The Orb, The KLF and Bang Bang

I’m listening to The Orb’s Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld tonight. This album, even 12 years after its release, continues to amaze me. It is one of the best ambient albums ever made. It’s a double-CD package that has to be heard to be believed. I first heard the Orb when Nick came back from London with some 12” singles in hand including “Little Fluffy Clouds” and “A Huge Evergrowing Pulsating Brain That Rules From The Center of the Ultraworld.” This album is a must have. It’s all atmosphere. The main innovation of the album that set the standard for ambient for the next decade, was the incorporation of beats to the ambient music. It’s like new age for the house music set. Incredible! Another great, great ambient album from that period that unfortunately has been long out of print is “Chill Out” by the KLF. I’d LOVE to find a copy of that on CD somewhere. Anybody have one they’d be willing to part with? UPDATE: Fucking hell! Amazon.com has Chill Out on CD. Apparently it’s been re-released on a different record label. (It was originally released on Wax Trax! but wasn’t added to the TVT catalog after TVT bought out Wax Trax!.) I will write a full review after I get the CD.

Yesterday, I had on another album on vinyl that I’m also looking for the CD. It’s “Je T’aime Je T’aime” by Bang Bang. This is a French album that came out a couple of years ago that I absolutely love. It’s very down tempo and incredibly beautiful. The beats are all slow and artistic with various guest vocalists on several tracks. I initially bought this album solely because of the cover art. It’s a photo of a waif with eye’s closed wearing a bright orange jacket and a bright red motorcycle helmet on a bright green background. Very intense, saturated color. Very cool image. Makes me think also of the great cover art on Cassius’s “1999” album, another French group.

Speaking of great cover art, that is one of the many reasons why vinyl LP’s still take the prize above CD’s. A square-foot of space is enough room to do some killer graphic design.