| 1. O.O.B.E. |
| 2. U.F. Orb |
| 3. Blue Room |
| 4. Towers of Dub |
| 5. Close Encounters |
| 6. Majestic |
| 7. Sticky End |
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
An ambient-techno classic, UFOrb captures Alex Patterson and his sonic henchman at their early peak. While the Orb had already created a dance-floor and chill-out-room sensation in 1991 with Little Fluffy Clouds, this follow-up disc displays Patterson's talent for fusing ambient music with dub science and a club culture mindset. Incorporating psychedelicized samples over the era's reigning techno beats and deep reggae bass lines, heady compositions such as "Towers of Dub" and "Close Encounters" are excessive in length but consistently entertaining. The album's highlight is an 18-minute version of "Blue Room" (there's a 40-minute version out there, too), which features the sensual bass playing of Jah Wobble and the oscillating guitar of coproducer Steve Hillage. A most serious contribution to the legacy of the modern DJ. --Mitch Myers
If you like this, I'd suggest the first album "the Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld" as your next purchase; it's where it all started. If you like more ambient style music that doesn't bash you over the head with hard beats and endless repitition, give "Orbus Terrarum" a listen.
The 40 minute version of "Blue Room" and "Towers of Dub" are my favorites, Towers features some nice harmonica work and a great sample from Woody Allen's "Sleeper." One of the most played albums from my collection. Thank you very much Alex Paterson. Highly recommended - buy the album, take it for a spin and go meet Haile Selassie at Babylon & Ting.
I still believe the humble beginnings of techno music, was simply called "electronic music" or by today's terms - "electronica". And that all began in the 1960's with Kraftwerk (Organisation), Silver Apples, and even Walter (now Wendy) Carlos. Moog music was another term for electronic music. In the 1970's, the early stages of "Techno" started to show up even more. Artists like Tomita, Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream, and Jean Michel Jarre, were all brave pioneers of a new sound in music, a new cold electronic sound.
I'd be willing to say that the first successful "Techno" album has to be Kraftwerk's 1977 album, "Trans Europe Express". It's even sampled often by many of today's Techno-Ambient House artists. The earliest album that I could call the bravest venture into spacey electronica is Tangerine Dream's 1971 album, Alpha Centauri". Check out "Fly and Collision of Coma Sola" off this album. It's simply mind-blowing!
With the music market suddenly getting slammed with new ventures in Techno, Ambient House, Trance, Electronica, IDM, Ambient Dub, etc., suddenly in the early 1990's comes THE ORB. With their first triple album set "Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld", the world was introduced to another whole new adventure in electronic music, that earns universal success. Their first commercial successful single was "Little Fluffy Clouds". It even received airplay on regular contemporary pop radio. Big time in the UK, I'm sure. Already feeling that this is a new landmark album for the genre, it really blew my mind when their second commercial release "U.F.Orb", came out. When I heard a store playing "Blue Room", I couldn't believe that this was something new from The Orb. They weren't playing the CD of U.F.Orb, they were playing a CD single of "Blue Room" that went on for nearly 40 minutes! Wow! That blew my mind!
In the early days of buying The Orb, the first release of "Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld, was a single edited CD of the full double CD that came out of the UK, that is currently released worldwide today. I'm actually glad to have this edited version of "Adventures Beyond..." The tracks "Spanish Castles in Space" and "Backside of the Moon" were omitted from this CD. I heard the both of them on a borrowed copy of the double CD, and I found that those two tracks (that are together on CD One), offered a very long, boring 30+ minutes of very uninteresting sound passages. Plus a few of the other tracks are a little different. "Perpetual Dawn" on my copy, is a shorter more upbeat, reggae-version, which I enjoy more. Thank God I have this (now totally obscure) initial US release.
The early release of "U.F.Orb", offered a bonus CD of a few remixed extras, which included a rare track called "Assassin", and the "ardently sought after", 40 minute version of "Blue Room". I also have an alternate mix on "Towers of Dub", which is really cool.
Notice on "U.F.Orb", the regular version of "Towers of Dub" has the very same percussion used on Pink Floyd's, "On the Run" from the "Dark Side of the Moon" album. The Orb seems to like to mess with your head about making Pink Floyd references. On my two Ultraworld albums, the building that was on the cover of Pink Floyd's 1977 album "Animals", are on these Orb releases. And also, check out the Orb's "Live 93" album. It's not a pig, but it is some sort of animal jumping over a power plant, just like the pig jumping over the building on Pink Floyd's "Animals", album. I am certain that there are probably alot more hidden Pink Floyd references thoughout their other albums. The Orb started to lose their uniqueness for me after "U.F.Orb", They started to sound like typical Ambient House music. No longer the innovators that they use to be.
Another totally hard to find CD is a remix follow-up to their first album. If you can find it, get The Orb's, "Aubrey Mixes: The Ultraworld Excersions". It has a really cool, jazzy version of "Little Fluffy Clouds". Other scarce obscure CD releases of early Orb, are "Ultra Rare Trax", and "Morphology". These two were never commercially released, and were very expensive inside the locked-up glass cabinet of the CD store I bought mine from.
It seems though, that the sound of The Orb has become outdated when compared to today's new "electronic sound" known as IDM (Intelligent Dance Music). Aphex Twin, Autechre, Boards of Canada, Squarepusher, and the such are todays Techno wizards.
The latest releases from The Orb are "Cydonia" and "Bicycles and Tricycles". Nothing fabulous, but I think they are a little more appealing than what The Orb has done with "Pomme Fritz" and beyond. "Orblivion" has a few great tracks, but the album, as a whole, has too many weaknesses that loses my interest quickly. I don't think that The Orb will ever have another "classic" album like their first two. But, those two are certainly to be cherished. I can't wait for their 20th Anniversary re-releases. I believe that The Orb will be praised again for their contribution to Techno-Ambient-Dub at that time.
As a summation of a point in musical time, it's as evocative as 'Revolver' or 'Ziggy Stardust' or 'Sound Affects'. And like all of those, there's something ineffably British about the way The Orb took beats from Detroit, minimalist compositions from New York and dub from Jamaica, and stretched and warped them into a completely new form. If the clubs were full of house and techno, the bedrooms were full of smoke and ambient dub, and The Orb were responsible for much of it.
'U.F.Orb' is their finest achievement, proving that 'Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld' wasn't a novelty record but the herald (along with The KLF's 'Chill Out') of a new genre. The sound here is both denser and more dubby, with more going on but less dependence on the BBC sound effects records and slowed-down house beats that were the backbone of their earlier work. 'Blue Room' (here edited from its 39'58" single length) and 'Towers of Dub' are the standouts, but The Orb's legacy is even more impressive than their music. You can hear it not only in experimental 'dance' music from Shpongle to Monolake, from Portishead to Lemon Jelly; it's embedded in mainstream pop, soundtracks and muzak the world over. And if you still have that triple vinyl release, with the PVC intact, I bet it's worth a fortune.
The first track "O.O.B.E." brings with it, a soothingly cinematic synth arrangement, that is a fair indication of the sort of widescape sound, that you can expect from this stunningly atmospheric track. Think of the sort of Hushed, and delicate ambient textures used on 'Brian Eno's' ambient series of albums, with the serene lilting ambience, that his albums were acclaimed for, but with slight piano keys interspersed & the most restrained use of vocal snippets, that seem to touch on subjective and conscious thoughts...this is electronic music for the mind. And the use of looped beats isn't intergrated until some 6 Min's into the track, signalling the transition into Ambient-House. The theme here (and throughout the album in fact), is 'Travelling Through Space', with various metallic techno-futuristic samples, and dense detached rhythms & free-form ambience, seamlessly intergrated. Yet still retaining that all important balance between subtly detached ambience, and possessing synthesised ambient beats mixed with vocals.
The second track "U.F. Orb" mixes swirling, cascading synth work & expertly modified vocal sampling (alarm sounds, Dialogue from the 'Space Program', Environmental sounds...etc), before being replaced with uptempo techno beats (with a sublime use of high-hat rhythm breaks) moving at a relatively quick pace, that works alongside a superb, heavy echoey reverberated dub bass sound. Although the actual arrangement is simple, in its implementation, the effect is similar to a particularly well-judged fusion of World Music mood and instrumentation, intergrated with the smoked-out sounds/grooves of instrumental Dub. This is a beautiful pairing of Western Dub Fusion, and a complete contrast to the subtle tones of the previous track.
"Blue Room" is a epic track, the likes of which the 'Air-Raid' sirens to signal the beginning of the track should make that painfully clear, this is then mixed with subtle organs playing in the background, with subtle sounds & buzzing electronic sounds (along with a curious bubbling effect) and cold industrial sounds are all skillfully placed, with the effect carefully intergrated through the use of cleverly Cut & Manipulated editing, that fleshes out the long stretches of atmospheric organ. The occasion female vocal sample of "Awwwww- Whoooah" (taken from a early 90's UK Rave Track), provides the perfect canopy for the transition into thumping bass, that feels like its been modified to emulate thumping beats, this is insistent driving bass, with the harsh edges softened to resemble late-night Ambient-techno. Various snippets of mechanical sounds, Dialogue, Turntable effects (turntable spinback effects) & engaging synths, are all overlayed throughout the track, but care has been taken to give ample space to each sound, and thoughtfully stretched out intelligently over the 17Min's that this track runs to, and such is the beautifully devised arrangement, the time literally flys by, when listening to this astonishing track.
The overriding musical theme for "Towers of Dub" is (Obviously) DUB!!, a recorded telephone message or someone ringing "London Weekend Television" (UK television Broadcast), and getting through to a security guard to leave a message, is a highly amusing (or disorientating if you live outside the UK), start to the track. Bizarrely, the frequent use of : dogs barking, chirping birds and rhythmic sounds float in and out of the mix, are all firmly put in the shade by a truly stunning Harmonica sample playing throughout the track, mixing wonderfully with the heavy instrumental Dub, that is produced with pin-point keyboard and electronic sampling, and skitting drum beats audible in the background, the effect of these decidedly synthetic dubby basslines, could arguably have been the work of some of the Dub greats such as "The Mad Professor" or legendary "Lee 'Scratch' Perry", had they decided to make a more electronically orientated album, it's in turns, sophisticated, sprawling and hypnotic, and yet uptempo enough for either late night or daytime listening...working equally as well, whether your chilling out, or merely need some music to lose yourself into. And is so expertly judged and produced that is highlights one of the finest examples of Ambient-House.
The remaining 3 Tracks are all equally up the stunning quality of previous tracks, "Close Encounters" shifts the tempo, and moves into a combination of a blended Chicago electro-house orientated track, matched against the stylisation and experimentation of IDM (Intelligent Dance Music), and the low-end ambience of "Majestic", manages to feel like a surreal dreamlike track, encapsulating rhythmically and conceptally, the best attributes of 'The Orb' in an 11 minute breakdown, that at times feels like tightly crafted melodies, and creative samples, working in perfect unison.
There should be absolutely no doubt, that If you are a fan of either 'Ambient House' or 'Ambient Dub', (albums Such as: "Aphex Twins - Selected Ambient Works", "The KLF - Chill Out", "Future Sound of Londons - Lifeforms", "The Black Dogs - Bytes"), that this album is an absolutely essential purchase.
I'm reviewing this album have listened to it for the first time now in 2005, even though it was intially release back in 1992....and surprisingly it still feels vital, and doesn't feel dated. Admittedly if this is your first 'Orb' purchase, then (takes deep breath), you should pick up their incredible "The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld" (Double Cd) first, as it is the Duo's Definitive work, with this album a very, very close second. But that album's a sprawlling masterpiece which is a concentrated listen, whereas this albums single cd, is far more manageable listen. And unquestionably stands as one of the genre greatest exponents.
It's also a nostalgic album, for people in their early 30s. The pre-internet 'Wired'-era computer whizz-bang space-age techno-pagan futurism of it all was mirrored in contemporary releases by the Future Sound of London, System 7 and so forth, and although this kind of ambient space music is now as dated as krautrock was in 1992, it's heartbreaking to listen to. So many dreams and hopes smashed to bits.
Excellent way to show off a hi-fi system, too, because it has quiet bits and loud bits and they all sound top-notch. 'Sticky End' is a short joke track and 'Majesty' is a bit irritating, but it's otherwise an excellent way to spend fifty minutes or so. Shame they didn't include the lengthy 'Blue Room' single as a pack-in or bonus track (it was basically the album version looped a couple of times, with a different bassline).
And it's "Teilhard de Chardin", it took me ages to find that out; he's the one who conceived of a third world, a world of objective contents of thoughts.
The 40 minute version of "Blue Room" and "Towers of Dub" are my favorites, Towers features some nice harmonica work and a great sample from Woody Allen's "Sleeper." One of the most played albums from my collection. Thank you very much Alex Paterson. Highly recommended - buy the album, take it for a spin and go meet Haile Selassie at Babylon & Ting.
I still believe the humble beginnings of techno music, was simply called "electronic music" or by today's terms - "electronica". And that all began in the 1960's with Kraftwerk (Organisation), Silver Apples, and even Walter (now Wendy) Carlos. Moog music was another term for electronic music. In the 1970's, the early stages of "Techno" started to show up even more. Artists like Tomita, Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream, and Jean Michel Jarre, were all brave pioneers of a new sound in music, a new cold electronic sound.
I'd be willing to say that the first successful "Techno" album has to be Kraftwerk's 1977 album, "Trans Europe Express". It's even sampled often by many of today's Techno-Ambient House artists. The earliest album that I could call the bravest venture into spacey electronica is Tangerine Dream's 1971 album, Alpha Centauri". Check out "Fly and Collision of Coma Sola" off this album. It's simply mind-blowing!
With the music market suddenly getting slammed with new ventures in Techno, Ambient House, Trance, Electronica, IDM, Ambient Dub, etc., suddenly in the early 1990's comes THE ORB. With their first triple album set "Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld", the world was introduced to another whole new adventure in electronic music, that earns universal success. Their first commercial successful single was "Little Fluffy Clouds". It even received airplay on regular contemporary pop radio. Big time in the UK, I'm sure. Already feeling that this is a new landmark album for the genre, it really blew my mind when their second commercial release "U.F.Orb", came out. When I heard a store playing "Blue Room", I couldn't believe that this was something new from The Orb. They weren't playing the CD of U.F.Orb, they were playing a CD single of "Blue Room" that went on for nearly 40 minutes! Wow! That blew my mind!
In the early days of buying The Orb, the first release of "Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld, was a single edited CD of the full double CD that came out of the UK, that is currently released worldwide today. I'm actually glad to have this edited version of "Adventures Beyond..." The tracks "Spanish Castles in Space" and "Backside of the Moon" were omitted from this CD. I heard the both of them on a borrowed copy of the double CD, and I found that those two tracks (that are together on CD One), offered a very long, boring 30+ minutes of very uninteresting sound passages. Plus a few of the other tracks are a little different. "Perpetual Dawn" on my copy, is a shorter more upbeat, reggae-version, which I enjoy more. Thank God I have this (now totally obscure) initial US release.
The early release of "U.F.Orb", offered a bonus CD of a few remixed extras, which included a rare track called "Assassin", and the "ardently sought after", 40 minute version of "Blue Room". I also have an alternate mix on "Towers of Dub", which is really cool.
Notice on "U.F.Orb", the regular version of "Towers of Dub" has the very same percussion used on Pink Floyd's, "On the Run" from the "Dark Side of the Moon" album. The Orb seems to like to mess with your head about making Pink Floyd references. On my two Ultraworld albums, the building that was on the cover of Pink Floyd's 1977 album "Animals", are on these Orb releases. And also, check out the Orb's "Live 93" album. It's not a pig, but it is some sort of animal jumping over a power plant, just like the pig jumping over the building on Pink Floyd's "Animals", album. I am certain that there are probably alot more hidden Pink Floyd references thoughout their other albums. The Orb started to lose their uniqueness for me after "U.F.Orb", They started to sound like typical Ambient House music. No longer the innovators that they use to be.
Another totally hard to find CD is a remix follow-up to their first album. If you can find it, get The Orb's, "Aubrey Mixes: The Ultraworld Excersions". It has a really cool, jazzy version of "Little Fluffy Clouds". Other scarce obscure CD releases of early Orb, are "Ultra Rare Trax", and "Morphology". These two were never commercially released, and were very expensive inside the locked-up glass cabinet of the CD store I bought mine from.
It seems though, that the sound of The Orb has become outdated when compared to today's new "electronic sound" known as IDM (Intelligent Dance Music). Aphex Twin, Autechre, Boards of Canada, Squarepusher, and the such are todays Techno wizards.
The latest releases from The Orb are "Cydonia" and "Bicycles and Tricycles". Nothing fabulous, but I think they are a little more appealing than what The Orb has done with "Pomme Fritz" and beyond. "Orblivion" has a few great tracks, but the album, as a whole, has too many weaknesses that loses my interest quickly. I don't think that The Orb will ever have another "classic" album like their first two. But, those two are certainly to be cherished. I can't wait for their 20th Anniversary re-releases. I believe that The Orb will be praised again for their contribution to Techno-Ambient-Dub at that time.
As a summation of a point in musical time, it's as evocative as 'Revolver' or 'Ziggy Stardust' or 'Sound Affects'. And like all of those, there's something ineffably British about the way The Orb took beats from Detroit, minimalist compositions from New York and dub from Jamaica, and stretched and warped them into a completely new form. If the clubs were full of house and techno, the bedrooms were full of smoke and ambient dub, and The Orb were responsible for much of it.
'U.F.Orb' is their finest achievement, proving that 'Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld' wasn't a novelty record but the herald (along with The KLF's 'Chill Out') of a new genre. The sound here is both denser and more dubby, with more going on but less dependence on the BBC sound effects records and slowed-down house beats that were the backbone of their earlier work. 'Blue Room' (here edited from its 39'58" single length) and 'Towers of Dub' are the standouts, but The Orb's legacy is even more impressive than their music. You can hear it not only in experimental 'dance' music from Shpongle to Monolake, from Portishead to Lemon Jelly; it's embedded in mainstream pop, soundtracks and muzak the world over. And if you still have that triple vinyl release, with the PVC intact, I bet it's worth a fortune.
The first track "O.O.B.E." brings with it, a soothingly cinematic synth arrangement, that is a fair indication of the sort of widescape sound, that you can expect from this stunningly atmospheric track. Think of the sort of Hushed, and delicate ambient textures used on 'Brian Eno's' ambient series of albums, with the serene lilting ambience, that his albums were acclaimed for, but with slight piano keys interspersed & the most restrained use of vocal snippets, that seem to touch on subjective and conscious thoughts...this is electronic music for the mind. And the use of looped beats isn't intergrated until some 6 Min's into the track, signalling the transition into Ambient-House. The theme here (and throughout the album in fact), is 'Travelling Through Space', with various metallic techno-futuristic samples, and dense detached rhythms & free-form ambience, seamlessly intergrated. Yet still retaining that all important balance between subtly detached ambience, and possessing synthesised ambient beats mixed with vocals.
The second track "U.F. Orb" mixes swirling, cascading synth work & expertly modified vocal sampling (alarm sounds, Dialogue from the 'Space Program', Environmental sounds...etc), before being replaced with uptempo techno beats (with a sublime use of high-hat rhythm breaks) moving at a relatively quick pace, that works alongside a superb, heavy echoey reverberated dub bass sound. Although the actual arrangement is simple, in its implementation, the effect is similar to a particularly well-judged fusion of World Music mood and instrumentation, intergrated with the smoked-out sounds/grooves of instrumental Dub. This is a beautiful pairing of Western Dub Fusion, and a complete contrast to the subtle tones of the previous track.
"Blue Room" is a epic track, the likes of which the 'Air-Raid' sirens to signal the beginning of the track should make that painfully clear, this is then mixed with subtle organs playing in the background, with subtle sounds & buzzing electronic sounds (along with a curious bubbling effect) and cold industrial sounds are all skillfully placed, with the effect carefully intergrated through the use of cleverly Cut & Manipulated editing, that fleshes out the long stretches of atmospheric organ. The occasion female vocal sample of "Awwwww- Whoooah" (taken from a early 90's UK Rave Track), provides the perfect canopy for the transition into thumping bass, that feels like its been modified to emulate thumping beats, this is insistent driving bass, with the harsh edges softened to resemble late-night Ambient-techno. Various snippets of mechanical sounds, Dialogue, Turntable effects (turntable spinback effects) & engaging synths, are all overlayed throughout the track, but care has been taken to give ample space to each sound, and thoughtfully stretched out intelligently over the 17Min's that this track runs to, and such is the beautifully devised arrangement, the time literally flys by, when listening to this astonishing track.
The overriding musical theme for "Towers of Dub" is (Obviously) DUB!!, a recorded telephone message or someone ringing "London Weekend Television" (UK television Broadcast), and getting through to a security guard to leave a message, is a highly amusing (or disorientating if you live outside the UK), start to the track. Bizarrely, the frequent use of : dogs barking, chirping birds and rhythmic sounds float in and out of the mix, are all firmly put in the shade by a truly stunning Harmonica sample playing throughout the track, mixing wonderfully with the heavy instrumental Dub, that is produced with pin-point keyboard and electronic sampling, and skitting drum beats audible in the background, the effect of these decidedly synthetic dubby basslines, could arguably have been the work of some of the Dub greats such as "The Mad Professor" or legendary "Lee 'Scratch' Perry", had they decided to make a more electronically orientated album, it's in turns, sophisticated, sprawling and hypnotic, and yet uptempo enough for either late night or daytime listening...working equally as well, whether your chilling out, or merely need some music to lose yourself into. And is so expertly judged and produced that is highlights one of the finest examples of Ambient-House.
The remaining 3 Tracks are all equally up the stunning quality of previous tracks, "Close Encounters" shifts the tempo, and moves into a combination of a blended Chicago electro-house orientated track, matched against the stylisation and experimentation of IDM (Intelligent Dance Music), and the low-end ambience of "Majestic", manages to feel like a surreal dreamlike track, encapsulating rhythmically and conceptally, the best attributes of 'The Orb' in an 11 minute breakdown, that at times feels like tightly crafted melodies, and creative samples, working in perfect unison.
There should be absolutely no doubt, that If you are a fan of either 'Ambient House' or 'Ambient Dub', (albums Such as: "Aphex Twins - Selected Ambient Works", "The KLF - Chill Out", "Future Sound of Londons - Lifeforms", "The Black Dogs - Bytes"), that this album is an absolutely essential purchase.
I'm reviewing this album have listened to it for the first time now in 2005, even though it was intially release back in 1992....and surprisingly it still feels vital, and doesn't feel dated. Admittedly if this is your first 'Orb' purchase, then (takes deep breath), you should pick up their incredible "The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld" (Double Cd) first, as it is the Duo's Definitive work, with this album a very, very close second. But that album's a sprawlling masterpiece which is a concentrated listen, whereas this albums single cd, is far more manageable listen. And unquestionably stands as one of the genre greatest exponents.
It's also a nostalgic album, for people in their early 30s. The pre-internet 'Wired'-era computer whizz-bang space-age techno-pagan futurism of it all was mirrored in contemporary releases by the Future Sound of London, System 7 and so forth, and although this kind of ambient space music is now as dated as krautrock was in 1992, it's heartbreaking to listen to. So many dreams and hopes smashed to bits.
Excellent way to show off a hi-fi system, too, because it has quiet bits and loud bits and they all sound top-notch. 'Sticky End' is a short joke track and 'Majesty' is a bit irritating, but it's otherwise an excellent way to spend fifty minutes or so. Shame they didn't include the lengthy 'Blue Room' single as a pack-in or bonus track (it was basically the album version looped a couple of times, with a different bassline).
And it's "Teilhard de Chardin", it took me ages to find that out; he's the one who conceived of a third world, a world of objective contents of thoughts.
An ambient-techno classic, UFOrb captures Alex Patterson and his sonic henchman at their early peak. While the Orb had already created a dance-floor and chill-out-room sensation in 1991 with Little Fluffy Clouds, this follow-up disc displays Patterson's talent for fusing ambient music with dub science and a club culture mindset. Incorporating psychedelicized samples over the era's reigning techno beats and deep reggae bass lines, heady compositions such as "Towers of Dub" and "Close Encounters" are excessive in length but consistently entertaining. The album's highlight is an 18-minute version of "Blue Room" (there's a 40-minute version out there, too), which features the sensual bass playing of Jah Wobble and the oscillating guitar of coproducer Steve Hillage. A most serious contribution to the legacy of the modern DJ. --Mitch Myers
U.F.Orb,The Orb,Polygram Records,Ambient Dub,Ambient House,Ambient Techno,Electronica,IDM,Pop,Popular Music,Rock
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U. F. Off: The Best Of The Orb
The Orb Manufacturer: Island ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD  Ambient
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ASIN: B00000DD0Z Release Date: 1998-11-03 |
Tracks:
- A Huge Evergrowing Pulsating Brain That Rules From The Centre Of The Ultraworld (Orbital Dance Mix)
- Little Fluffy Clouds (Dance Mix 2)
- Perpetual Dawn (Solar Youth Mix)
- Blue Room (7'' Mix)
- Assassin (7'' Mix)
- Pomme Fritz (Meat 'N' Veg)
- Toxygene (7'' Mix)
- Outlands (LP Version)
- DJ Asylum (7'' Edit)
- Mickey Mars (7''Edit)
- Tower Of Dub (Original Mix)
- PI (Part 1) (LP Version)
Tracks:
- Little Fluffy Clouds (Live From Washington DC '97)
- Perpetual Dawn (Ultrabass II)
- Pomme Fritz (Orb Remix)
- Toxygene (Ganja Kru Remix)
- DJ Asylum (The Soulcatchers Mix)
- Assassin (Chocolate Hills Of Bohol Mix)
- O.O.B.E. (Pool Mix)
- A Huge Evergrowing Pulsating Brain That Rules From The Centre Of The Ultraworld (Radio Version)
- Blue Room (Ambient Mix)
- Mickey Mars (Red X Mix)
- PI (Part 2) (Orb Remix)
- Montagne D'or (Der Gvte Berg) (Vestax Mix)
Amazon.com
This celebration of the British ambient-dance group's first 10 years is one for all electronic tastes. Whether you like your beats hard and fast or slow and gentle, U.F. Off has something for everyone, with each of the album's 12 compositions wrapped generously in the Orb's uniquely dubbed-out style. Orb aficionados will enjoy some new mixes of old favorites, such as "Little Fluffy Clouds" by LFC and "A Huge Ever Growing Brain..." by Orbital, while newcomers will be drawn by the timeless sunrise aura of "Blue Room" and "Pi (Part 1)." However, it is during the pulsating reggae throb of "Perpetual Dawn (Solar Youth Mix)" and the metronomic trance-floor classic "Assassin" that the Orb's richest identity shines. The first 15,000 copies come with a 12-song bonus disc containing further riches, rarities, and previously unreleased recordings. --Steffan ChiraziCustomer Reviews:
The Only Way to Start.......2005-08-26
If you like this, I'd suggest the first album "the Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld" as your next purchase; it's where it all started. If you like more ambient style music that doesn't bash you over the head with hard beats and endless repitition, give "Orbus Terrarum" a listen.
Greatest hits.......2004-05-15
A Three star album because I think it would be better to go buy all their studio albums instead of just this.
The Best of the Orb.......2004-04-17
Here The Orb offers up its best; mixed perfectly. The CD includes rare tracks such as Assassin, Huge Evergrowing Brain, Blue Room, and Perpetual Dawn. The unreleased (and underrated) track Mickey Mars is only available here. The hidden Oxbow Lakes remix, at the end of CD1, is excellent.
The double CD offers music unavailable elsewhere including a 1997 live version of Little Fluffy Clouds and the Mickey Mars Red X remix. There are also rare gems including the fantastic Soul Catchers remix of Asylum. Side two is mixed well and is presented symmetrically to the first CD and makes the collection nearly complete.
Older fans may want more. The "Chocolate Hills" remix of Assassin is trimmed down to a minute and a half from fourteen. The edits of Blue Room are good, but fail to catch the majesty of the original that sent the standard for Ambient House music. Still, this album is a good representation of the group's body of work up to 1997. If are new to the Orb fan this CD might be the place the start and finish with The Orb.
A good introduction to The Orb.......2004-04-17
Back in college I had a roommate who was even a bigger techno fan than I was. He helped shape my taste in music by unwittingly introducing me to Moby, Orbital, Leftfield and Delerium. Another techno act he exposed me to was The Orb. Their music was nothing that I haven't heard before. It was a good mixture of techno and reggae, especially on "Perpetual Dawn" (my personal favorite song by The Orb). I bought "U.F.Off: The Best of The Orb" to familiarize myself with their music. It was definitely different from Moby, Orbital, and Leftfield to say the very least. Another favorite song of mine by The Orb is "A Huge Evergrowing Pulsating..." which takes a sample from the old Minnie Ripperton song "Loving You". Good use of sampling as opposed to any song by Poofy (my nickname for the former Puffy/P.Diddy). All the songs on both disc one and two are cool. I more akin to the first disc though. For people who want to check out The Orb's music but never have, I strongly suggest checking out their best of cd. It is a good introduction.
PI + 4:48 (Tr. 12) is THE reason for this comp........2003-05-29
Average customer rating:
|
U.F.Orb (Limited initial quantities include 2nd disc with full length 40 minute "Blue Room" +3)
The Orb Manufacturer: Polygram Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Ambient
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ASIN: B00000E5F7 Release Date: 1992-11-03 |
Tracks:
- O.O.B.E.
- U.F.Orb
- Blue Room
- Towers Of Dub
- Close Encounters
- Majestic
- Sticky End
Amazon.com essential recording
An ambient-techno classic, UFOrb captures Alex Patterson and his sonic henchman at their early peak. While the Orb had already created a dance-floor and chill-out-room sensation in 1991 with Little Fluffy Clouds, this follow-up disc displays Patterson's talent for fusing ambient music with dub science and a club culture mindset. Incorporating psychedelicized samples over the era's reigning techno beats and deep reggae bass lines, heady compositions such as "Towers of Dub" and "Close Encounters" are excessive in length but consistently entertaining. The album's highlight is an 18-minute version of "Blue Room" (there's a 40-minute version out there, too), which features the sensual bass playing of Jah Wobble and the oscillating guitar of coproducer Steve Hillage. A most serious contribution to the legacy of the modern DJ. --Mitch MyersCustomer Reviews:
Drone ship in orbit..........2006-11-26
The 40 minute version of "Blue Room" and "Towers of Dub" are my favorites, Towers features some nice harmonica work and a great sample from Woody Allen's "Sleeper." One of the most played albums from my collection. Thank you very much Alex Paterson. Highly recommended - buy the album, take it for a spin and go meet Haile Selassie at Babylon & Ting.
If "Ambient Dub" could have a classic album, this is it!.......2005-08-27
I still believe the humble beginnings of techno music, was simply called "electronic music" or by today's terms - "electronica". And that all began in the 1960's with Kraftwerk (Organisation), Silver Apples, and even Walter (now Wendy) Carlos. Moog music was another term for electronic music. In the 1970's, the early stages of "Techno" started to show up even more. Artists like Tomita, Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream, and Jean Michel Jarre, were all brave pioneers of a new sound in music, a new cold electronic sound.
I'd be willing to say that the first successful "Techno" album has to be Kraftwerk's 1977 album, "Trans Europe Express". It's even sampled often by many of today's Techno-Ambient House artists. The earliest album that I could call the bravest venture into spacey electronica is Tangerine Dream's 1971 album, Alpha Centauri". Check out "Fly and Collision of Coma Sola" off this album. It's simply mind-blowing!
With the music market suddenly getting slammed with new ventures in Techno, Ambient House, Trance, Electronica, IDM, Ambient Dub, etc., suddenly in the early 1990's comes THE ORB. With their first triple album set "Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld", the world was introduced to another whole new adventure in electronic music, that earns universal success. Their first commercial successful single was "Little Fluffy Clouds". It even received airplay on regular contemporary pop radio. Big time in the UK, I'm sure. Already feeling that this is a new landmark album for the genre, it really blew my mind when their second commercial release "U.F.Orb", came out. When I heard a store playing "Blue Room", I couldn't believe that this was something new from The Orb. They weren't playing the CD of U.F.Orb, they were playing a CD single of "Blue Room" that went on for nearly 40 minutes! Wow! That blew my mind!
In the early days of buying The Orb, the first release of "Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld, was a single edited CD of the full double CD that came out of the UK, that is currently released worldwide today. I'm actually glad to have this edited version of "Adventures Beyond..." The tracks "Spanish Castles in Space" and "Backside of the Moon" were omitted from this CD. I heard the both of them on a borrowed copy of the double CD, and I found that those two tracks (that are together on CD One), offered a very long, boring 30+ minutes of very uninteresting sound passages. Plus a few of the other tracks are a little different. "Perpetual Dawn" on my copy, is a shorter more upbeat, reggae-version, which I enjoy more. Thank God I have this (now totally obscure) initial US release.
The early release of "U.F.Orb", offered a bonus CD of a few remixed extras, which included a rare track called "Assassin", and the "ardently sought after", 40 minute version of "Blue Room". I also have an alternate mix on "Towers of Dub", which is really cool.
Notice on "U.F.Orb", the regular version of "Towers of Dub" has the very same percussion used on Pink Floyd's, "On the Run" from the "Dark Side of the Moon" album. The Orb seems to like to mess with your head about making Pink Floyd references. On my two Ultraworld albums, the building that was on the cover of Pink Floyd's 1977 album "Animals", are on these Orb releases. And also, check out the Orb's "Live 93" album. It's not a pig, but it is some sort of animal jumping over a power plant, just like the pig jumping over the building on Pink Floyd's "Animals", album. I am certain that there are probably alot more hidden Pink Floyd references thoughout their other albums. The Orb started to lose their uniqueness for me after "U.F.Orb", They started to sound like typical Ambient House music. No longer the innovators that they use to be.
Another totally hard to find CD is a remix follow-up to their first album. If you can find it, get The Orb's, "Aubrey Mixes: The Ultraworld Excersions". It has a really cool, jazzy version of "Little Fluffy Clouds". Other scarce obscure CD releases of early Orb, are "Ultra Rare Trax", and "Morphology". These two were never commercially released, and were very expensive inside the locked-up glass cabinet of the CD store I bought mine from.
It seems though, that the sound of The Orb has become outdated when compared to today's new "electronic sound" known as IDM (Intelligent Dance Music). Aphex Twin, Autechre, Boards of Canada, Squarepusher, and the such are todays Techno wizards.
The latest releases from The Orb are "Cydonia" and "Bicycles and Tricycles". Nothing fabulous, but I think they are a little more appealing than what The Orb has done with "Pomme Fritz" and beyond. "Orblivion" has a few great tracks, but the album, as a whole, has too many weaknesses that loses my interest quickly. I don't think that The Orb will ever have another "classic" album like their first two. But, those two are certainly to be cherished. I can't wait for their 20th Anniversary re-releases. I believe that The Orb will be praised again for their contribution to Techno-Ambient-Dub at that time.
The sound of an epoch.......2005-07-23
As a summation of a point in musical time, it's as evocative as 'Revolver' or 'Ziggy Stardust' or 'Sound Affects'. And like all of those, there's something ineffably British about the way The Orb took beats from Detroit, minimalist compositions from New York and dub from Jamaica, and stretched and warped them into a completely new form. If the clubs were full of house and techno, the bedrooms were full of smoke and ambient dub, and The Orb were responsible for much of it.
'U.F.Orb' is their finest achievement, proving that 'Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld' wasn't a novelty record but the herald (along with The KLF's 'Chill Out') of a new genre. The sound here is both denser and more dubby, with more going on but less dependence on the BBC sound effects records and slowed-down house beats that were the backbone of their earlier work. 'Blue Room' (here edited from its 39'58" single length) and 'Towers of Dub' are the standouts, but The Orb's legacy is even more impressive than their music. You can hear it not only in experimental 'dance' music from Shpongle to Monolake, from Portishead to Lemon Jelly; it's embedded in mainstream pop, soundtracks and muzak the world over. And if you still have that triple vinyl release, with the PVC intact, I bet it's worth a fortune.
One of 'Ambient House's' Most Enduring Classics............2005-07-21
The first track "O.O.B.E." brings with it, a soothingly cinematic synth arrangement, that is a fair indication of the sort of widescape sound, that you can expect from this stunningly atmospheric track. Think of the sort of Hushed, and delicate ambient textures used on 'Brian Eno's' ambient series of albums, with the serene lilting ambience, that his albums were acclaimed for, but with slight piano keys interspersed & the most restrained use of vocal snippets, that seem to touch on subjective and conscious thoughts...this is electronic music for the mind. And the use of looped beats isn't intergrated until some 6 Min's into the track, signalling the transition into Ambient-House. The theme here (and throughout the album in fact), is 'Travelling Through Space', with various metallic techno-futuristic samples, and dense detached rhythms & free-form ambience, seamlessly intergrated. Yet still retaining that all important balance between subtly detached ambience, and possessing synthesised ambient beats mixed with vocals.
The second track "U.F. Orb" mixes swirling, cascading synth work & expertly modified vocal sampling (alarm sounds, Dialogue from the 'Space Program', Environmental sounds...etc), before being replaced with uptempo techno beats (with a sublime use of high-hat rhythm breaks) moving at a relatively quick pace, that works alongside a superb, heavy echoey reverberated dub bass sound. Although the actual arrangement is simple, in its implementation, the effect is similar to a particularly well-judged fusion of World Music mood and instrumentation, intergrated with the smoked-out sounds/grooves of instrumental Dub. This is a beautiful pairing of Western Dub Fusion, and a complete contrast to the subtle tones of the previous track.
"Blue Room" is a epic track, the likes of which the 'Air-Raid' sirens to signal the beginning of the track should make that painfully clear, this is then mixed with subtle organs playing in the background, with subtle sounds & buzzing electronic sounds (along with a curious bubbling effect) and cold industrial sounds are all skillfully placed, with the effect carefully intergrated through the use of cleverly Cut & Manipulated editing, that fleshes out the long stretches of atmospheric organ. The occasion female vocal sample of "Awwwww- Whoooah" (taken from a early 90's UK Rave Track), provides the perfect canopy for the transition into thumping bass, that feels like its been modified to emulate thumping beats, this is insistent driving bass, with the harsh edges softened to resemble late-night Ambient-techno. Various snippets of mechanical sounds, Dialogue, Turntable effects (turntable spinback effects) & engaging synths, are all overlayed throughout the track, but care has been taken to give ample space to each sound, and thoughtfully stretched out intelligently over the 17Min's that this track runs to, and such is the beautifully devised arrangement, the time literally flys by, when listening to this astonishing track.
The overriding musical theme for "Towers of Dub" is (Obviously) DUB!!, a recorded telephone message or someone ringing "London Weekend Television" (UK television Broadcast), and getting through to a security guard to leave a message, is a highly amusing (or disorientating if you live outside the UK), start to the track. Bizarrely, the frequent use of : dogs barking, chirping birds and rhythmic sounds float in and out of the mix, are all firmly put in the shade by a truly stunning Harmonica sample playing throughout the track, mixing wonderfully with the heavy instrumental Dub, that is produced with pin-point keyboard and electronic sampling, and skitting drum beats audible in the background, the effect of these decidedly synthetic dubby basslines, could arguably have been the work of some of the Dub greats such as "The Mad Professor" or legendary "Lee 'Scratch' Perry", had they decided to make a more electronically orientated album, it's in turns, sophisticated, sprawling and hypnotic, and yet uptempo enough for either late night or daytime listening...working equally as well, whether your chilling out, or merely need some music to lose yourself into. And is so expertly judged and produced that is highlights one of the finest examples of Ambient-House.
The remaining 3 Tracks are all equally up the stunning quality of previous tracks, "Close Encounters" shifts the tempo, and moves into a combination of a blended Chicago electro-house orientated track, matched against the stylisation and experimentation of IDM (Intelligent Dance Music), and the low-end ambience of "Majestic", manages to feel like a surreal dreamlike track, encapsulating rhythmically and conceptally, the best attributes of 'The Orb' in an 11 minute breakdown, that at times feels like tightly crafted melodies, and creative samples, working in perfect unison.
There should be absolutely no doubt, that If you are a fan of either 'Ambient House' or 'Ambient Dub', (albums Such as: "Aphex Twins - Selected Ambient Works", "The KLF - Chill Out", "Future Sound of Londons - Lifeforms", "The Black Dogs - Bytes"), that this album is an absolutely essential purchase.
I'm reviewing this album have listened to it for the first time now in 2005, even though it was intially release back in 1992....and surprisingly it still feels vital, and doesn't feel dated. Admittedly if this is your first 'Orb' purchase, then (takes deep breath), you should pick up their incredible "The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld" (Double Cd) first, as it is the Duo's Definitive work, with this album a very, very close second. But that album's a sprawlling masterpiece which is a concentrated listen, whereas this albums single cd, is far more manageable listen. And unquestionably stands as one of the genre greatest exponents.
Beyond the Noosphere (man).......2005-07-12
It's also a nostalgic album, for people in their early 30s. The pre-internet 'Wired'-era computer whizz-bang space-age techno-pagan futurism of it all was mirrored in contemporary releases by the Future Sound of London, System 7 and so forth, and although this kind of ambient space music is now as dated as krautrock was in 1992, it's heartbreaking to listen to. So many dreams and hopes smashed to bits.
Excellent way to show off a hi-fi system, too, because it has quiet bits and loud bits and they all sound top-notch. 'Sticky End' is a short joke track and 'Majesty' is a bit irritating, but it's otherwise an excellent way to spend fifty minutes or so. Shame they didn't include the lengthy 'Blue Room' single as a pack-in or bonus track (it was basically the album version looped a couple of times, with a different bassline).
And it's "Teilhard de Chardin", it took me ages to find that out; he's the one who conceived of a third world, a world of objective contents of thoughts.
Average customer rating:
|
U.F.Orb (Limited initial quantities include 2nd disc with full length 40 minute "Blue Room" +3)
The Orb Manufacturer: Island Red / Pgd ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Ambient
| Dance & DJ
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General
| Dance & DJ
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Electronica
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Pop Rock
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ASIN: B000005HTY Release Date: 1994-03-01 |
Tracks:
- O.O.B.E.
- U.F. Orb
- Blue Room
- Towers Of Dub
- Close Encounters
- Majestic
- Sticky End
Amazon.com essential recording
An ambient-techno classic, UFOrb captures Alex Patterson and his sonic henchman at their early peak. While the Orb had already created a dance-floor and chill-out-room sensation in 1991 with Little Fluffy Clouds, this follow-up disc displays Patterson's talent for fusing ambient music with dub science and a club culture mindset. Incorporating psychedelicized samples over the era's reigning techno beats and deep reggae bass lines, heady compositions such as "Towers of Dub" and "Close Encounters" are excessive in length but consistently entertaining. The album's highlight is an 18-minute version of "Blue Room" (there's a 40-minute version out there, too), which features the sensual bass playing of Jah Wobble and the oscillating guitar of coproducer Steve Hillage. A most serious contribution to the legacy of the modern DJ. --Mitch MyersCustomer Reviews:
Drone ship in orbit..........2006-11-26
The 40 minute version of "Blue Room" and "Towers of Dub" are my favorites, Towers features some nice harmonica work and a great sample from Woody Allen's "Sleeper." One of the most played albums from my collection. Thank you very much Alex Paterson. Highly recommended - buy the album, take it for a spin and go meet Haile Selassie at Babylon & Ting.
If "Ambient Dub" could have a classic album, this is it!.......2005-08-27
I still believe the humble beginnings of techno music, was simply called "electronic music" or by today's terms - "electronica". And that all began in the 1960's with Kraftwerk (Organisation), Silver Apples, and even Walter (now Wendy) Carlos. Moog music was another term for electronic music. In the 1970's, the early stages of "Techno" started to show up even more. Artists like Tomita, Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream, and Jean Michel Jarre, were all brave pioneers of a new sound in music, a new cold electronic sound.
I'd be willing to say that the first successful "Techno" album has to be Kraftwerk's 1977 album, "Trans Europe Express". It's even sampled often by many of today's Techno-Ambient House artists. The earliest album that I could call the bravest venture into spacey electronica is Tangerine Dream's 1971 album, Alpha Centauri". Check out "Fly and Collision of Coma Sola" off this album. It's simply mind-blowing!
With the music market suddenly getting slammed with new ventures in Techno, Ambient House, Trance, Electronica, IDM, Ambient Dub, etc., suddenly in the early 1990's comes THE ORB. With their first triple album set "Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld", the world was introduced to another whole new adventure in electronic music, that earns universal success. Their first commercial successful single was "Little Fluffy Clouds". It even received airplay on regular contemporary pop radio. Big time in the UK, I'm sure. Already feeling that this is a new landmark album for the genre, it really blew my mind when their second commercial release "U.F.Orb", came out. When I heard a store playing "Blue Room", I couldn't believe that this was something new from The Orb. They weren't playing the CD of U.F.Orb, they were playing a CD single of "Blue Room" that went on for nearly 40 minutes! Wow! That blew my mind!
In the early days of buying The Orb, the first release of "Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld, was a single edited CD of the full double CD that came out of the UK, that is currently released worldwide today. I'm actually glad to have this edited version of "Adventures Beyond..." The tracks "Spanish Castles in Space" and "Backside of the Moon" were omitted from this CD. I heard the both of them on a borrowed copy of the double CD, and I found that those two tracks (that are together on CD One), offered a very long, boring 30+ minutes of very uninteresting sound passages. Plus a few of the other tracks are a little different. "Perpetual Dawn" on my copy, is a shorter more upbeat, reggae-version, which I enjoy more. Thank God I have this (now totally obscure) initial US release.
The early release of "U.F.Orb", offered a bonus CD of a few remixed extras, which included a rare track called "Assassin", and the "ardently sought after", 40 minute version of "Blue Room". I also have an alternate mix on "Towers of Dub", which is really cool.
Notice on "U.F.Orb", the regular version of "Towers of Dub" has the very same percussion used on Pink Floyd's, "On the Run" from the "Dark Side of the Moon" album. The Orb seems to like to mess with your head about making Pink Floyd references. On my two Ultraworld albums, the building that was on the cover of Pink Floyd's 1977 album "Animals", are on these Orb releases. And also, check out the Orb's "Live 93" album. It's not a pig, but it is some sort of animal jumping over a power plant, just like the pig jumping over the building on Pink Floyd's "Animals", album. I am certain that there are probably alot more hidden Pink Floyd references thoughout their other albums. The Orb started to lose their uniqueness for me after "U.F.Orb", They started to sound like typical Ambient House music. No longer the innovators that they use to be.
Another totally hard to find CD is a remix follow-up to their first album. If you can find it, get The Orb's, "Aubrey Mixes: The Ultraworld Excersions". It has a really cool, jazzy version of "Little Fluffy Clouds". Other scarce obscure CD releases of early Orb, are "Ultra Rare Trax", and "Morphology". These two were never commercially released, and were very expensive inside the locked-up glass cabinet of the CD store I bought mine from.
It seems though, that the sound of The Orb has become outdated when compared to today's new "electronic sound" known as IDM (Intelligent Dance Music). Aphex Twin, Autechre, Boards of Canada, Squarepusher, and the such are todays Techno wizards.
The latest releases from The Orb are "Cydonia" and "Bicycles and Tricycles". Nothing fabulous, but I think they are a little more appealing than what The Orb has done with "Pomme Fritz" and beyond. "Orblivion" has a few great tracks, but the album, as a whole, has too many weaknesses that loses my interest quickly. I don't think that The Orb will ever have another "classic" album like their first two. But, those two are certainly to be cherished. I can't wait for their 20th Anniversary re-releases. I believe that The Orb will be praised again for their contribution to Techno-Ambient-Dub at that time.
The sound of an epoch.......2005-07-23
As a summation of a point in musical time, it's as evocative as 'Revolver' or 'Ziggy Stardust' or 'Sound Affects'. And like all of those, there's something ineffably British about the way The Orb took beats from Detroit, minimalist compositions from New York and dub from Jamaica, and stretched and warped them into a completely new form. If the clubs were full of house and techno, the bedrooms were full of smoke and ambient dub, and The Orb were responsible for much of it.
'U.F.Orb' is their finest achievement, proving that 'Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld' wasn't a novelty record but the herald (along with The KLF's 'Chill Out') of a new genre. The sound here is both denser and more dubby, with more going on but less dependence on the BBC sound effects records and slowed-down house beats that were the backbone of their earlier work. 'Blue Room' (here edited from its 39'58" single length) and 'Towers of Dub' are the standouts, but The Orb's legacy is even more impressive than their music. You can hear it not only in experimental 'dance' music from Shpongle to Monolake, from Portishead to Lemon Jelly; it's embedded in mainstream pop, soundtracks and muzak the world over. And if you still have that triple vinyl release, with the PVC intact, I bet it's worth a fortune.
One of 'Ambient House's' Most Enduring Classics............2005-07-21
The first track "O.O.B.E." brings with it, a soothingly cinematic synth arrangement, that is a fair indication of the sort of widescape sound, that you can expect from this stunningly atmospheric track. Think of the sort of Hushed, and delicate ambient textures used on 'Brian Eno's' ambient series of albums, with the serene lilting ambience, that his albums were acclaimed for, but with slight piano keys interspersed & the most restrained use of vocal snippets, that seem to touch on subjective and conscious thoughts...this is electronic music for the mind. And the use of looped beats isn't intergrated until some 6 Min's into the track, signalling the transition into Ambient-House. The theme here (and throughout the album in fact), is 'Travelling Through Space', with various metallic techno-futuristic samples, and dense detached rhythms & free-form ambience, seamlessly intergrated. Yet still retaining that all important balance between subtly detached ambience, and possessing synthesised ambient beats mixed with vocals.
The second track "U.F. Orb" mixes swirling, cascading synth work & expertly modified vocal sampling (alarm sounds, Dialogue from the 'Space Program', Environmental sounds...etc), before being replaced with uptempo techno beats (with a sublime use of high-hat rhythm breaks) moving at a relatively quick pace, that works alongside a superb, heavy echoey reverberated dub bass sound. Although the actual arrangement is simple, in its implementation, the effect is similar to a particularly well-judged fusion of World Music mood and instrumentation, intergrated with the smoked-out sounds/grooves of instrumental Dub. This is a beautiful pairing of Western Dub Fusion, and a complete contrast to the subtle tones of the previous track.
"Blue Room" is a epic track, the likes of which the 'Air-Raid' sirens to signal the beginning of the track should make that painfully clear, this is then mixed with subtle organs playing in the background, with subtle sounds & buzzing electronic sounds (along with a curious bubbling effect) and cold industrial sounds are all skillfully placed, with the effect carefully intergrated through the use of cleverly Cut & Manipulated editing, that fleshes out the long stretches of atmospheric organ. The occasion female vocal sample of "Awwwww- Whoooah" (taken from a early 90's UK Rave Track), provides the perfect canopy for the transition into thumping bass, that feels like its been modified to emulate thumping beats, this is insistent driving bass, with the harsh edges softened to resemble late-night Ambient-techno. Various snippets of mechanical sounds, Dialogue, Turntable effects (turntable spinback effects) & engaging synths, are all overlayed throughout the track, but care has been taken to give ample space to each sound, and thoughtfully stretched out intelligently over the 17Min's that this track runs to, and such is the beautifully devised arrangement, the time literally flys by, when listening to this astonishing track.
The overriding musical theme for "Towers of Dub" is (Obviously) DUB!!, a recorded telephone message or someone ringing "London Weekend Television" (UK television Broadcast), and getting through to a security guard to leave a message, is a highly amusing (or disorientating if you live outside the UK), start to the track. Bizarrely, the frequent use of : dogs barking, chirping birds and rhythmic sounds float in and out of the mix, are all firmly put in the shade by a truly stunning Harmonica sample playing throughout the track, mixing wonderfully with the heavy instrumental Dub, that is produced with pin-point keyboard and electronic sampling, and skitting drum beats audible in the background, the effect of these decidedly synthetic dubby basslines, could arguably have been the work of some of the Dub greats such as "The Mad Professor" or legendary "Lee 'Scratch' Perry", had they decided to make a more electronically orientated album, it's in turns, sophisticated, sprawling and hypnotic, and yet uptempo enough for either late night or daytime listening...working equally as well, whether your chilling out, or merely need some music to lose yourself into. And is so expertly judged and produced that is highlights one of the finest examples of Ambient-House.
The remaining 3 Tracks are all equally up the stunning quality of previous tracks, "Close Encounters" shifts the tempo, and moves into a combination of a blended Chicago electro-house orientated track, matched against the stylisation and experimentation of IDM (Intelligent Dance Music), and the low-end ambience of "Majestic", manages to feel like a surreal dreamlike track, encapsulating rhythmically and conceptally, the best attributes of 'The Orb' in an 11 minute breakdown, that at times feels like tightly crafted melodies, and creative samples, working in perfect unison.
There should be absolutely no doubt, that If you are a fan of either 'Ambient House' or 'Ambient Dub', (albums Such as: "Aphex Twins - Selected Ambient Works", "The KLF - Chill Out", "Future Sound of Londons - Lifeforms", "The Black Dogs - Bytes"), that this album is an absolutely essential purchase.
I'm reviewing this album have listened to it for the first time now in 2005, even though it was intially release back in 1992....and surprisingly it still feels vital, and doesn't feel dated. Admittedly if this is your first 'Orb' purchase, then (takes deep breath), you should pick up their incredible "The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld" (Double Cd) first, as it is the Duo's Definitive work, with this album a very, very close second. But that album's a sprawlling masterpiece which is a concentrated listen, whereas this albums single cd, is far more manageable listen. And unquestionably stands as one of the genre greatest exponents.
Beyond the Noosphere (man).......2005-07-12
It's also a nostalgic album, for people in their early 30s. The pre-internet 'Wired'-era computer whizz-bang space-age techno-pagan futurism of it all was mirrored in contemporary releases by the Future Sound of London, System 7 and so forth, and although this kind of ambient space music is now as dated as krautrock was in 1992, it's heartbreaking to listen to. So many dreams and hopes smashed to bits.
Excellent way to show off a hi-fi system, too, because it has quiet bits and loud bits and they all sound top-notch. 'Sticky End' is a short joke track and 'Majesty' is a bit irritating, but it's otherwise an excellent way to spend fifty minutes or so. Shame they didn't include the lengthy 'Blue Room' single as a pack-in or bonus track (it was basically the album version looped a couple of times, with a different bassline).
And it's "Teilhard de Chardin", it took me ages to find that out; he's the one who conceived of a third world, a world of objective contents of thoughts.
Average customer rating: 
|
U.F. Off: The Best of Orb
The Orb Manufacturer: Island ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Ambient
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Electronica
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| Dance Pop
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ASIN: B00000DLV2 Release Date: 1998-11-17 |
Tracks:
- A Huge Evergrowing Pulsating Brain That Rules From The Centre Of The Ultraworld (Orbital Dance Mix)
- Little Fluffy Clouds (Dance Mix 2)
- Perpetual Dawn (Solar Youth Mix)
- Blue Room (7 Inch Mix)
- Assassin (7 Inch Mix)
- Pomme Fritz (Meat 'N Veg)
- Toxygene (7 Inch Edit)
- Outlands (LP Version)
- DJ Asylum (7 Inch Edit)
- Mickey Mars (7 Inch Edit)
- Towers Of Dub (Original Mix)
- Pi (Part 1) (LP Version)
Amazon.com
This celebration of the British ambient-dance group's first 10 years is one for all electronic tastes. Whether you like your beats hard and fast or slow and gentle, U.F. Off has something for everyone, with each of the album's 12 compositions wrapped generously in the Orb's uniquely dubbed-out style. Orb aficionados will enjoy some new mixes of old favorites, such as "Little Fluffy Clouds" by LFC and "A Huge Ever Growing Brain..." by Orbital, while newcomers will be drawn by the timeless sunrise aura of "Blue Room" and "Pi (Part 1)." However, it is during the pulsating reggae throb of "Perpetual Dawn (Solar Youth Mix)" and the metronomic trance-floor classic "Assassin" that the Orb's richest identity shines. The first 15,000 copies from the label come with a 12-song bonus disc containing further riches, rarities, and previously unreleased recordings. --Steffan ChiraziCustomer Reviews:
Great if you like something in a different techno sound.......2007-03-13
AMBIENT 101.......2001-10-26
Uninspired Selection.......2000-11-27
Greatest hits doesnýt quite capture their magic.......2000-05-30
Now, this does have their obvious hits, but for many reasons this album is still aimed for the Orb fan already. For instance, nearly all the 12 tracks are remixed to a varying degree, and half the songs are the better titles culled from their later, less successful releases.
As for the songs, leading off is an excellent Orbital dance mix of "A Huge...," with it's chugging beat, array of sound samples (a trademark of all Orb songs) and "Loving You" sample. There is, but of course, "Little Fluffy Clouds," sounding as good today - even in VW Beetle ads- as it did back then. "Perpetual Dawn" showcases the band's other tendencies: occasional raga sounds and cheeky humor. "Blue Room" is a good synopsis of their work, with it's blippy beat, effects, and voices worming in and out. "Assassin" is a minimal track, with a keyboard melody very similar to Sasha's "Xpander." "Pomme Fritz" features warped sounds but little else compelling, "Toxygene" is even more comically absurd and upbeat than their normal work, and "Outlands," like many other songs, is pulled from their first two albums. Rounding out the disc are the electro-tinged "DJ Asylum," the chaotic and poor "Mickey Mars," the too long skit/song "Towers of Dub," and the simple "Pi."
Getting this is a good choice for fans who want an easy Orb fix of their catchiest songs. Those looking to try The Orb, however, should get the magnificent The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld, their as-good follow up U.F. Orb, or the comprehensive Orb Live '93 set. U.F. Off may earn four stars, but it's their fourth-best release.
Great Selection of Orb Hits.......1999-11-10
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U.F. Orb
The Orb Manufacturer: Umvd Import ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Ambient
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ASIN: B000SQD0PS Release Date: 2007-09-24 |
Tracks:
- O.O.B.E.
- U.F. Orb
- Blue Room
- Towers of Dub
- Close Encounters
- Majestic
- Sticky End
Album Details
2007 Digitally Remastered Edition of the Second Opus by Alex Paterson and Kris Weston that Featured the Mammoth Single "Blue Room", which Clocked in around 40 Minutes! by Entering the UK Top 10, the Track was the Longest Ever to Make the Charts! it was Recorded with Former Pil Bassist Jah Wobble and Keyboardist Miquette Giraudy, as Well as Guitarist Steve Hillage. This Special Edition of the Album Includes a Second Disc with a Variety of Ambient Mixes of the Album Tracks and Other Assorted Rarities!|
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A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From the Centre of the Ultraworld (REMIX UK CD single) 3 track EP
The Orb Manufacturer: Wau! Mr. Modo / Big Life Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Ambient
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ASIN: B000RBWF7S |
Product Description
The debut single from Dr. Alex Patterson, Thrash (and Jimi Cauty of the KLF, on this release only). Released in the UK in 1990, this was the beginning point for The Orb's defining ambient house sound that would loom huge over the electronic music scene for the next three years. TRACKLISTING: 1. ORBITAL DANCE MIX (8:20), 2. ORBITAL 9AM RADIO MIX (3:15), 3. AUBREY MIX MK 1 (6:30). Comes in slimline import case. Graphic design by The Designers Republic.
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Assassin Pt. 2 (Chocolate Hills of Bohol) Remix EP
The Orb Manufacturer: Big Life Records / Wau! Mr. Modo Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Electronica
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ASIN: B000NQ8EXG |
Product Description
OUT OF PRINT. UK issue of "Assassin" Pt. 2 CD single. Released in 1992 as a two-part CD single. Comes in slim cardboard slipcase with brilliant artwork and design by The Designers Republic (There's always a clever/cute mention of TDR in the liner notes of Orb releases. In this particular release it says: '...and all because the lady loves her designers republic!') TRACKLISTING: 1. RADIO 7 4:05 [Edited at Sun Electric], 2. ANOTHER LIVE VERSION [Recorded at sunset, 26 July 1992 at Glastonbury Festival] 13:31, 3. CHOCOLATE HILLS OF BOHOL MIX 14:21 ['Mixed at Somewhere, Tokyo']. Brilliant music. Original versions taken from the "U.F.Orb" album.
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U.F. Off
Orb Manufacturer: Pid ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Ambient
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ASIN: B00000DFK6 Release Date: 1998-10-13 |
Tracks:
- A Huge Evergrowing Pulsating Brain That Rules From The Cente
- Little Fluffy Clouds
- Perpetual Dawn
- Blue Room
- Assassin
- Pomme Fritz
- Toxygene
- Outlands
- DJ Asylum
- Mickey Mars
- Tower Of Dub
- PI(Part 1)
- Little Fluffy Clouds
- Perpetual Dawn
- Pomme Fritz
- Toxygene
- DJ Asylum
- Assassin
- O.O.B.E.
- A Huge Evergrowing Pulsating Brain That Rules From The Cente
Album Description
The influential ambient/ electronic act's first-ever'greatest hits' collection with a 12 track bonus CD limitedto the initial pressing only. The extra disc is comprised ofrare remixes & live recordings --seven of the cuts on it arepreviously unreleased. TCustomer Reviews:
A good mix.......2001-11-19
Album Review:
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