Ruok

Meat Beat Manifesto | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 15, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Run
• ASIN: B00006L5EL
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #270,209 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

From URB Magazine

After one of his more negligible dance tracks became the ass-kicking, bullet-dodging anthem of The Matrix, just what the hell was Jack Dangers supposed to do? Refashion his own myth, apparently. On his seventh Meat Beat Manifesto album, R.U.O.K? , Dangers dumps the cramped, sample-heavy confines of his last three albums, including his commercial-friendly 1998 Actual Sounds + Voices, for a visceral feel as immediate and confrontational as his first gritty post-industrial recordings some 13 years ago.

Which is not to say the samples are gone so much as they’re pushed around, bullied into second-class status by Dangers’ renewed awareness of sonic depth. The Meat Beat Manifesto classics "God O.D." and "10X Faster Than the Speed of Love" were built around basic dub principles like a murderously deep bass line that rolls like a slammed Cadillac and lots of airy space peppered with percussion sounds, and it’s these elements that define every track on R.U.O.K? The most eerily cool thing about "Spinning Round" isn’t the quiet whirling talisman sound Dangers has used before, but the intangible silence between the bass and a very lonely tambourine. Even "What Does It All Mean," featuring copious amounts of turntablist du jour Z-Trip’s freestyle scratching, takes on an earthier live hip-hop immediacy thanks to Dangers’ restrained use of synths and layered breakbeats. And there’s Dangers’ collaboration with The Orb’s Alex Paterson, "Horn of Jerico," a hypnotic funk excursion track every bit as psychedelic as anything either of them have released separately. Aside from "Spinning Round," little on R.U.O.K? possesses commercial cache, but what is that against a career-defining turn?

Heath K. Hignight

Product Description

Visionary, Forefather, Innovator...these are terms that get thrown around all to loosely in the world of electronic music, but for certain individuals, these descriptions apply without question. Jack Dangers, the veteran composer and sound sculptor behind Meat Beat Manifesto, is one of these individuals. His constantly evolving musical invention has generated a long string of futuristic classics, such as "Strap Down", "God O.D.", "Helter Skelter","Psyche Out", "Radio Babylon", "Edge of No Control" and "It's the Music". Past Dangers' production/remix projects include: Public Enemy, David Bowie, Orbital, DepÍche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, Coil, David Byrne, Bush, Banco de Gaia, and The Shaman. Adding to this list of heavy hitting achievements, the single, "Prime Audio Soup" from the MBM album Actual Sounds and Voices, was featured in the sci-fi fantasy blockbuster, The Matrix and on its platinum-selling soundtrack. Danger's innovative uses of samples and breakbeats have inspired countless artists (both in the dance and hip-hop worlds), putting him in a category with other visionary artists of the late 80's/early 90's such as Coldcut, The Dust Brothers, and The Bomb Squad. R.U.O.K? , MBM's seventh album and first in 4 years, represents a healthy growth in the innovative Meat Beat sound, and includes colloborations with turntablist of the moment, Z-Trip, and ambient legend Alex Paterson of The Orb.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Music but not like Jack's other albums, October 22, 2002

By 

L. Moakley "Techie" (Seaford, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ruok (Audio CD)

First off this album is not like other Meat Beat Manifesto albums, not like Subliminal Sandwich or 99% but rather an amazing effort of creative samples infused with Jack's usual beats and sounds.
The album is rather down tempo, with really unique and often funny samples that go really well with the songs. Jack has moved on to a new level in his life ...which sometimes is not good for other musicans, however his exploration has worked out for him in the long run making this album very successful.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars RUOK? RU Ready for a Meat Beat Treat?, October 21, 2002

By 

pietro (atlantis) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ruok (Audio CD)

Jack Dangers has crafted a perfect assortment of multi-
layered experimentations relying more on the bassline
than the sample-infested tracks on previous output. All
signature rhythms are intact and ready to take off. A
direct and punchy experiential electronic focus is just
one of the many ingredients on RUOK? Recycled samples from
previous releases are run through vocoders, deep basslines
are elevated above sharp percussion, abstract electrical
rhythms are placed in a time-capsule set for space while
each and every bassline rumbles its way deep into the
subconscious. Incredibly addictive RUOK? may be, but the
bonus 3" disc of three tracks contains two top notch tracks
including 'Radio Atlantis' and 'Fromage'.. a workout on the
brain, and one that stays true to form. Simply marvelous.

Thinking about picking this up and are not sure? I hope this
review provides some insight on the magnificent world of
Meat Beat Manifesto. One of the originators of the breakbeat,

curators of the rhythm, and mastermind behind the bassline....

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The others are right..., December 8, 2002

By 

Michael Kumpf (Acworth, Georgia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ruok (Audio CD)

This is not the typical MBM from the last few albums. I personally like it more than Actual Sounds + Voices. It was a bit TOO experimental for my tastes. I've been listening to Jack since Storm the Studio, so I've seen all the transformations. To me, RUOK seems to be a mix of some of his other styles. With the exception of Intermission and Happiness (the last track), each song has a beat to it, and, as a previous reviewer had mentioned, each song has some great samples and mixing. The CD as a whole is downtempo, albeit upbeat. While not as experimental as the past, this is still worth your while to listen to if you are a MBM fan. And if you are not, why aren't you??