2000 album release for ambient house pioneers. Includes thefirst single, 'Once More', featuring the vocals of Japanese singer Aki (formerly of Freaky Realistic). 14 tracks in all including the bonus track, 'E.D.M'. 2001 re... more »lease. Standard jewel case.« less
2000 album release for ambient house pioneers. Includes thefirst single, 'Once More', featuring the vocals of Japanese singer Aki (formerly of Freaky Realistic). 14 tracks in all including the bonus track, 'E.D.M'. 2001 release. Standard jewel case.
"First off, I must let you know, dear reader, that the four years that passed between the Orb's last album and this album were not spent idly and without lots of other releases ... they're just not "albums" and after all to be taken seriously one must be judged by "albums" .If you want your Orb to be stagnate, unchanging, and eventually boring and dated, this isn't the album for you. Stick with "2001: A Space Orbessey" which has plenty of those 15-minute-plus tracks you love so much. Or keep up with the DJ sets performed online, grab those and stick with those. If you'd gotten your way, the Orb would have been a joke by now.If you like your Orb to change, just like you've changed as a person in the last 13 years, then this CD should keep you happy. As an entirely different direction for the Orb from previous albums, it's not an easy first listen, and there's no reason why it should be (Alex doesn't make music for you-individually-per-se). Put it on, relax, listen to it, and hit repeat on the remote when you get to the end so you can listen to it again. And *learn* it inside and out before you make up your mind whether you like it. And appreciate that each Orb release is different from the last one. Pretty soon you'll be clamoring for the next one, wondering what new direction *it's* going to take."
Orbtastically brilliant
L. Krebs | California | 07/26/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Astonishing and beautiful, while being almost a 180 change from earlier works. Especially attractive are the standout female vocalists, Paterson seems to be a musical genius. Looping through this entire beautiful cd are the Orb trademarks we've come to know and love, palpable yet ethereal bass and drums which register somewhere between squishy funkiness and haunting fade. Sigh. Wish more people could get things this right. The world might be a better place."
Bonus track on Import version
Mariusz Zydyk | Vancouver, Canada | 02/26/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Another great album from Orb! Just wanted to mention that the UK import version has an extra track inserted at #12 (EDM) which (IMO) is easily worth the extra cost."
Nothing wrong with it, but nothing memorable either
Joseph Geni | Evanston, Illinois United States | 09/13/2007
(3 out of 5 stars)
"The problem with this record is not that there's anything wrong with it but that it's derivative. Patterson seems to be filling in the gaps of territory that he's already mapped. Now, it's still impressive territory, but there's just nothing here that wasn't done earlier, and more spectacularly. And in the end there's nothing to hold onto in the same way as earlier records had. So if you've been to Orb land and loved it you'll like this record. If you're less familiar with the band, this isn't the place to start. And if you like Orb and respect them and already have Orblivion and Ultraworld (as I do, for instance) then this is probably an unnecessary release that will sound just fine the first two times you play it and then it will disappear into your record collection, never to be remembered again."