Burningn'n Tree

Squarepusher | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 27, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warp Records
• ASIN: B00005T7KE
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #446,378 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

1997 release, a 12 track compilation of previously released material, including the Spymania singles and three brand newtracks. The tracklisting is Track 1, Track 2, Track 3, etc. All material is from 1995-1996. A Warp Records release.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Humble beginings, May 9, 2004

By 

eightpointagenda "Sean" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Burningn'n Tree (Audio CD)

After the release of Squarepusher's sucessful and ambitous full length debut, Warp records decided it would be okay to raid his backcatalog and let him release as much music as he wanted for the time being. In that span of time it produced to albums: Big Loada (a collection of hard to find singles) and Burning'n' Treee; a collection of the some of the earliest works from the musical prodigy. While the collection contains some of his least impressive work, it shows the groundwork of what he would later produce and ultimately transend.

Largely, B'n'T is a collection of straightforward drum n' bass tracks with heavy emphasis on hyper-knetic drum programing and spastic bass playing. What certainly seperates his tracks from the rest of the drum n' bass gang is that he uses his formula largely to create more free form jazz tracks rather than leaning towards typical drum n' bass conventions. His songs evolve as if they are being improvised rather than being programmed. Sure, typical drum n' bass burner appears from time to time (the eleven minute Conumber is the definite highlight) and he certainly does it better than most.

What the album lacks is a good jaw-dropping track. All of them are good, quality tracks but there isn't a huge stand out beyond Conumber (mostly because its so long). Big Loada had Come On My Selector. Go Plastic had its Red Hot Car. Feed Me Weird Things had Tundra. Even his tiny Buddakon Mindphone had Iambic 5 Poetry. But nothing on Burning'n Tree is comes close to rivaling that material. But then again, its not meant to be. If you're looking for a Squarepusher history lesson, Burning'n Tree will do you no wrong. If you're looking for solid drum n' bass with a twist, it should satisfy. Just don't expect to be knocked out of your seat.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Stripped-down squarepusher, November 20, 2000

By 

AuralWreath (Williamsburg, VA) - See all my reviews

As far as drill and bass goes, there's a lot of extremely annoying material out there. Fortunately, this cd is not one of those releases. No warbling melodies here, Jenkinson shows off his real talent: the drums. Everything else falls into the background. Minimalistic basslines and the odd muted effect pops in and out, but generally the listener is treated to a skittery collection of breaks. Ah, and what a collection! Former fans of drum and bas need look no further than this album for refreshment. Be warned though, if you're doing other things, the intricacy may slip you by. It doesn't reach out and box your ears, chooses instead to slip into your subconscious and slowly work it's way up. When the album starts to peak, around track ten, it hits you. What hits you, I can't really say. But what hit me was, well, it was rather personal. But something will hit you...

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, but not quite the best, August 23, 1999

By A Customer

Upon purchasing Burningn'n Tree earlier this year, I couldn't wait to pop it in my CD player. I already had about 85% of the Squarepusher catalogue (including vinyls), so thought I knew what to expect. The beats are brilliant, although at times rather harsh, and some of the melodies are near-ambience. Perhaps if this were the first title by Tom Jenkinson I had heard, I would have been more impressed, but with records like "Budakhan Mindphone" and "Hard Normal Daddy" out there, this one just doesn't seem quite as complete. Throughout the record, evidence of his developing electronic sound are certainly a many, and the new tracks, although short, are very good. Favorite track: Sarcacid part 1