Customer Reviews

U.F.Off: The Best Of The Orb

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

These guys are definately masters of their domain. I don't like this as much as Aphex Twin or Orbital or Tricky, another three distinctive styles, but if you like (a) dance songs like Little Fluffy Clouds, (b) funky electronic playing around, (c) techno that isn't quite dance, (d) dub-techno fusion, and all with a pretty funky sense of humor, you will like this cd. I'm not as big a fan of their style as some might be but their electronic chops are undeniable. Also, for twenty bucks for two absolutely jam-packed (70+minutes each) cds of rare material, ya can't go wrong. Geez, buy it already.

I have always 'liked' The Orb but did not love them. I saw them in concert once and LOVED the music. I didn't like their release stuff because it felt over-sampled for my taste- too much voice and cacophony, not enough beat.

This album solves that problem, starting with Huge Evergrowing.... and bumping along to the end.I like to listen to techno/trance/ambient while I work (IC Engineer) and I need something with an orderly flow and constant beat. Excellent dance tracks, taking the best and most memorable samples of The Orb and remixing along the lines of Orbital, Underworld, Sasha/Digweed, etc. Underworld actually remixed the first track. If you like Orbital, Underworld, etc but could never warm up to the more ambient sound of The Orb, then GET THIS ALBUM.

I love techno music. I have been a techno fanatic for some time now. It really irritates me when people who don't like techno music has to criticize the music and try to shove their music down other dance fans like myself. A reviewer here wrote that he didn't understand why people listened to this sort of music. Well I like it because I love listening to music that doesn't get played on the radio. I also love to dance to this sort of music. I will pass on Pink Floyd and Eric Clapton. That sort of music bores me to death.

Back in college I had a roommate who was even a bigger techno fan than I was. He helped shape my taste in music by unwittingly introducing me to Moby, Orbital, Leftfield and Delerium. Another techno act he exposed me to was The Orb. Their music was nothing that I haven't heard before. It was a good mixture of techno and reggae, especially on "Perpetual Dawn" (my personal favorite song by The Orb). I bought "U.F.Off: The Best of The Orb" to familiarize myself with their music. It was definitely different from Moby, Orbital, and Leftfield to say the very least. Another favorite song of mine by The Orb is "A Huge Evergrowing Pulsating..." which takes a sample from the old Minnie Ripperton song "Loving You". Good use of sampling as opposed to any song by Poofy (my nickname for the former Puffy/P.Diddy). All the songs on both disc one and two are cool. I more akin to the first disc though. For people who want to check out The Orb's music but never have, I strongly suggest checking out their best of cd. It is a good introduction.

The orb have gone off the boil a tad over the last few years but this release sees Dr Alex & Co doing what they do best once again. This CD offers mainstream orientated Orb fans access to the kind of remixes that have only been available on records before now. Excellent stuff, but make sure you get the limited double CD version as it has some of the best stuff on the bonus disc.

For those of you who are Orb-curious, this a great place to start. A little bit of this, a little bit of that. More or less a singles compilation, with a few rarities, remixes and a live track as well. All the bases are covered. Techno, ambient house, hard electro, drum 'n' bass, dub reggae. It's all here. Kind of like a primer of 1990's style electronic music. Great for fans and completists also, because of the before mentioned rarities.
If you like this, I'd suggest the first album "the Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld" as your next purchase; it's where it all started. If you like more ambient style music that doesn't bash you over the head with hard beats and endless repitition, give "Orbus Terrarum" a listen.

This is your typical greatest hits album. It didn't show me anything wonderful or new, but it has a bunch of 7" edits, which are great for mix cds. I like "Evergrowing..." much more when it is a straight ambient track, like it is on the album, but the mix is cool too. "Mickey Mars" is cool too, and the "Towers of Dub" mix is great. The second disc is a collection of remixes and rare mixes and stuff, great but not a must have.

A Three star album because I think it would be better to go buy all their studio albums instead of just this.

The Orb captures a nearly perfect shapshot of their accomplishments on this two-CD set. The only missing elements I would have included would be a remix of Close Encounters (one track rarely seen remixed on any of their offerings) and one of the many versions available of Oxbow Lakes (proof positive that piano can truly be integrated smoothly into techno).

This is great if you have never heard the orb before. It has a good mix of their upbeat stuff as well as their totally tripped out stuff as well. You should like it.

This is the best of The Orb. It is an essential collectible for fans new and old. Since purchasing this CD in 1999 I have collected most of the main Orb releases, including the classic (unfortunately deleted) full version of Blue Room. I still come back to this CD often.

Here The Orb offers up its best; mixed perfectly. The CD includes rare tracks such as Assassin, Huge Evergrowing Brain, Blue Room, and Perpetual Dawn. The unreleased (and underrated) track Mickey Mars is only available here. The hidden Oxbow Lakes remix, at the end of CD1, is excellent.

The double CD offers music unavailable elsewhere including a 1997 live version of Little Fluffy Clouds and the Mickey Mars Red X remix. There are also rare gems including the fantastic Soul Catchers remix of Asylum. Side two is mixed well and is presented symmetrically to the first CD and makes the collection nearly complete.

Older fans may want more. The "Chocolate Hills" remix of Assassin is trimmed down to a minute and a half from fourteen. The edits of Blue Room are good, but fail to catch the majesty of the original that sent the standard for Ambient House music. Still, this album is a good representation of the group's body of work up to 1997. If are new to the Orb fan this CD might be the place the start and finish with The Orb.

A mix that covers -very lightly- a catalogue of tracks formented from the Land of OZ & beyond, it spectacularly hits the mark at 'PI'- Four minutes & Fourty-Eight seconds after the track fades, mind. It's a piano swimming through the ozone... or something. Whatever, it makes this compilation absolute.