like an odd fit - you make such beautiful instrumental music, why do you want to talk too?

Considering I've never encountered who had anything positive to say about "Illuminate", I'm not really counting that one; I think I'm the only Orbital fan alive who doesn't hate it.

I kind of like it!! It's really dumb but kind of funny and better than most of the stuff on that album.

I did have another listen to "Satan" yesterday...can't believe that track is 20 years old!! So many great beats; such a "heads up" style of production

yeah, their early singles are nonstop O_O

I listen to "Chime" and am just blown away, it still sounds like it came from the future.

I don't really like the original mix of it anymore; the "Live Style" mix on their latest comp speeds it up a bit and kind of rearranges the beats, IMO that's the one that really gets me.

Just kinda goin through all their albums now since I'm writing a review page on them. I forgot how "album oriented" the Brown album was; I don't even know if I like the singles outside of the context of the album so much. The way it flows from one track to the next is so perfect.