Second Toughest Poll Ever!

rowla

― Herman G. Neuname, Sunday, 25 May 2008 00:21 (5 years ago) Permalink

juanita/kiteless/to dream of love

one of the best openings of any album.

― jed_, Sunday, 25 May 2008 00:30 (5 years ago) Permalink

i'm playing this album now. i haven't played it in forever. i used to love to play it LOUD. really really loud. i'm listening on the computer/headphones now and the cd itself isn't actually that loud. not like new CDs. (my copy is old)

― scott seward, Sunday, 25 May 2008 00:31 (5 years ago) Permalink

"Pearls Girl". I prefer "Dunobasswithmyheadman" though.

― Geir Hongro, Sunday, 25 May 2008 01:44 (5 years ago) Permalink

banstyle/sappys curry

― omar little, Sunday, 25 May 2008 01:46 (5 years ago) Permalink

oh my god, I agree with geir about dubnobasswithmyheadman

― Herman G. Neuname, Sunday, 25 May 2008 01:46 (5 years ago) Permalink

i think most people prefer it! don't they?

― scott seward, Sunday, 25 May 2008 02:02 (5 years ago) Permalink

juanita/kiteless/to dream of love

one of the best openings of any album.

agreed.

― j-rock, Sunday, 25 May 2008 13:39 (5 years ago) Permalink

Stagger's a terrific closer as well. It's between that and the first two.

― chap, Sunday, 25 May 2008 13:59 (5 years ago) Permalink

I'd completely forgotten about Stagger! Going to listen to this again now.

― JimD, Sunday, 25 May 2008 14:01 (5 years ago) Permalink

the correct answer is Juanita, which should win easily. i've voted for Air Towel which has made a return to the set list recently. excellent track, often overlooked.

― brotherlovesdub, Sunday, 25 May 2008 16:28 (5 years ago) Permalink

I decided to vote for Banstyle to even things out a bit.

― chap, Sunday, 25 May 2008 16:29 (5 years ago) Permalink

I thought this was a joke poll!

― Curt1s Stephens, Sunday, 25 May 2008 16:30 (5 years ago) Permalink

Scott does not joke about music!

― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 25 May 2008 16:38 (5 years ago) Permalink

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

― ILX System, Tuesday, 3 June 2008 23:01 (5 years ago) Permalink

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

― ILX System, Wednesday, 4 June 2008 23:01 (5 years ago) Permalink

I was the only one who voted for Rowla :(

― Herman G. Neuname, Wednesday, 4 June 2008 23:03 (5 years ago) Permalink

i should have voted for it. i love that track. i can't remember what i voted for. or even if i voted. banstyle over pearls girl shocker!

― scott seward, Wednesday, 4 June 2008 23:06 (5 years ago) Permalink

"Air Towel" and "Stagger are probably the only two I wouldn't have considered voting for. But the right one won.

― Eric H., Thursday, 5 June 2008 02:52 (5 years ago) Permalink

most listened to album ever in my home

― roxymuzak, Thursday, 5 June 2008 03:09 (5 years ago) Permalink

second toughest vs. beaucoup fish? don't want to start a separate thread

― cutty, Tuesday, 17 February 2009 19:38 (4 years ago) Permalink

Second Toughest - it's more varied and more soulful to my ears.

― chap, Tuesday, 17 February 2009 19:52 (4 years ago) Permalink

Second Toughest easy. But dubnobass beats all

― The User Formerly Known As Pfunkboy Latterly Known as.. (Herman G. Neuname), Tuesday, 17 February 2009 19:53 (4 years ago) Permalink

um... what group/album is this.....

― i brings that levity (The Brainwasher), Tuesday, 17 February 2009 19:53 (4 years ago) Permalink

if you have to ask...

― cutty, Tuesday, 17 February 2009 19:54 (4 years ago) Permalink

Underworld.

― chap, Tuesday, 17 February 2009 19:56 (4 years ago) Permalink

what does it sound like

― i brings that levity (The Brainwasher), Tuesday, 17 February 2009 19:56 (4 years ago) Permalink

Slow-building techno with stream of consciousness lyrics over the top.

― chap, Tuesday, 17 February 2009 19:59 (4 years ago) Permalink

^^^ lol

― cutty, Tuesday, 17 February 2009 20:06 (4 years ago) Permalink

it sounds like lager lager lager

― cutty, Tuesday, 17 February 2009 20:06 (4 years ago) Permalink

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underworld_(band)

― cutty, Tuesday, 17 February 2009 20:07 (4 years ago) Permalink

i think i prefer this album to dubnobass...

― jed_, Tuesday, 17 February 2009 20:09 (4 years ago) Permalink

i agree

― memo from norv turner (omar little), Tuesday, 17 February 2009 20:42 (4 years ago) Permalink

it hangs together a lot better too and those opening two tracks are so epic.

― memo from norv turner (omar little), Tuesday, 17 February 2009 20:43 (4 years ago) Permalink

I still never listen to this album.

― Lots of praying with no breakfast! (HI DERE), Tuesday, 17 February 2009 20:46 (4 years ago) Permalink

so what do you listen to then?

― cutty, Tuesday, 17 February 2009 20:47 (4 years ago) Permalink

Underworld-wise? dubnobass..., A Hundred Days Off and esp. Beaucoup Fish

― Lots of praying with no breakfast! (HI DERE), Tuesday, 17 February 2009 20:51 (4 years ago) Permalink

yes, knowing already you are an underworld fan it's hard to believe you do not listen to 2d toughest

― cutty, Tuesday, 17 February 2009 20:53 (4 years ago) Permalink

I believe I have been badmouthing Second Toughest... on this site forever.

― Lots of praying with no breakfast! (HI DERE), Tuesday, 17 February 2009 21:00 (4 years ago) Permalink

i must have blocked that out of my memory because it makes me sad

― cutty, Tuesday, 17 February 2009 21:09 (4 years ago) Permalink

I wish I liked it more! The people who like it REALLY love it, and when I first heard the songs off of it at an Underworld show in '96, I thought they were fantastic. Then, when I bought the album, they all sounded limp and unremarkable (except for "Pearl's Girl", which still didn't stand out for me until I heard it on "The Saint" soundtrack).

― Lots of praying with no breakfast! (HI DERE), Tuesday, 17 February 2009 21:11 (4 years ago) Permalink

(I had the opposite reaction to "Jumbo"; I heard the Everything, Everything version first and thought it was muted and half-baked, then heard the Beaucoup Fish version which has much, much, MUCH crisper filters on the drum tracks and was totally blown away.)

― Lots of praying with no breakfast! (HI DERE), Tuesday, 17 February 2009 21:13 (4 years ago) Permalink

PARC off the last album is 'very second toughest...' someone told me. they're right too it's great.

― piscesx, Tuesday, 17 February 2009 23:57 (4 years ago) Permalink

i do not have a track called PARC on "oblivion with bells"

― cutty, Wednesday, 18 February 2009 00:00 (4 years ago) Permalink

it wasn't on OWB but it was released in Japan as Darc. Great track too. You will need Loads of Birds and Peach Tree to complete the OWB tracks.

― brotherlovesdub, Wednesday, 18 February 2009 00:03 (4 years ago) Permalink

Sorry to clarify = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bells_The_Bells

The album also includes the previously unreleased song "Parc", which was released by Underworld as the official J-Wave 20th Anniversary Song.
The song is a reworking of a previous live performance of the then-named "Darc" in Amsterdam in 2005.

― piscesx, Wednesday, 18 February 2009 00:06 (4 years ago) Permalink

dan you hurt me in my heart

― From Rax to Rich's (jjjusten), Wednesday, 18 February 2009 00:10 (4 years ago) Permalink

ah, yes, had the naming backwards. Strumpet is another new song that is fantastic. Available on the Live Here Now discs through Underworldlive.com Highly recommend getting some of those discs, they're starting to sell out.

― brotherlovesdub, Wednesday, 18 February 2009 00:15 (4 years ago) Permalink

If I could only have two Underworld songs ever, both come from this album/era: "Juanita" and "Tin There."

― Nurse Detrius (Eric H.), Wednesday, 18 February 2009 02:22 (4 years ago) Permalink

juanita is the best underworld song. jumbo close 2nd.

― cutty, Wednesday, 18 February 2009 02:28 (4 years ago) Permalink

Confusion the Waitress and Air Towel are both fantastic too despite only getting 1 vote between them. I go through periods of listening to them both a lot.

Remixes from this era are also very good. Some of the ones that have a distinct Second Toughest vibe are:

Massive Attack Remix
Zion Train remixes
Orbital Remix

there is a very distinct shift in the sound of their records and those mixes have the Second Toughest sound in my opinion. saint etienne, sven vath and drum club remixes all sound close but the drums on those still sound like dubnobass era.

― brotherlovesdub, Wednesday, 18 February 2009 03:04 (4 years ago) Permalink

i love this so much, the 'juanita' section just stays at the same BPM but gradually keeps picking up momentum and little washes of sound along the way. i dunno, this whole album is devoid of obvious anthems and was a total eye-opener as an album for me.

― omar little, Thursday, 11 November 2010 00:09 (2 years ago) Permalink

^^^ this tune is so evocative of a particular time and place for me; first year uni, just getting into clubbing. it makes me well up. remember justin robertson playing it at cream and words can't describe the feeling, i'd never expected to hear it out. a song that hits me right there, all time.

― These children will not kill my Gerrard for me oh, (or something), Friday, 12 November 2010 03:01 (2 years ago) Permalink

wow guys, I used to really like this album but now I really LOVE it, had heard it 25+ times without hearing ANY of the crazy sounds that go on during "Banstyle" or "Confusion"

― frogbs, Thursday, 4 October 2012 20:15 (8 months ago) Permalink

The remixes Underworld did from this era were amazing as well. The Dreadzone and Orbital mixes especially.

― brotherlovesdub, Friday, 5 October 2012 02:56 (8 months ago) Permalink