Customer Reviews

All Systems Gone

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a great CD! It's a blend of dance, soul, and techno elements. Some smooth horn arrangements, toned down vocals, and great lyrics too! It's a musical massage -- calming and somehow invigorating too. I love it a lot. I'm not a huge fan of TECHNO (usually sounds like bees buzzing to me), but this is calm and mellow HOUSE music. You could see a really hip Manhattan restaurant playing this! I would say it's more like Sade with William Orbit producing. But there are really no comparisons. If you want some mellow dance music you can not go wrong with this selection!

Presence, much like Massive Attack, functions as a collective of artist - like mind, singular purpose, and banding together as comrades by a thriving underground music scene. Sara Nelson, Sara Jay, Steve Edwards, Fiona, Matthew Herbert, and P K Joyce all gathered and contributed essential parts to an original whole penned and produced by tech - house guru Charles Webster. Based on the "club hit" singles - Sense of Danger and Better Day, the buzz word in early 1999 was All Systems Gone would be the first essential release of the year. For what was anticipated to be essentially a "house music" album, this collection of proper songs resembled something more akin to electronic folk/soul. Influenced by the likes of Natalie Merchant and Rickie Lee Jones, Webster's songs strike chords of deep emotion, sublime energy, and curious optimism. Its low key approach threw a lot of critics off course until a few spins could bring them front and center. What they were hearing was one the best LPs to come out under the "electronica" moniker as All Systems Gone was written as much for the head and heart as moving feet and shaking butts. Songs like Future Love, Been 2 Long, Matter of Fact, Favor Nothing, The Strength Within, and Far Far Away From My Heart easily took command of coffee tables and dance floors of every trendy hotspot in London and beyond. Quietly maneuvering through all expectation, demand, club phenomena, and critical acclaim, ASG ground new respect and regard for what a dance music album could be. Subtle washes of sound come and go like tides, deft, soulful vocals belt and weave polished production of substance and sonic appeal. Presence has established many voices - all of them eloquently with spark and fervor. Recognition overdue, Charles Webster moved into that sacred ground of true songsmith. The All Systems Gone album has gone on to achieve what all great ones do - never copy, never imitate, always initiate a true original being born. Five years after this fact I still revel in its growth and maturity. With each spin, All Systems Gone never fails to make me feel that inexplicable, my favorite feeling.

A friend of mine gave this CD to me as a gift, he thought that it would be something I like (he said its that techno stuff). I had never heard of this group so I didn't have any preconceived notions about what it would be like.

Well it was pure heaven. I put it on my stereo and sat back on my couch and was transported to heaven. It so wonderful to hear Shara's voice again (I recognized it immediately). The grooves on this album are pure bliss.

This CD is a must buy if you are a fan of deep house or if you are looking for some great chill out music.

Though it isn't obvious, this is Charles Webster's first album and well worth the time to listen to if you liked his much-better-known Born on the 24th of July. Vocalists including Shara Nelson (vocalist on Massive Attack's "Blue Lines") and Sara Jay (another Massive Attacker who first appeared on "Mezzanine")give the album great personal presence.

I heard this record being played at a restaurant, found out who it was and bought it the next day. It completely sets the mood for a very smooth and viby evening. Definitely the new Massive Attack.

Now here is one of the best CD's I've bought this year and most record buyers will probably never hear of it due to the dismal state of the music biz. Like Groove Armada's new one "Vertigo," "All Systems Gone" is a fantastic compilation of compositions and singers. The magnificent Shara Nelson, original vocalist for Massive Attack is BACK! Steve Edwards, vocalist on track #5 takes the cake with a Maxwell-esqe style on the CD's highlight Your Spirit. Amazon should give this glorious CD the boost it needs and feature it somehow. Smooth Grooves!

Presence's "All Systems Gone" was one of those "chance" CDs I picked up on one of those depression days of mine. When I unwrapped this baby and popped it in the CD player, immediately my mood changed. From the sexy-opening "Future Love" to the ambient "This Is You" to the house grooves of "Sense of Danger" to the empowering "Better Day," I felt the presence of "Presence," and all of my systems were gone, too (pretty corney, huh?). I had never heard of this group before, but I'm really glad that on that very bad day I was having, they made their "Presence" known to me...get it? Oh, never mind!!!

Charles Webster has always been one of the quieter, unsung heroes of house music, and his album _All Systems Gone_ as Presence proves this amply. Right from the start, the deep and smoothly hopeful "Future Love" shows his strength in songcrafting. The overall mood of the album is melancholy, though some spots of brightness shine through: the heavenly choir on "Been 2 Long" or the upbeat pep of "Better Day." But he's at his best with his mixture of sadness and rhythm. The curious mix of longing and romance finds its perfect soundtrack with "Your Spirit." Herbert's influence shows heavily on "Matter of Fact," which sounds exactly like a Herbert track circa _Around the House_ -- not a bad thing, but not necessarily unique either. "Sense of Danger," featuring powerhouse vocals from Shara Nelson, shows a stronger feel for Webster's style. The stolid "Far Far Away From My Heart" closes out the album on a steady beat. Really gorgeous.

Wanna trip on your living room, hearing beautifull voices and sounds, without radiophonic superficial melodies? That's the right record to bring home. Timeless.

I am a big fan of HedKandi and all things created under their "chillout" blankets. When I heard "far far away..." I was mesmerised. Already a fan of naked productions and listening to blue six almost every day i went to my LOCAL INDEPENDENT CD SHOP and found presence under a heap of blue and westlife in the bargain bin. I then cleaned the filth off the cd box and listened to it. In basic terms of "style" it is similar to the naked productions of Blue Six, Miguel Migs and Aquanote, all amazing in their own rights. I own them all and ask that you do the same. The final track is amazing, and if you like that type of music, i tell you to download "your place in the world" by space brothers off their shine album. From a fan who likes all types of music- sitting next to me is a rack of cds, they range from Kate rogers (vocals on Aim and rae & christien songs) to sneakerpimps and Lunik. I like good music, irrespective of style and urge you to buy this album, also check out your LOCAL INDEPENDENT RETAILER they'll be more than happy to play the music in the store, if you ask politely! I'm off to listen to Snooze, another wicked group. Leeds retailers are- Jumbo, Crash records, cd (outside the merion center) the place in the grande arcade (they're really helpful) and then there are a couple around there. Check out the Oxfam, its cheap and and got a good selection (Headingly and LUSU)