Search - Midfield General :: Generalisation

3.5 Actually,Definitely Better Than Your Money Making Fatboy

MaddKhameleon | Singapore: The City of Sin | 09/04/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Surprise! I am so surprised that I am the first one who actually writes a review on this. This is definitely one of the major releases of Skint this year. Well, he is Damien Harris, one of the biggest names under the Skint label, yeah, I know, that reminds you of that Fatboy. But do you know that Damien is actually the boss of Skint label? Forget about Norman, here is Damien. Really, he is 100 times better than your mediocre Fatboy who is only interested in shaking his bald head. In my opinion, this release, together with Indian Ropeman's 'Elephant Sound' as well as Lo-fi All Stars' 'How To Operate With A Blown Mind' are some of the best releases out of Skint label. Yeah, really! There are more Big Beats than your Fatboy Slim and Chemical Brothers. I have said this for a million times but i gotta say this once again. Being bestselling doesn't mean it is better, it only means that there is enough media coverage as well as the music is commercialised enough to be consumed by average people. Even people who don't buy much music are saying Fatboy Slim is cool these days, so what do you expect? The album can be classified under Big Beat/Breatbreaks of course, Skint is famous for that kinda music, however it is more soulful. Just listen to the first single 'Reach Out', it sounds...delicious! 'Coatnoise' contains a sample of Elvis Costello is probably going to be the next single, clever, sly and crafty, this is good dance music. The album is a diverse one, you can hear some drunk people playing country music from outer space'Drunk Country', naration a la DJ Food 'Midfielding' as well as techno house anthem of the year 'General of the Midfield'. Everything sounds nice here, however, this record is far from groundbreaking."

A little from column A, a little from column B

saturn017 | Auckland, New Zealand | 11/03/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"To be completely honest, I didn't rate Generalisation that highly when I first got it (and as an avid Skint Records fan, I had to get it...). Perhaps I was expecting it to be too much like the General's classics, tracks with predatory basslines and punchy breaks, like Devil in Sports Casual, Go Off, Worlds and Bergkamp. Anyway, a couple months on, I can honestly say this record has really grown on me. Probably the most diverse record out on Skint to date, it zooms from the awesome Devil in Sports Casual (and that's Steve from Hardknox doing the vocals), to the soulful charm of Reach Out, and then on through the electronic battle weapons of Ricky 39, and the quirky Stigs Inn Love. The comedy rework of Midfielding is rather funny, as is Drunk Country. Rounding it all out is the relaxed, sublime track Birthday, reminiscent of some of the Space Raiders quieter moments. An intelligent album that pushes the borders of electronica and incorporates a helluva lot of styles, which all in all shows just why Damien Harris is the boss of the incomparable Skint label."