Customer Reviews

Never, Never, Land

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

A lot has changed in the four years since UNKLE released the seminal "Psyence Fiction" album, treated as more of a Mo Wax version of "This Mortal Coil" than a cohesive album, "Psyence Fiction" was panned by music critics but met with commercial success selling over 400K copies worldwide. A bit of a feat when you consider the UK, Japan, and US releases contained different tracks (or versions thereof) and varying artwork. But that is the past and "Never, Never, Land" IS the future, a cohesive, mind-blowing future.

At the core "Never, Never, Land" is still an amalgam of artists working under the direction of an expert production team, Mo Wax label head James Lavelle and Mo Wax's primary engineer Richard Fine. Yet this time around the result feels more like an album than a collection of singles. The most apparent difference is the maturity and focus, no more meandering, this time UNKLE mean business.

"Never, Never, Land" opens with "Back and Forth" a spoken word segment that serves as introduction to bridge the four-year gap between and embrace the inevitable changes from "Psyence Fiction" to now. Abruptly the first notes of "Eye for an Eye" sound and the journey begins opening up a world filled with splashes of color, spiraling nuclei, and Futura 2000's pointmen (the militia of armed aliens that have become synonymous with UNKLE). "In a State", the second single released from NNL, follows revealing the inner workings of James Lavelle and Richard File's masterpiece. The production on this track in particular is astounding, it opens with a single piano, and an acoustic guitar follows with Fine's exemplary falsetto vocals. By the time the beats drop Aidan Lavelle and Jarvis Cocker's synthesizer programming and Mani's bass have seduced the listener into a sonic environment made complete only by the 140 tracks of background vocal orchestrated by Graham Gouldman (10cc) last heard on "I'm Not In Love".

File and Lavelle serve up the host of vocalists and musicians one would expect from UNKLE including: Brian Eno, Jarvis Cocker (PULP), 3D (Massive Attack), Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), Joel Cadbury (South). They even manage to reunite Mani and longtime UNKLE collaborator Ian Brown for the first time since The Stone Roses split up. As one might imagine the result is by far the best recording of its kind for 2002 and possibly for quite a few to come. There is literally not a bad track on the entire album, instrumentals cascade into vocal tracks making the whole voyage engaging from start to finish.**

The entire package is made complete with the addition of longtime Mo Wax art director Ben Drury and photographer Barney Bankhead, also from Mo Wax, as well as the aforementioned Futura 2000. The limited edition UK release contains the CD and a DVD in a gorgeous two-piece box. Included on the DVD is the McLaren Award winning anti-war short for "Eye for an Eye" and "The Hope Street Sessions", a documentary about the 8-panel album cover painting by Futura 2000. (Note: the DVD is region 2 PAL format) It is slated for release in the US in JAN/FEB 2004 and I can only hope that the packaging will remain intact for stateside UNKLE fans. As of yet, the only publicly stated difference is the replacement of hidden track "Awake the Unkind" with "No Pain, No Gain".

"Never, Never, Land" mixes all of the musical styles that have been brewing in the Mo Wax camp since it's inception in the early 90's. Like many of Lavelle's projects, it is a milestone of modern music and as such it is an album that will most likely be overlooked for quite some time until the rest of the world catches up to UNKLE.

**If forced with prolonged vicious arm-twisting I would list "What are you to me?", "Reign", "Invasion", and the singles previously listed as notable favorites, but I figure I'd suffer a dislocated shoulder first.

UNKLE's second album is unbelievably good. I bought Psyence Fiction on a whim years ago and listened to it endlessly. I lost it somewhere along the way and while looking for it in record stores, I found this album. I was hoping it would be a continuation of PF, and was totally let down. But in a good way. This album goes in a different direction. Its hard to describe it. The best way to describe to me is by saying that its like a soundtrack to an epic movie that hasnt been made yet. There arent alot of albums that you can say that you can truly listen to all the way thru and not get boring or redundant. This is one that you can stick in the cd player (especially while driving at night) and let it roll, because it really is the musical equivalent to a story unfolding, you cant skip something, or youre lost for the rest of the way. All the layers of beat, strings, found sound, vocals come together to create a real environment around you. BUY IT!

I heard a remix of Queen's Of The Stone Age by UNKLE from the SSX3 game. The track was good. Then I was at Global Underground's site the other day looking at James' Global Underground CD he did not too long ago. I noticed there was a lot of UNKLE material and remixes on the track listing. Having done DJing myself, and some amature music production, I decided to head to my music store and have a listen. Simply amazing! The flow, the vocals and the production, flawless. A very well oiled machine. I was dissappointed to see they have a very short discography, hoping that I could back track a few albums. I hope they will continue creating more music in the future. I've been telling everyone at my work and my friends (sounds corny, I know) about UNKLE hoping they will jump on the UNKLE wagon. I saw that UNKLE has a few mixed albums as well, and I'll be getting those as well. Keep up the good work guys!

Just tracks 7 and 8 are worth the price of the CD. The rest of disc is just as phenomenal. The disc is full of great atmospheres, the production is great, and it's so nice to hear real instruments melded with the crazy beats. The addition of Richard File brings Unkle to a new level. This duo should stick together and keep making beautiful music. I wish the bonus track 'Awake the Unkind' was on the North American release.

first off, like others have mentioned, it is stupid to compare this to psyence fiction. all great artists evolve. this is what james lavelle has done as well. five years after the first lp, this record makes the next logical step in the evolution of the unkle sound. like josh homme said, unkle makes great, dark dance music. though i am not a huge fan of dance or house music, i really like this record. but don't get me wrong, this should not be classified as dance. it belongs under the more appropriate genre known as excellent music. well worth the import price.

the lack of one for the only song i've heard.
i have no right to say much of anything based on my lack of knowledge for this artist, but its obviously no stop sign to me. I was given a cd and james' voice in "what are you to me" came swaying on the first track. I'm aching to receive the rest of the disc because of this song, because (Collin you are wise) i listened to what he has to say. This is art at its finest, it is beautiful, it is truth to envoke massive bubbles of visions and dreamlike hypnosis. For the dissapointed beat lovers, i suppose be warned, or maybe open up to a new wave of active thought.

If you have an idea in your head of what you think UNKLE sounds like (Massive Attack, DJ Shadow perhaps), open it up again and be ready to hear the most brilliant thing created by a duo.... this album is like discovering a miracle, with hours spent trying to figure it all out and enjoying every second... it's not at all another "Psyence Fiction"... it is something better with only a few guest appearences this time (ian brown, jarvis cocker, brian eno) but is mostly made up with the lovely combination of James Lavelle and Richard File... good friends making beautiful songs, with strings, beats, and interesting noises... it's a stunning album.

First off, I hate when the public starts pigedon holeing artists into neat little genres so that their work can be tightly wraped and consumed for the pleasure of the masses, Daniel Aston is a good example of this. In his review he basicly states that "Never Never Land" is horrible and without DJ Shadow, James Lavelle sucks. Obviously, he hasn't been paying attention. James is responsible for running Mo Max, producing and discovering South's first album, putting together the "Sexy Beast" soundtrack, along with working with Slam and mixing a Global Underground mix... and in 2001 his Mo Wax label released a new album with unreleased matierial from the godfather of the sounds we have today (aside from Steve Reich), David Axelrod. Not only that, James also has taken to the decks and has mixed a Global Underground release.

So when James made the concious desicion to make "Never Never Land" not a copy cat of the over saturated styles of "Psyience Fiction", you should be happy for him, and intrieged to hear what he's got to say...you should just sit back and listen without any grudges or hang ups and what you will be exposed to is a masterful album that showcases multiple styles and ideas coming together in one track. This is an evolving album, pushing outwards against the stereotypes that DJ's and producers seem to get stuck behind. For some, "Never Never Land" will be 180 degree spin and they might not be able to relate to it right away. But stick with it, becuase this is James Lavelle, and he is not another paper thin pop star, this is his art.

Lavelle fans.... keep your eye on Vector 13 (first single "Rise" charted by Sasha, Tong etc). He is James Lavelle's younger brother Adian, and is currently producing progressive styled house music to much praise. Adian also handled the Nord Lead synth on a handful of tracks on "Never Never Land".

I somewhat held the same view as the negative reviews here on my first few listens to this album. I was looking for more single oriented gems that the first album contained being a greedy music consumer. But the true test is time, and I must say I have become more enthralled with this album the more I listen to it. It's just one of those albums that you keep coming back to, there's something about it thats just gripping. It's no doubt a testament to the plethora of genius collaborators and the obvious input of the man James Lavelle. This guy is a testament to the survival of sample/electronic driven artistry and a true standard bearer of the perfect use of sampling to bring out the emotion in so-called synthetic musicianship. One definite thing needs to be stated, the use of vocals and actual instruments on this album are astounding. Yes, it is different from Psyence Fiction, but in this case, though in a completely different place as the first album, it is more cohesive than the Shadow collaboration. I recommend this album highly, it stands in its own space apart from PF and triumphs unbelievably.

When I first bought Psyence Fiction, I thought it was an excellent album. I just bought this CD earlier today, and was disappointed. Then I sat down and actually listened and found the good in it. You can't approach this album expecting the same beats that DJ Shadow brought in Psyence Fiction. This album brings a different kind of experience to the listener. There is definitely an electronica sound in some of the songs, but it's not exactly bad. "Eye For An Eye" is an excellent song that, to me, stands out from the rest of the album. Never Never Land is mostly an album to sit back and relax to more than anything. I recommend it to those who have a wide variety of musical genres that they enjoy.