Orbital - Classic or Dud?

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'OUT THERE SOMEWHERE' FFS PEOPLE

― That one guy that quit, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 15:54 (nineteen years ago)

Saw Orbital at the Royal Albert Hall ('96?) and that remains one of the most incredible gigs I've ever witnessed in my life.

― Marcello Carlin, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 15:57 (nineteen years ago)

ok, i WILL have a relisten. but it's still MoN all the way for me.

i think i saw orbital 7 times! five times at glasto (ISTR the same as steve, with added sometime around 1994, though 02 i was not into it so much for some reason), once at Brixton wossname, and once at Hammersmith Palais (though i was super grumpy from ticket shananigans, and it was the Altogether tour meh-ness)

― Alan, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 16:01 (nineteen years ago)

The first couple of minutes of Dwr Bdr are amazing and spine-tingling. In fact the second half of The Box is probably the bit I was most tempted to skip last time I listened to InSides, maybe I've just heard too much.

The first three tracks on MoN are incredible but I remember thinking at the time the album sagged hugely after that. It's improved with age if anything, possibly because around 2004 loads of dance music sounded like MoN (Nothing Left in particular). I Don't Know You People is still a bit crap though.

― Matt DC, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 16:03 (nineteen years ago)

(this sounds like a record for me - i.e. the act i've seen the most live. i'd have to count times i've seen New Order...)

― Alan, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 16:04 (nineteen years ago)

I am afraid to count how many times I've seen The Cure. Probably 12 times...?

― HI DERE, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 16:26 (nineteen years ago)

have we had a POLL on their albums yet?

can someone do one i dunno how they work.

― pisces, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 16:52 (nineteen years ago)

Saw Orbital in 1996 at the Barrowlands and it was one of my all time favourite gigs.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 16:54 (nineteen years ago)

have we had a POLL on their albums yet?

can someone do one i dunno how they work.

see my post upthread - would it really be worth it?

― blueski, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 17:04 (nineteen years ago)

well yeah you'd think but 'sniv..' is great and i actully like 'brown' the best. 'in sides' is the one everyone said was best at the time, but it's a bit proggy an ting.

― pisces, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 18:02 (nineteen years ago)

Brown would get my vote.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 18:28 (nineteen years ago)

In Sides was the highest ranking Orbital album in the 90s album poll.

― blueski, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 18:59 (nineteen years ago)

i've never been that into 'brown' (hyuck hycuk drugs ref) -- prolly cos the single versh of 'halcyon' is better than the LP, and this one live version of 'impact' has always been my fave orbital choon.

― That one guy that quit, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 19:28 (nineteen years ago)

only dud on the brown album is the talky bits - i can do without them easily. even 'monday' is great.

― blueski, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 19:31 (nineteen years ago)

Given the distance of time, I totally can't decide which album of Snivilisation, In Sides or MoN I prefer. Brown is a little behind that, and the other tree a few steps even further back.

― Scik Mouthy, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 19:38 (nineteen years ago)

I saw Orbital 3 times, I think; once with MBM, once with The Orb and The Chemical Brothers, and once with...?

― HI DERE, Thursday, 3 May 2007 03:35 (nineteen years ago)

I've been re-getting-into Orbital recently, love Brown album and InSides esp "Halcyon" and "girl with the sun in her head" which is just beautiful.

― Trayce, Thursday, 3 May 2007 03:37 (nineteen years ago)

i relistened to insides.

ANYWAY

guess what. My copy of MoN has gone! I think i lent it out ages ago. sadly before i put it on iTunes =:-O

― Alan, Friday, 4 May 2007 13:21 (nineteen years ago)

This thread prompted me to listen to MoN again the other day and there's still a sag in the middle (I Don't Know You People - Otono). The one that's aged really well is Style, which I was totally underwhelmed by when it came out and now it sounds great. So Kraftwerk!

― Matt DC, Friday, 4 May 2007 13:27 (nineteen years ago)

i'll never turn

― blueski, Friday, 4 May 2007 13:35 (nineteen years ago)

I like the Dollar lift on 'Style' but nothing else about it. Around the same time Alpinestars 'Interlaken' came out and much prefer that.

― blueski, Friday, 4 May 2007 13:38 (nineteen years ago)

Paul Hartnoll's album turned up in the post today, just looking at the sleeve now (it looks sort of sub-Arcade Fire)... I don't know what to expect, really

― DJ Mencap, Friday, 4 May 2007 13:38 (nineteen years ago)

"i've never been that into 'brown' (hyuck hycuk drugs ref) -- prolly cos the single versh of 'halcyon' is better than the LP, and this one live version of 'impact' has always been my fave orbital choon."

Yeah the live "Impact" is quite astonishing.

― Tim F, Friday, 4 May 2007 13:40 (nineteen years ago)

This thread prompted me to listen to MoN again the other day and there's still a sag in the middle (I Don't Know You People - Otono).

'i don't know you people' was a particular skip-track moment just because there was something about the title/sample that pissed me off; but it turns into fairground rave! how could you not like that?

― That one guy that quit, Friday, 4 May 2007 13:44 (nineteen years ago)

the Hartnoll albums sounds quite electro-goth from what i've heard, but not in the good Knife-like way.

― blueski, Friday, 4 May 2007 13:46 (nineteen years ago)

bagpipe remix of style roxor. always liked idkyp too (title is a tag on my LJ, hem hem)

― Alan, Friday, 4 May 2007 13:49 (nineteen years ago)

more in the "having Robert Smith on it" sort of way?

― Alan, Friday, 4 May 2007 13:49 (nineteen years ago)

more on the evidence of this track 'Seance' by The Cravats ft. Paul - actually it's more 'industrial Wedding Present' perhaps.

― blueski, Friday, 4 May 2007 13:52 (nineteen years ago)

The Bob Smith track is playing now. He kinda dominates it. The track before, 'Simple Sounds', was pretty Orbital-ish (thinking 'Style' specifically), but very diluted on first impression

― DJ Mencap, Friday, 4 May 2007 14:01 (nineteen years ago)

Isn't there a Phil Hartnoll project on the way (or Phil Hartnoll with some other dude)?

― Matt DC, Friday, 4 May 2007 14:08 (nineteen years ago)

The best thing about the live Impact was the one they played around 1998 when they switched it round, did all the acid squelchy "cry for survival!" bit first and then kicked into the uplifting melodic part. I think it worked because it was mixed into the end of one of the really chaotic MoN tracks.

― Matt DC, Friday, 4 May 2007 14:10 (nineteen years ago)

"Otono" is awesome!

― HI DERE, Friday, 4 May 2007 14:19 (nineteen years ago)

in the farewell glasto, what was the extra track they mixed into the traditional "shot through the heart/oo baby do you know what that's worth" stab

― Alan, Friday, 4 May 2007 14:21 (nineteen years ago)

The Drakness - I Believe In A Thing Called Love

― Matt DC, Friday, 4 May 2007 14:32 (nineteen years ago)

two months pass...

'times fly (fast)' is the best fake jungle track ever.

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Friday, 20 July 2007 13:36 (eighteen years ago)

YES YES YES YES YES (except maybe "Are We Here?")

― HI DERE, Friday, 20 July 2007 14:39 (eighteen years ago)

"Are We Here" wins.

Enrique I was going to suggest you take this to the fake jungle thread but I note that you already did 2 years ago.

― Tim F, Friday, 20 July 2007 18:03 (eighteen years ago)

i remember hearing 'Times Fly' for first time and feeling half 'wow this is great (sped up)' and half 'nooooo, bandwagon'

― blueski, Friday, 20 July 2007 18:56 (eighteen years ago)

oh tim that has really upset me. i am senile :(

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Friday, 20 July 2007 19:12 (eighteen years ago)

ten months pass...

Help - what's the title of their track the first couple of minutes of which is slightly Philip Glass-sounding piano loops without a beat? I just have it listed as ? in my itunes.

― chap, Thursday, 12 June 2008 18:16 (seventeen years ago)

Er... Science Friction? if it's 5:04 long.

― ledge, Thursday, 12 June 2008 18:19 (seventeen years ago)

Nah, 9.27!

― chap, Thursday, 12 June 2008 18:20 (seventeen years ago)

I mean Kein Trink Wasser... and yeah that's 9:20something

― ledge, Thursday, 12 June 2008 18:20 (seventeen years ago)

lurrrrve that track

― ledge, Thursday, 12 June 2008 18:20 (seventeen years ago)

Thanks! Yeah, it's great.

― chap, Thursday, 12 June 2008 18:21 (seventeen years ago)

Heh, been wondering what that track was for years now, thanks!

― mehlt, Thursday, 12 June 2008 18:29 (seventeen years ago)

Do you people not have Snivilisation?!

― ledge, Thursday, 12 June 2008 18:34 (seventeen years ago)

I've only got a clutch of Orbital songs that a mate burned for me way back - keep meaning to rectify this but haven't got round to it.

― chap, Thursday, 12 June 2008 18:43 (seventeen years ago)

Get the following albums IMMEDIATELY:

Orbital 2 (Brown Album)
Snivilization
In Sides
The Middle Of Nowhere

Those four are essential listening; the others all rank from very good to great but these four are just completely unimpeachable.

― HI DERE, Thursday, 12 June 2008 18:52 (seventeen years ago)

^ OTM!

― StanM, Thursday, 12 June 2008 18:53 (seventeen years ago)

Skipping 532 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

Wonky’s good! Monsters Exist doesn’t really exist. Still waiting to hear the Mark Ayres mix of Optical Delusion (currently going for a mere $187 on ebay) before forming a strong opinion. Kneecap collab total banger. The Ideal Condition > 8:58 for Paul solo albums

― uploading this content requires perseveration (sic), Friday, 27 March 2026 03:48 (two months ago)

The Ideal Condition is a cool record, its like an imaginary soundtrack album, I love how ornate and intricate it gets. title track in particular is really cool.

agreed 8:58 wasn't as good, in fact it's got some outright bad tracks on it, but "Cemetary" I think is as good as anything Orbital did in the 21st century

― frogbs, Friday, 27 March 2026 04:02 (two months ago)

yeah frogbs otm with that summary above, but still feel all of those albums still can't really hold a candle to even Middle of Nowhere

― octobeard, Friday, 27 March 2026 04:32 (two months ago)

Middle of Nowhere was the first Orbital album I bought and I do really love it. With hindsight, it's the end of their imperial phase - Altogether is patchy although the US bonus disc is great; Blue felt half baked; Wonky I LOVED and for some reason I haven't really clicked with any of the other comeback stuff.

― bamboohouses, Friday, 27 March 2026 10:08 (two months ago)

should also point out there's a deluxe edition of Monsters Exist with a bunch of bonus tracks - its not really clear to me what they are exactly, but I'm guessing they were early cuts for the album that got swapped out once they changed direction (again, not sure if this is exactly what happened)...they're pretty good though

also seek out The Altogether bonus disc if you don't have it...I thought only the USA release had it but I could be mistaken...it's mostly Middle of Nowhere era remixes but there are some great B-sides..."Monorail", "Beezlebeat", and "Mock Tudor" are better than most of the album proper

― frogbs, Tuesday, 31 March 2026 20:54 (two months ago)

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