Dubnobasswithmyheadman

Amazon.com essential recording
On 1994's Dubnobasswithmyheadman, Underworld took the sexy vocal groove of the epic "Mmm Skyscraper I Love You" and expanded it to album length. It's derivative, but by no means is it forgettable. With "Skyscraper," Underworld created the perfect club track; it was dark and dubby, with a relentless groove chugging along below atmospheric noises and a sinister, suggestive vocal. Extended to over an hour, it's a long and seductive hypnosis session, a decadent film noir journey through dark impulses and impure thoughts. Vocalist Karl Hyde provides a monotonous, stream-of-consciousness narrative which, when chopped and rearranged, reveals a quintessentially British reserve that keeps the album mysterious. This is functional music, perfect for driving and, ahem, other repetitive activities. --Matthew Corwine

Product Description
Underworld's electronica 1994 debut, Dubnobasswithmyheadman, is still regarded by many as one of the best techno/electronica CDs of all time. 9 tracks, including 'Dark & Long', 'Dirty Epic' & 'Cowgirl' on this Wax Trax! Release.

Tracks:

Dark & Long
Mmm Skyscraper I Love You
Surfboy
Spoonman
Tongue
Dirty Epic
Cowgirl
River Of Bass
M.E.

Amazon.com essential recording

On 1994's Dubnobasswithmyheadman, Underworld took the sexy vocal groove of the epic "Mmm Skyscraper I Love You" and expanded it to album length. It's derivative, but by no means is it forgettable. With "Skyscraper," Underworld created the perfect club track; it was dark and dubby, with a relentless groove chugging along below atmospheric noises and a sinister, suggestive vocal. Extended to over an hour, it's a long and seductive hypnosis session, a decadent film noir journey through dark impulses and impure thoughts. Vocalist Karl Hyde provides a monotonous, stream-of-consciousness narrative which, when chopped and rearranged, reveals a quintessentially British reserve that keeps the album mysterious. This is functional music, perfect for driving and, ahem, other repetitive activities. --Matthew Corwine

Album Description

Underworld's electronica 1994 debut, Dubnobasswithmyheadman, is still regarded by many as one of the best techno/electronica CDs of all time. 9 tracks, including 'Dark & Long', 'Dirty Epic' & 'Cowgirl' on this Wax Trax! Release.

Customer Reviews:

The Masterful Music of Madness.......2007-04-18

For almost twenty years, the British duo of Hyde and Smith have been recording as Underworld. This was their first studio album (made with the collaboration of DJ Emerson, who has since left the group), and it is a synapse-shattering example of pure electronic genius made even more impressive when you consider that its electroclash ingenuity and acid house ambiences are as powerful as anything being made today.

If you wondering what to expect, keep wondering. You can listen to this record over and over again and be surprised every time. The reason that music like this exists is because there are no words to approximate what it means or accomplishes. You could say that some songs flow like the trickle-down perspiration on the walls of unexplored caves ("Dark & Long"), that some of them illustrate the electrochemical hopscotch of viruses invading healthy cells ("Spoonman"), that some of the tunes are the aural equivalent of lazy, Missourian sedimentary fossilization, silt and grit burying half-heard secrets ("River of Bass").

I could point to similar bands, if that would help. Here there is A3's country-wise spiritualism, Morphine's coarse-ground flophouse jazz,
Crystal Method's spirit mixed with Zero 7's laconic mentality. Again, though, this is a case where the whole is much more than the sum of the parts. How to describe the wickedness of "Cowgirl" or the sonorous luminosity of "Surfboy?" Will words do "Mmm Skyscraper I Love You" any justice at all?

Nah. It's enough, I think, to say that this album is an unnerving work of art, an example of electronica that -- like electricity itself -- defies containment, defies shape, defies limitations. It charges the slow, wilful spark of precarious profundity, it rips through the impulse to think and remember, it ignites the vicious and verdant instinct to get up and move. If Cicero was right when he said that "No sane man will dance," then this record should make lunatics of us all.

another classic.......2007-02-21

the masters of the genre produce something deep and free flowing that still sounds good a decade later

Everybody's a beautiful thing.......2006-03-14

From the slow slithery groove of "Dark & Long" to the collosal techno anthem of "Mmm Skyscraper..." to the brilliantly kinetic pop of "Cowgirl" to the masterfully crafted nocturnal journey of "Dirty Epic" this album showcases Underworld at the peak of their compositional prowess in the realm of trance-oriented electronica. Now and then vocalist Karl Hyde sedately renders abstract lyrics that flow effortlessly between the layers of instrumentation and sometimes break into catchy mantras ("thirty thousand feet above the earth / its a beautiful thing / everybody's a beautiful thing"). However the sheer virtuosity of the above mentioned classics unavoidably relegates the remainder of the album to mere filler status (albeit not without their merits, such as the spare yet singularly atmospheric "Tongue"). Despite this "Dubnobasswithmyheadman" is a timeless achievement by Underworld that has not and most likely will never be bettered by any of their later work.

Quality permeates the soundwaves.......2005-10-10

Every song here flows like it's supposed to. Skyscraper, Spoonman, Cowgirl... I only wish they could have squeezed Dark Train or Born Slippy onto it. By far this is the best one by Underworld.

An instant classic.......2005-09-02

This is the first album of a fantastic band, which had an undeniable influence in the field of electronica. This album is a perfect example of how to make the so-called "dumb" electronic music a feast, a parade of ideas.

Dubnobasswithmyheadman is a flawless piece, filled with electronica classics, along with my favorite song of the genre "Mmm Skyscraper I Love You". Other standout tracks are "Dark And Long", "Dirty Epic" and "Cowgirl". The songs are all multi-layered, they are not easy to digest and might be a bit hard to understand for the first-time listener. To catch the flavor, one shouldn't listen to the whole album for the first time, it might become a bit confusing. This is subtle music for subtle listeners.

This album is anything but boring and I can only feel sorry for those who don't get this kind of music. Maybe it's time to set aside the prejudices and listen to the genre as a genre and not like an undesirable side product. However, for newbies, this isn't the place to start, they should try Orbital.

Nevertheless those, who only know "Born Slippy" from Underworld, miss a lot by not having this album. This is the cradle of the latter and honestly - a rock-hard cradle. This album is superior to the other albums of the band, this is pure electronica and fusion. The two things can't and shouldn't be separated, this is the beauty of the genre. Good sampling is an art which is quite hard to master and many fail. Long-time fans know what I talk about.

So if you liked Underworld's other efforts, you should give this one a try, you won't be disappointed. This might become your favorite album of the band - it has become mine or rather it has never lost this status. This is one of the best debut albums of the 90s.

Average customer rating:

Dubnobasswithmyheadman
Underworld
Manufacturer: V2
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Techno | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

House | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Dance Pop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

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Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Dance & DJ | Imports | Stores | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
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Second Toughest In The Infants

ASIN: B000024B9R
Release Date: 2002-09-25

Tracks:

Dark & Long
MMM Skyscraper I Love You
Surfboy
Spoonman
Tongue
Dirty Epic
Cowgirl
River of Bass
M.E.

Average customer rating:

CLASSIC!
Fantastic debut

Dubnobasswithmyheadman
Underworld
Manufacturer: V2
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Techno | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

House | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Dance Pop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Dance & DJ | Imports | Stores | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
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Second Toughest In The Infants
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Pearl's Girl
Orbital 2

ASIN: B00018D0UI
Release Date: 2003-12-30

Tracks:

Dark & Long
MMM Skyscraper I Love You
Surfboy
Spoonman
Tongue
Dirty Epic
Cowgirl
River of Bass
M.E.

Album Description

Underworld's 1994 electronica debut, 'Dubnobasswithmyheadman', is still regarded by many as one of the best techno/electronica CDs of all time. Features nine tracks including 'Dark & Long', 'Dirty Epic', & 'Cowgirl'. V2. 1998.

Customer Reviews:

CLASSIC!.......2005-08-05

Yea,why hasn't this been reveiwed? This is a very significant album of the Dance Music boom of the early 90's. I first heard it in the summer of 96 while at some music festival in Monterey Ca. I had just bought the cassette and spent much of that weekend zoned on brownies listening to this on my walkman. This is what opened my ears to electronic dance music and hence a few years later got a pair of decks and became a DJ. Underworld's music defies genre definition. It has elements of trance, breakbeat, techno, dub, soul, pop, ragga and house and even a touch of hip hop. And with these influences, the music becomes more than the sum of the parts. And even after being exposed to vast amounts of EDM, I listen to this and it doesn't sound at all dated and still leaves much of the EDM today standing. Throbbing basslines, hypnotic beats, and thoughtful melodic and lyrical content makes for compelling music that stimulates you body as well as your mind. Most contemporary trance can't touch this.

Fantastic debut.......2005-07-22

Why this hasn't been reviewed is beyond me. What's great about this album is that it's now over ten years old, and hasn't dated or lost any relevance at all. Dark & Long is a nice creeping song, and fits the semi-seedy lyrics. Mmm Skyscraper is much more upbeat and bumps along nicely. Surfboy is a weird little song, and as an almost instrumental, shows how well they can still make songs even without the trademark vocals. Spoonman (no relation to Soundgarden's song) has grown on me greatly over the years, and even shows them trying to rap a little. Tongue is mostly just vocals and relaxing guitar. Dirty Epic is a great long song with a more subdued tone than the others, and fades into Cowgirl. This is the reason I bought this album. I'd seen the video on Mtv's Amp (sort of a shame it went away so quickly) and had never heard anything like it before. Very energetic, showing how an economy of lyrics can be even more powerful than too many. River of Bass is aonther laid-back track. M.E. has an hopeful feeling to it, and makes a good ending track. While any album would make a great intro to Underworld (which is a great barometer of how good a band they are), this was their first, and shows how they were already fully formed.

Album Review:

Album Review

album review

Album Review

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