Customer Reviews

MTV's Amp

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First that all, I'm an electronic music fan from Colombia. I remember that my first SERIOUS contact with electronic music was the AMP TV show, via cable television, way back to 1996. In south america, just like in the U.S. the fresh new sound of the AMP TV show captivated a lot of people like me. And just like in the U.S., here in Colombia, finding good quality electronic music was a lot harder than now...

So when this CD came out, I ordered it in a music store that worked with imports, and WOW... even now after six years, few discs on my collection have the ammount of quality that this one has. It has the biggest artists in electronic music, as well as some of their most famous tracks. Of course, this cd may not appeal to the "bang-bang-boom-boom" techno-fans, because every track on this album is pure flowing style. Real quality. Buy it NOW.

If you're going to review this disc, you have to look at its release date. Yep, 1997. It came out only one month after the Chem Bros "Dig Your Own Hole". While the songs on here might be overplayed now, they were brand new when AMP came out. And for us Americans, AMP was just about the best electronic collection out there at the time. Yeah yeah, it's just MTV trying to capitalize on a new trend (at the time) but it's still good music. And it gave people who bought it just for BRB a chance to hear other really good, but not quite as popular, songs. It was the first time I'd heard Aphex Twin, Photek, and Underworld (forgive me, i'm American, and it was 1997) and after this, the Richard D. James Album and Second Toughest in the Infants were the next albums I bought. So yeah, while now it all looks old and overplayed, at its release, this was some quality hard to find stuff for Americans. One of the few actual good things MTV has done for music recently.

It's funny, in looking back at this CD, I feel some peculiar nostalgia in listening to what folks in 1997 believed was the future of music.

As for the content, there are some essentials. Underworld's "Pearl's Girl" still melts my cortex with its synth line that ebbs like amniotic fluid. The tracks by Photek and Apex Twin are still great abstract electronica(see the Mille Plateaux label for further excursions.) There are also some overproduced misfires like the Chemical Brothers remix of "Voodoo People and the Chrystal Method's work that sounds like Musak for future "extreme sports" commericals(whoops! it did.)

Overall, Amp marks a time when MTV had this brief period of innovation before the advent of the Boy Bands and Total Request Live.

Can you believe I have owned this CD since 1997? I stumbled across AMP one Sunday night after watching 120 Minutes. On AMP, I was exposed to for the first time Prodigy, the Chemical Brothers, Future Sound of London and many other cutting edge artists. From that moment on, I knew I had to have the CD! I agree with the other reviewers here, it is a taste of what MTV in the US can be if they chose to get back their experimental and groundbreaking roots. With songs from the likes of Goldie, the Chemical Brothers, Underworld and the now infamous Prodigy...this CD gives you an overview of the first AMP shows. I can tell you, all of these groups are still very much popular here in Europe and are not "One Hit Wonders" by any means. If you want a taste of experiemental MTV before the Nu-Metal and Boy Band take over of 1998, respectively, then pick up this CD, you wont regret it.

First off, let me just say that MTV suxorz. However, they can't be 100% awful, because they brought us AMP (also, remember the classic Yo! MTV Raps and Headbanger's Ball? ;). And while the show no longer exists on the station, the CD lives on.

"Block Rockin' Beats" definitely starts the disc off on the right foot, with some hard and heavy breakbeats as only the Chemical Brothers can make them. "Atom Bomb" put Fluke on the map, and rightfully so. Underworld was at the top of the techno game throughout the late 90s, and "Pearl's Girl" is literally flawless in production. "We Have Explosive" = KILLER. "Ni Ten Ichi Ryu" is a minimal, offstep drum & bass track, with a nice, almost oriental feel (hence the Japanese title, I suppose). "Girl/Boy Song" is far from Aphex Twin's best track, but its cool instrumental melody and scattered beats do well here as a contrast track, and you can almost understand what Aphex is about. Almost. Likewise, "The Box" is certainly not Orbital's best track, but it really gives a good feel for the group and the genre. Tranquility Bass drops a dark, deep, trip-hoppy track. "Inner city Life" is a drum & bass classic, and one of the main reasons I still listen to techno. The "Voodoo People" remix is the best version of another classic techno track. "Are You There" can get repetitive, but it builds and builds with acid breaks over a nifty answering machine sample. "Busy Child" brought the Crystal Method instant credibility, and staying power. And of course, what better way to finish it off than with some harsh, angsty Digital Hardcore from the master of that trade, Alec Empire and Atari Teenage Riot.

When I was 18 and still discovering techno music, this CD helped me to understand the different styles and popular artists, and opened the door for me to forge my own ideas about what was worth listening to. Incidentally, within a year of my buying this CD, I owned every full-length CD with the songs on this album. Absolutely worth it.

The only gripe I have about this CD is the same ritual with MTV; They edit and shorten some of the best songs!. It's got great mmusic though. Prodigy, The Crystal Method and Apex twin have some of the best stuff on AMP.

This CD's a great starting point and nothing more. it was best back in 97 in my friend's car when we first heard aphex twin and atari teenage riot and laughed it off, only to end up putting it back on later. before circuit city came along and labeled it "electronica" and god knows what else, this was the best starting point for american listeners to get into british techno. only a few stinkers out of an otherwise very diverse (drum 'n bass, chaos, cyberPUNKROCK, straight up big beat) and catchy bunch, sure to sell any disbeliever after time.

MTV attempts to bring techno/electronica/whatever-you-want-to-call-it to the masses, and comes up with this collection. I especially like the Kodo feel to the Photek track, as well as the Chem Bros and Orbital. A few songs dragged too much for my taste - what's fine for dancing to may not be fine for the walkman on the bus. A pretty good starting point for newcomers to the genre.

This album is the greatest collection of techno/DJ recordings I've ever heard. From the funk/bass sound of The Chemical Brothers' Blockrockin' Beats to the overdrived noise of Atari Teenage Riot's Sick to death. This esential piece of Techno could even please listeners of different genres. If you listen you DJ music, you must have this album. In fact the only disapointing track is Voodoo People (I'd expect more of the combination of the greats: Prodigy & The Chem. Bros.) This album is a breakthrough!

The Chemical Brothers save MTV! With the exception of the first track and the Chem. Bros. remix of Prodigy's Voodoo People this album is nothing to get excited about. If you're not familiar with techno it's an okay starting point, especially if you're dying to know which "artists" are the worst. If you are familiar with techno, stop reading this review and RUN AWAY! Go buy another Chemical Brothers CD or just listen to the one you have now and don't waste your time on this lame CD. Way to go MTV! Keep it up and you may be able to narrow your number of viewers to two. As far as AMP, count me out!