Cobra And Phases Group Play Voltage In The Milky Night

Stereolab | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 21, 1999)
• Original Release Date: September 21, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Elektra / Wea
• ASIN: B00001P4OP
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (87 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,210 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #27 in Music > Alternative Rock > Indie & Lo-Fi > Ambient Pop
  • #38 in Music > Alternative Rock > Indie & Lo-Fi > Chamber Pop
  • #75 in Music > Alternative Rock > Indie & Lo-Fi > Dream Pop

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Startling from start to finish!!, June 2, 2001

By 

"3dcadman" (Marysville, Michigan USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cobra And Phases Group Play Voltage In The Milky Night (Audio CD)

I cannot understand the negative reviews this masterpiece received from the press when it came out. I love this album from start to finish. The music itself sometimes defies explanation. When I try to tell someone what it sounds like, I usually say: sometimes electronic (but not quite), jazzy (sort of) or I give up and say just listen!

It bolts off to a frenzied start in "Fuses" with drums everywhere and the usual female harmonies that I love them for. Some songs take a while to figure out how the beats and melodies fit together, such as "Blue Milk" which clocks in at 11:29 (I happen to love long songs). I first couldn't stand its repetitive beats and chimes until I "heard" the shifting patterns, and layered sounds which seemed to shift places with each other several times, then finishes off conventionally, yet with the same beautiful repetitive pattern. "Caleidoscopic Gaze" almost reminds me of Yes with the sung harmonies during the "fast" part. It finishes with "Come and play in the milky night" a gliding, almost toe-tapping slow-burning finish.

Where "Dots and Loops" gave this sound electronically, "Cobra", it sounds to me, has just about all the sounds made "live". What I mean is, all instruments, including electronic, do not have that "programmed" feel to them like "Dots" sometimes did. It sounds like a live person created every note on a guitar string, drum head, or keyboard key.

It has every element of the best music that I love: complexity (in spades), melody, female vocals, intelligence, cool bass (I play bass), and just plain a sense of confidence that says "yea we're playing music that we want to make and not what the radio says to make".

I cannot think of any other bands that sound like this except Stereolab. All of the influences they had must have melted into a sonic picture that started something new.

I would vote this as Stereolab's best record. I know that Emperor Tomato Ketchup usually gets this honor, but I must put it 4th behind Cobra, then Dots and Loops then Mars Audiac Quintet. It has everything I love about them.

Don't let the negative reviews fool you. Please.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best CD of '99 ...and their best yet, January 5, 2000

By 

Brynjolfur Erlingsson "brynjolfur" (Iceland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cobra And Phases Group Play Voltage In The Milky Night (Audio CD)

I've got all their CD's and have been a fan for 6 years and I say this one is by far their best yet. The music is so well produced and thought out. Put this on the top of your shopping cart now! I'd also recommend "Emperor Tomato Ketchup", "Transient Random Noise Bursts..." and "Music for the amorphous body study center" as the best of the rest...and try to catch them live...the best live band I've seen.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars nato, January 22, 2000

By 

"natho" (Taipei, Taiwan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cobra And Phases Group Play Voltage In The Milky Night (Audio CD)

This album pretty much follows the formula.... The fusion of jazz and electronics is there; as is the complex layering of sounds in (most) songs. Oh, and the trademark "ba-ba-ba-di-da-da-da" vocals from Laetitia. That the album wallows in the latter makes it a little disappointing. With the exception of "The Free Design" and "Blue Milk" in particular, this album is just a little too kitschy. So, it's questionable as to whether "Cobra & Phases" will attract new fans. However, it IS another Sterelolab release, and many (including myself) will buy it for this reason.

If you're unsure about which Stereolab album to get, then I'd recommend "Emperor Tomato Ketchup" and "Dots & Loops" before buying "Cobra and Phases". If you're just unsure...then try The High Llamas ("Snowbug"), Solex ("Pickup"), Alpha ("Come From Heaven"), or even The Now Sound of Ursula 1000 (self-titled, for something more beaty), too. Cheers! Ps: I gave it 3.5 stars...