Rejoice Rejoice

Transglobal Underground | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 30, 1998)
• Original Release Date: June 30, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Mca
• ASIN: B000007SM7
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #193,746 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Delta Disco

2. Thousand Year Heat

3. Body Machine

4. Imperial Hippy

5. Rude Buddah

6. Air Giant

7. Ali Mullah

8. City of Gold

9. Chemnitz

10. Shining Iron Face

11. Son of Thingdrum

12. Sky Giant

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The lineup may have changed, but Rejoice Rejoice continues Transglobal Underground's explorations in cross-cultural derangement, and their spectrum is spread even wider than before. Mixing Eastern, African, and Gypsy elements with trip hop, dancehall, ambient, and underground dance cultures is no mean feat, but, like a three ring circus, TG manage this unlikely marriage with panache, conscience, and good humor. Tablas, violins, cimbaloms, milk churns, Taiko drums, and clarinets are alternately interwoven with thick, dubby baselines, phat beats, and chill-out textures to produce their most ambitious and inventive recording to date. The clubby "wall of sound" has been replaced in part by a bent for more ethnic textures, but a few original stalwarts like Natasha Atlas are still present, especially on the lush "Sky Giant" and "Ali Mullah" (dedicated to Nustrat Fateh Ali Khan). The variety within these thirteen cuts goes beyond eclectic to controlled schizophrenia, but here it is a sonic plus, with no loss of identity for this adventurous music conglomerate. --Derek Rath

Product Description

Out of print in the U.S.! UK-based World/Dance collective's 1998 album. For fans of Eastern Dub Tactik. 13 tracks.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars a strong 3 stars, maybe 3½, April 17, 2000

By 

"high_life2" (Rockville, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rejoice Rejoice (Audio CD)

Transglobal Underground isn't the kind of band you're likely to hear on the radio, and that's fine, because if you're tuned in to the local FM station, this probably isn't what you were looking for.

The music will probably sound exotic to most US fans, and that's also logical, because Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley weren't the primary inspirations for Transglobal Underground's music. Their sound comes primarily from the Middle East and relies on pounding drums and sparse but hypnotizing string arrangements.

I bought Rejoice Rejoice after I saw Transglobal Underground perform in Fall 1998 (they were amazing, and I suggest you see them if you ever get the chance). The album doesn't have the same power they generated on stage, but it's a nice change of pace and still gets time in my CD player.

My list of favorite songs on the album is constantly shifting, but "Ali Mullah" and "City of Gold" are both sure bets. I'd love to hear more percussion on the album, and the songs that emphasize it tend to be the best, but the album has forced me to focus on the way the vocals relate to the music, rather than just swaying with the drums as I did at the concert.

My uninformed advice -- I own no other Transglobal Underground albums -- is to buy one of the earlier albums before you get this one.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Stunning, if you get it., December 11, 2001

By 

James P. Reza "jreza" (Las Vegas, NV USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rejoice Rejoice (Audio CD)

Speaking as someone who simply cannot get enough of TGU's "Psychic Karaoke," it is a given that "Rejoice, Rejoice" doesn't reach the transcendental heights of that effort--few recordings do. In fact, it wouldn't be hyperbole to suggest that "Psychic Karaoke" is one of the top 1000 recordings of all time. That said, "Rejoice, Rejoice" would have been a 5-star album if it didn't have such a shining act to follow. Earthy, rhythmic tech/trance built upon flowing Middle Eastern undercurrents takes me away to exotic locales that are by turns serene and peaceful, or energetic and uplifting. House music for when the house is the entire globe.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Lesser effort from TU, November 29, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Rejoice Rejoice (Audio CD)

If you heard Transglobal Underground somewhere, or heard OF them, and want to try out their music to see if you like it, my advice to you is this: rush out and get "Psychic Karaoke." Then get "International Times." Both are exciting, exotic, multifaceted and over all thrilling albums that will make you dance, trance, whatever. Two examples of the TU folks at their best.

"Rejoice, Rejoice" is not such an album. The other reviews here pretty much sum it up: there are a couple of strong tracks, but most of the music is uninspired, sophomoric, even irritating - especially when compared to the towering strength of the aforementioned two releases. You'd have to pry my copies of "Psychic Karaoke" and "International Times" out of my cold, dead hands before I'll give them up. As for "Rejoice, Rejoice"? After a few listens, I sold it on eBay.