Search - :: Insides 2 CD Album by Orbital

A must have in dance music

Erica Anderson | Minneapolis, MN | 04/14/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was a late bloomer when I got into techno music. I didn't get into it until I was in college and started going to nightclubs where I was exposed to some really great dance music. I also lived with a guy who was into techno music. Not only did he expose me to Delerium and Leftfield, but he also exposed me to what I consider to be a classic and definitive album in techno music...Orbital's "In Sides". I first heard Orbital on some import compilation of techno music, the song I heard was "The Box". I loved the melodies as well as the intricate beats. A couple of years ago I bought "In Sides" when I found a copy of the cd in the used bins. I haven't listened to it in a long time because of my constant change in musical obsessions. I decided to listen to "In Sides" tonight because I haven't heard it in a long time. Unlike a lot of techno artists/groups, their music doesn't hold up very well with time but Orbital is an exception. Eight years later and "The Box" and "The Girl With the Sun in Her Head" still sounds fresh to me. I love all the songs on the first disc. there isn't one song I don't like on it. The second disc is a live disc except for "The Saint" and "The Sinner". I like "The Saint" but I wasn't too wild about "The Sinner". Overall "In Sides" is still the masterpiece that I thought it was a few years ago."

Insides story

Erica Anderson | 10/12/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was ill in Intensive care for 4 months totally paralysed (I had Guillian Barre Syndrome)..desparate to ease my boredom my folks bought in a portable CD player. Most music gave me headaches, until a week later a nurse put on Insides...after 40mins he asked 'How do u do that?' He nodded to the monitors and my BP and heart rate had sunk down as I swam blissfully amongst the album. Im not a hippy type, but that album was a treat for me....I can still put it on and get lost in it. The best album I have ever heard"

My name is Tim, and I'm an Orbital addict...

Erica Anderson | 12/09/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For you techno fans: it's Orbital. 'Nuff said.This is the most amazing CD I've ever listened to. Honestly, no hyperbole there.The first Orbital I heard was on the radio. It sounded pretty good, but I didn't really get into it for about another year, when I bought the "Satan" single, and was just blown away by the masterful work on the last two songs (I wasn't much for the "Spawn" version of the song, but it was still good.)From the initial ambience and thumping of "The Girl With the Sun in Her Head", I knew I was in for a real treat. The song goes for a full 10 minutes, hardly ever reaching a point where you could call it repetitive. (In fact, on quite a few occasions, I just stuck this song on repeat for about an hour.)P.E.T.R.O.L. has a bit of industrial feel to it, and can get a bit boring; you may like it, you may not.The album version of "The Box" is a great song, starting out rather ambient, then on the second part adding some definite beat and tune to it."Dwr Budr" was a song written about the oil spills off the coast of Wales; it's Welsh for "dirty water," and is perhaps the darkest Orbital song made yet.You may want to pay attention to the track listing the first time you listen to the CD, because it's difficult to tell when "Dwr Budr" becomes "Adnan's.""Out There Somewhere?" is Orbital's latest UFO song, after "LC1" and "Are We Here?" At a total of 24 minutes, when it ends it's nothing at all like it starts out.The second disc of this will either be the "Times Fly/Box" disc, or the "Satan/The Saint/Halcyon" one. To put it simply on "Times Fly" and "Sad But New": Orbital meets Enya. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, if you don't like Enya. "The Tranquiliser" is, to say the least, just holy. The 28 minute version of "The Box" is, in fact, 4 versions of it: the radio version; another that starts out very industrial-like, and ending with what I believe is a harpsichord; a version using quite a few bells; and a vocal version. It's worth every minute.The other second disc of "In Sides" isn't quite as impressive as the first, but it's still got some good stuff on it. However, you will probably be sick and tired of "Satan" after a while, as it has two versions of it, one lasting 3 minutes, and one lasting 7 minutes. There's also "The Saint", as well as a remix of it (or, as Orbital calls it, a "diversion"; they take the original tune, and go off in a different direction with it). The disc also has the fabled live version of "Halcyon" in which they use samples of Bon Jovi's "You Give Love A Bad Name" and Belinda Carlisle's "Heaven On Earth." (The reason for this? They found the tunes quite similar, so they decided they'd let other people in on it.) This is the last you'll hear of the Bon Jovi/Belinda Carlisle mix, because they're going to be doing it anymore. (Well, they'll still be performing "Halcyon," but, oh, nevermind...)All in all, one of the best techno albums. Ever."