Customer Reviews

Dig Your Own Hole [Vinyl]

5 star:		(81)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Much has been written about this album in the past 8 years since its release and it has been appraised by many people - they were right. However, this is not your kind of music, if you're not into experimental music or you turn away from unusual patterns. Anyway, this album is Chemical Brothers and techno music at their best.

The album's first part manages to mix big beat techno music with rock and it blows down your head. Tracks 1 to 5 are as exhasuting a trip as they can be. Most people know "Block Rockin' Beats" which was a hit single in the UK and in the US as well. The song really rocks and is a perfect starter. However, as we move towards "Setting Sun" the threshold is pushed forward (especially with "Elektrobank") and the album reaches its first climax in "Setting Sun", in which Oasis' Noel Gallagher sings with a electric-guitar-vocoded voice and the track rocks like nothing I've ever heard before or eversince.

The second part of the album, namely "It Doesn't Matter", "Don't Stop The Rock" and the remix of "Get Up On It Like This" are pure techno (repetitive, loud but still interesting), while "Get Up On It Like This" heralds a different sound. I didn't like this part for the first few times I listened to the album but it grew on me.

The third part is a trip into the unknown. It is a completely unexpected turn which elevates this album into an array where only the best albums ever made belong. It begins with "Lost In The K-Hole", a chiller that has soothing beats and relaxes you. Then comes "Where Do I Begin", a superb song that features singer Beth Orton. After a slow start and a surprise twist it is mixed into the closing track, "The Private Psyhedelic Reel". And this is the point where you will be stunned. This is pure psychedelic music, nevertheless it is techno. It has a mesmerizing effect and it makes you want to go back to Track 1 and start the experience once again. The sooner you do this, the better it will be.

So here is my opinion: this is the quintessential techno album, far better than the Chems' debut album, Exit Planet Dust (which is still damn good), it is a concept album with a concept that works. It surpasses even Orbital's Orbital 2 which held the throne before Dig Your Own Hole. This is a must have.

Ignore the semi-illiterate "music fans" that give this masterpiece one star. The Chemical Brothers have made an album that easily outpaces any other electronica, dance, techno, or whatever you want to call it album ever made. Whether or not you like the brothers Gallagher, "Setting Sun" is a masterpiece of techno-rock fusion. "Block Rockin' Beats" is the answer to the critcs that call "Dig Your Own Hole" a "rock" album -- try not dancing to it. In short, buy this album. Ignore the kindergarten music critics, and do yourself a favor.

The Chemical Brothers first gave us a taste of their genius on "Exit Planet Dust", and it was certainly a good album. But "Dig Your Own Hole" is even better. The pounding break beats would set the pattern for genre over the next few years. This album, along with Prodigy's "The Fat of the Land" was essential to the rise of electronica into mainstream popularity in the U.S. It opened the door to the top of the charts for artists like Moby and Fatboy Slim, who are now possibly more popular than the Brothers themselves.

It is easy to see why "Dig Your Own Hole" was so popular, with powerhouse singles like "Setting Sun" and "Block Rocking Beats" and a great album to back them up. The banging drums and driving synth form a distinctive and powerful sound that set the Brothers apart from the rest of the electronic world. This album should be a part of any electronica collection.

First of all, my review is takes the point of view of one who likes electronica music. If you don't like electronica chances are you will not like this CD. If you do like electronica, then most likely you will either like this CD or absolutely love it.

At least one of the songs is repetitive to annoyance. Most of the songs are good, while a few (like "lost in the k-hole" and "where do i begin") are absolutely great. Considering that no album has reached the utmost peak of perfection, I recommend this CD. This CD was the one that got me hooked on electronica.

This album is downright amazing. Not all the songs are great, granted, but it has many strong tracks, unlike so many albums that have one good song amidst mediocrity.

Starting off with the ever-popular Block Rockin' Beats and working its way into the meaty breakbeatiness of Piku, the traditional fat sounds of the Brothers are established early on. Thrown in the middle is "Setting Sun," a widely popular track in Europe. The album takes a turn midway with "It Doesn't Matter", going for weird vocoder-ish effects. The album gets very strange with "Don't Stop The Rock", featuring funky guitar licks with mildly cheesy bell-like things. Near the end, "Where Do I Begin" is a sweet ballad reminiscent of "One Too Many Mornings."

Overall, this is a great piece of work, well deserving of the grammys it garnered. Buy it. If you already have it, go listen to it. Straight through, in one sitting. Now.

Out of all the Chemical Brothers CDs I have, this is one of my favorites. Everything just sounds right, you can listen to it without having to cringe at jagged beats or rough notes. If you've heard even one Chemical Brothers song and liked it, you'll love this album.

Great music, one of the best albums you'll ever buy

Honestly, albums like this make the whole practice of music criticism look like gibberish. They speak for themselves. Fluently and deftly and urgently. Dig Your Own Hole grabs you by the throat, throttles you with grooves--and you will love every freaking minute of it. My personal favorite is the title track, whose manic weaving is unlike anything you've heard. "Lost in the K-Hole" doesn't get much mention, but it strikes me as immediately accessible with its downbeat funky breaks and samples. And although it's been lauded many times in these reviews, The otherwordly "Private Psychedelic Reel" cannot be overrated. It's the magnum opus of the record--a building, moving "instrumental" that could easily have gotten the Grammy nod over Block Rockin' Beats. How can something electronic be so frighteningly beautiful? Because the quality of being electronic--in short, the entire notion of genre--has nothing to do with musical greatness. Whatever the heck you want to call it, Dig Your Own Hole is the real thing.

What can I say about this album? It's a record that will move you, groove you, keep you smiling throughout its entirety, all while thinking, it's so great for its price! I saw it sitting there on the shelf once, but passed it by the first time in favor of Björk's Telegram. Now I regret not getting this first.

SHORTEST TRACK: Get Up on It Like This
LONGEST TRACK: The Private Psychedelic Reel

Block Rockin' Beats: The quintessential opener, and a wonderful lead-in to the title track. An awesome bassline captures your ears and locks them in, saying "This is gonna be fun." 9.5/10

MIX #1
Dig Your Own Hole: Wild, fast, and furious, this song is the open door to this album. It entices you with fast and exciting guitar riffs before shooting you into the hot track. 8.5/10

Elektrobank: The hot track. This, in my opinion, is the best track on the album. Its steaming-hot guitar line and irresistible drumming leaves you breathless. And to make it even more exciting, the song launches into an overdriven-guitar-laden thumper after 6 minutes. The end is a repeating guitar lick with a rainy-day kind of feel. 10/10

Piku: After this incomparable stroke of genius, more genius! This funky little ditty focuses more on drum structure than anything else. It kinda soars over your head. 9.5/10

END OF MIX #1

Setting Sun: The only song with a true vocal portion, this song features Noel Gallagher of Oasis singing powerful vocals about someone who completes him. Very real. 8.5/10

MIX #2
It Doesn't Matter: In my opinion, the worst song on the album, but still listenable. What kills it is its length and the constant drone of "it doesn't matter" over and over. Wonderfully leads into the next rack, though. 8/10

Don't Stop the Rock: Something I like to call "danceable filler." It sounds very empty, but I like the strange-sounding kick drum and the tinny hi-hats. Also, it has some catchy little drum breaks. 9/10

Get Up on It Like This: Short and sweet, it starts out very wild, then quickly becomes very empty and stays that way for the remainder of the song. Kind of a "tag-on" at the end of the mix. 8.5/10

END OF MIX #2

Lost in the K-Hole: Awesome all around. This song has a mysterious "California winter" flair to it, with its twinkling synth-harp and funky bassline. 10/10

Where Do I Begin: Where do I begin? First of all, it kinda has that pop feel to it, what with the soft guitar and all. Very repetitive, but never boring. The second half completes it with a nice drum section. 9.5/10

The Private Psychedelic Reel: Great ending to a great album. That's all I have to say. 10/10

Final verdict: 9.5/10

DYOH isn't repetitive drivel; it is, in fact, nothing short of art. You can tell how much effort, care and precision has been put into making this album. Each track is meticulous, even the so-called poor tracks; Don't Stop The Rock and It Doesn't Matter, which are both excellent. Lost In The K-Hole is a tripped out, psychedelic funk fest; Where Do I Being is a warm lulling melody thanks to the wonderful Beth Orton; Get Up On It Like This is fairly deep acid; the list goes on.

And whilst some people say this is mainstream, it isn't. At all. It may popular, but not pop, and definitely not for the faint-hearted. The beats are dark, envisaging gritty and sinister future.

The entire album is eclipsed, however, by what can only be said as the best track (I've) ever heard: The Private Psychedelic Reel. Even if you haven't enjoyed the album up to this track, buy it anyway, for The Private Psychedelic Reel isn't just music; it's a journey. An epic journey that takes you to far off places, building up to the warped clarinet solo of Jonathan Donahue. Lightyears ahead of its time, people will look back at this and view Tom and Ed as geniuses. Or at least I hope.

DYOH has pretty much everything, Tom and Ed tap into a number of genres; Ambient tunes; House;, Acid; Techno and even a Rock-Electronic hybrid in Setting Sun -- something no one believed could be done.

In short, this album is genius, few albums are on par with this, across any genre.

This is one of those albums that transcends its genre and defies all attempts to be categorized or compared to other albums. The Chemical Brothers sound is very unique, and here the band seems to have perfected it's style.

Dig Your Own Hole has some of the most intense big-beat techno ever. The Brothers use ultra-modified guitar sounds with very thumping funky/hip hop type beats, huge bass, twisted synth noises and ringing alarm sounds to create very dense and rich music.

The first five tracks are especially intense, as the album tends to get more and more psychadelic as you go, culminating in "The Private Psychadlic Reel" which is a monument to psychadelic music.

It's really hard to describe an album this good, the closest thing to this style is Prodigy's Fat of the Land or Crystal Method's Vegas, but the Brothers trump these albums with this release.