Customer Reviews

Recorded Live: Solid Steel Presents

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

 

 

I saw Amon Tobin on this tour a couple of years back, and ever since I've been unable to escape the feeling that I didn't catch everything that he threw at me that night. A listen to this cd brought the memory of that night back to roaring life and reminded me of just what kind of sonic assault I had been subjected to.

Tobin's sound, as one reviewer put it, is organic, and that's exactly what I love about it. While most electronically produced music admittedly sounds just that - electronic, synthetic, I dare say - fake, Amon's sound is real in every way -Real instruments - drums, strings, woodwinds such as flutes, oboes, and the occsssional tuba - make Tobin's music sound astonishingly symphonic and "live." He brings the same big sound to his live sets, though with the addition of outside artists who share his need for a bigger, more organic sound.
The tunes on this mix don't sound as if they're being mixed on
turntables. They sound as if there is a BIG band, right there in your face, banging out the tracks. The result is an upfront and immediate sound. Think of Steve Albini's production of Nirvana's "In Utero" or PJ Harvey's "Rid of Me." Those albums aren't slickly produced to delete noise and echo, but rather they accentuate the room noise to make it sound as if you're sitting right there in front of the amps.

Tobin's production and mixing, while loud, raw, and "live" sounding, is definitely not sloppy. He employs an almost
"what mix?" mentality, shifting so effortlessly between such
disparaging tracks that it's impossible to keep track unless
you keep an eye on the tracklisting and timer. He covers it all: hard breaks (Verbal and Chronic Tronic), proggy big beat jazz (the Cherrystones' Pressure Cooker), dubby trip-hop (Tobin mashes up his own material in this realm including a Yasawas/Nightlife/Fear mix as well as a Four Ton Mantis/Hey Blondie mix),full on digital drum circle nastiness (Couger Merkin), and some of the sickest drum and bass imaginable (Suspicious Circumstances' "Completely Real" sounds like a post-schnapps hangover wretch session).

Tobin's use of Final Scratch ensures not only that many of the tracks are reworked and beefed up, but that some are just plain unavailable. Tobin's mixes are quick, but that's not to say that he jumps from track to track; some of the mixes ride so long that you forget you're listening to two tracks.

Overall, Amon Tobin's superior track selection, pro-tools skills, and use of Final Scratch ensures that the listener gets something unique and head and shoulders above the rest.
A final note, too. I'm not really sure that I'd recommend this to anyone looking for music to dance to. The tempos for the breaks and the dnb are actually a little slower than most, but don't let that stop you from buying it. This is headphone music at its best - multilayered, all encompassing heaviness. Feel the power.

I agreed with the first reviewer in that seeing Amon live leaves the audience with the impression of "not catching everything". When I saw Amon Tobin with Bonobo earlier this year I was somewhat dissappointed with the show.(and I don't mean the 8 dollar drinks/water) When I go to see artists like Tobin and Bonobo I expect to hear the same type of trip-hop/downtempo that they release on their albums, instead of playing any of his own material Bonobo played an average house set. I was overwhelmingly bummed since I consider Bonobo to be one of the best downtempo acts ever, but I can't stand house music. (I'm not kidding here he seriously played four on the floor house music his whole set, no joke) My next disappointment came when Amon played his set and included only two or three of his own tracks in a largely jungle set. I actually like jungle, but I feel like it wasn't what I waited two monthes and drove 400 miles to see. For a moment he snuck in Marine Machines but pulled it out really fast, and at the very end he dropped Propper Hoodidge and everybody went nuts. You could definitely feel the crowd asking "what? only 2 Amon Tobin tracks!" I understand that nobody wants to play a set of all their own material, but when you are (arguably) the best trip hop producer(s) in the world why would you play a House/Jungle set of mediocre tracks that you didn't even make? This mix reminds me of what I was hoping he would play at the show, a set that actually contains Amon Tobin tracks. Amon has really been influenced by the glitchy breaks that have blown up so much lately as reflected by the stylistc changes on "Out From Out Where", and although I really like glitchy breaks, I question whether someone like Amon who virtually created a new genre of music needs to follow the same trends as the rest of the electronic scene. Most producers could only dream of creating lush symphonies like Amon's so for him to take off in the direction of AFX seems sad to me.

I should preface my review by stating that I am a _huge_ amon tobin fan. His album > album progression is rivaled only by Medeski, Martin and Wood. Every (studio) album he puts together represents a large step forward and each serves both to expand and refine his ludicrous sound.

I rushed out to get this album as soon as it popped out (having already been a fan of the DK and DJ food solid steel album), and have been largely disappointed thus far. The sound quality is disappointing, and many of these ballyhooed final scratch transitions fall flat for me. I feel as if I could peform this mix given an afternoon with mixmeister or pro-tools (though the proper hoodidge > four ton mantis transition is nice).

As a survey of Amon's finest tracks, this compilation also fails to impress. A bunch of his finest tracks are here but most appear in abbreviated fashion, and this serves to lessen the impact of what are normally beautifully crafted songs. As mentioned before, the poor audio quality also diminishes the detailed flourishes and breaks of many of the tracks.

There are some interesting cut-ups, notably J5's quality control (run through the chipmunk filter) over Verbal and a nearly unrecognizable Dizzee Rascal over Proper Hoodidge, but they seem to me to be interesting artifacts with little improvement on the originals.

I'm no connesieur of the genres, but most of the spastic drum and bass and hard jungle stuffed in between his own tracks don't really interest me wholly.

All in all, if you're an Amon Tobin completist, pick the disc up. But if you're starting out, please do yourself a favor and pick up bricolage, supermodified or out from out where (they pretty much progress from Jungle-Jazz with cool breaks to other-worldly breaks-oriented techno). Anyway, cheers and much love to Amon Tobin, may his next release bury the memory of this one.

Amon Tobin's been around for well over 15 years, mixing and collecting sounds. Maybe it is in the blood, a love of percussion and beats from the Carioca. I don't give the title of 'genius' out often (only Airto Moreira, Nicola Conte and a few others across genres), but for what he does, there aren't many better. I don't believe I've done a Tobin review but figured that his Solid Steel release from 2004 was a nice one because for some reason, some 6 years later I've found myself returning to it. But before the review I have to say - this will NOT be like your 'typical' Tobin release, and that's to be commended IMO. It's a live set. He isn't just mixing up and doing only his stuff - he's doing a set of different artists in the mood and manner that he wants while utilizing Final Scratch. It's from 2004 as well, and travelling/using the software in the insane manner that he did and wanted to was an accomplishment in itself.

The music - terrific. Very dark... heavy, heavy beats with some sweet melodies as well. You're really treated to one of the finest turntablist/electronic-tablists and beat finders/makers in the world. I can't mention every song, but there were some gems on display here. Opening up and kicking straight into "Chronic Tronic" and "Twister" was neat. "Verbal/Quality Control" was also well done and sequenced. "Schmalla" really took me back to the cliche'd "D&B" sound, but for the purpose of showing the 'now' with the intense 'Couger Merkin' was a very nice touch. "Cuba"'s loaded with attitude, a touch of the 80's maybe?, but Tobin fans really had a treat with three familiar tracks - some of which had quite a bit of commercial success - layered right over one another. Yasawas/Night Life/Fear, all great on their own combining to make a unique cut. But the album never loses steam afterwards with "Spanner in the Worx" finishing the story of "Escape", "Allergic" , and "Total Recall" was the perfect lead-in to Dizzie Rascal's "Sittin' Here" - good, dark and creepy... in only the way Tobin can manage. Brilliant! As another reviewer, J. Harrison put, he isn't sloppy, and this isn't really 'dance' music. The tracks are faded/mashed up/mixed extremely well and given his own touches.

I recommend this. There are a lot of subtleties to how he put this set together that I liked. His preparation and background for sound, beats and even his own appreciation for other's works are what are on display here. But what I absolutely love, is that the mood of the album is consistent; IMO, not a lot of DJ's can do this. In fact, many good ones can't. I also love that the energy of the album is exactly where he wants it to be as he dictated what he wanted to create/mix, culminating in a nice wind-down. But up until that point you don't feel a drop-off in energy. DJing software and material's changed quite a bit since 2004 and this release was also about him testing the limits of what was possible.

If there had to be a knock, it would be that the sound quality isn't up to snuff at times and while I loved the mixed set, I tend to like his studio production works which also tell a more personal story. This doesn't have the polish of a studio album - of course, since it's live, right? But it does make you wonder just a bit about how it was recorded and the accoustics of the room, since with this type of set/the type of music on display, I'd imagine you have to be pretty careful about how it's recorded. But I digress... it isn't enough to knock it. Check this one out! And definitely listen to the Tobin album's he's put out since then.

Like another reviewer, I should start by saying I'm a HUGE fan of Amon Tobin, dating back to his excellent release under the Cujo monicker for Shadow Records. In my opinion, he's one of only a few artists who's released albums that have expanded the scope of electronic music. And unlike a lot of acts that release one terrific album and then flame out into obscurity (Adam F, DJ Shadow, WE, etc.), Tobin's been doing it for upwards of a decade. His most recent album Foley Room is wildly different than his first (Bricolage) and excellent in a totally new way. I was also a fan of the DK / DJ Food Solid Steel record, so I snatched this one up once it was released. Unfortunately, this sounds NOthing like Amon Tobin -- it's an album anonymous dark drum n' bass with a few abbreviated AT clips throw in between. I'm not surprised that this kind of D&B is an influence, but what I like about Amon Tobin is the weird mix of influences (bebop, jazz, hip hop, jungle, ambient, etc.). This album was just too one-note for my tastes. Worse, the sound quality is extremely poor - I'm actually kind of shocked they released a record in this state. If you're a newcomer, do yourself a huge favor and pick up Permutations, Bricolage, Out from Outwhere or Foley Room before this one.

It's been two times I've seen Amon live, and it's by far the most dancing, catchy, sharp, violent, dark and aggressive sets I've ever heard.
He's brilliant on CD, and with vynils too (even if they are encoded for FS).
Who cares if his transitions are not perfect, if the sound quality is not hi-fi? His sets are grimy, with jungle/drum'N Bass tracks overlapping each other. The album may not be a perfect recording, Amon may not play a "best of" but this CD sure conveys the frenzy a crowd can go into when Amon is playing.
Believe it, or hear (see?) it for yourself.

It's hard to pinpoint exactly what I really love about Amon Tobin's music . If pressed I would say I love the way it has a kind of dark twisting organic quality to it , almost as if the music is some mysterious beast coming to life .

What I really liked about this set , is that even though most of the songs on here are not by Amon Tobin , he still manages to make it all have that Amon Tobin flavour . And that's a good thing . Plenty of variation . It's dark . it's hardcore . it's beautiful

Already renowed coast to coast as music 'innovateur', Amon Tobin once again pleases us with his much awaited "Solid Steel presents amon tobin".This album succeeds as a complete suite of music considering that its a mix of different genres. Amon is always capable of making you bop your head to the beat. This is a great album to listen to when the sun goes down, and the freaks come out....!

I had no idea this was going to sound like it does. This is a live mix of ambient, drum n bass, electronic, you name it. The only problem is the mixing between songs isn't as tight as I'd like it.
There's tons of material on this disc, but it goes by fast. Its nothing like amon's other albums, but his choice of songs are intereesting, from Aphex Twins "Remix" to "Completely Real" by Suspicious Circumstance, theres danceing going on and you better be in.

Big Audio Dinomite and / or Under World live Anytime . What's missing , well , it has no Soul 2 It . A waste of my precious ears and Time ... Later and have a Kool 2oo5