By: Gaz Cloud
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Released on February 16, 2015 via Malicious Damage
The reaction to the first instalment of The Orb’s mammoth retrospective exercise was mixed. The music contained within was first rate, of course. Along with a DVD, those inclined to splash out on the complete package were treated to a disc of classic tracks, one CD of well-known remixes and an hour of music performed live in Copenhagen. Detractors pointed out that, with the exception of the live set, most of the material was already in the hands of Orb collectors. It didn’t help matters that this third disc was itself from an era that had already been covered by other releases, official and otherwise. The vitriolic diatribe unleashed by former member Trash, aka Kris Weston, also soured the project, regardless of whether this was justified or not.
The Orb’s decision to launch another lavish box set, predominantly covering their post-Island wanderings, is immediately vindicated by the track list. This collects songs from limited edition vinyl releases, a Japanese-only bonus track, a tune from a DJ mix album and several from label compilations, presenting all these alongside many of the band’s better album tracks. Put simply, it contains music even a serious Orb collector may have missed. To the uninitiated, it’s a treasure trove waiting to be discovered.
Following roughly the same format as the first volume, here we again have three CDs and a DVD. Each CD supposedly represents a different element and point on the compass. This doesn’t quite work – after all, why should the DVD signify wind?! In spite of the conceptual failing, the three CDs have been compiled with some care, favouring mood over chronology and ditching the “album tracks/remixes/live work” formula that blighted the Island release.
Broadly speaking, the first disc, “North Side/Fire”, is the Orb at their poppiest, with quirky samples and snippets left, right and centre. It’s telling that many of the tracks on this first disc are taken from Bicycles & Tricycles and The Dream, arguably the band’s two most accessible post-Island albums. There are a number of great collaborations to be found here: ‘Aftermath’ showcases MC Soom-T’s conscious hip-hop; ‘The Truth Is…’ melds The Orb with beautiful gospel vocals from Juliet Roberts, but is a little too reminiscent of ‘Only Love Can Break Your Heart’ to attain classic status. Steve Hillage’s distinctive, dreamy guitar stylings can be heard on several tracks, most notably ‘Codes’, which feels like an update of Hillage’s own Rainbow Dome Music.
Most of the music on the compilation is the work of mad-as-a-hatter founder member Alex Patterson and his long-time cohort Thomas Fehlmann. The only album plundered here not to feature Fehlmann is The Dream; instead, Tim Bran brings a reggae feel to the project. This is most evident on ‘Let The Music Set You Free’, the aforementioned Japanese-only bonus track. With what sounds like Earl Sixteen lending his dulcet tones alongside The Corporal’s ragga vocals, the track is arguably the best single The Orb never released. Perhaps it was consigned to relative obscurity thanks to sounding peculiarly like Dreadzone, Bran’s regular mob. Either way, it deserves a wider audience and this compilation should help give the piece the prominence it deserves.
Much bootlegged ‘Suck My Kiss’ opens this disc and is as sonically adventurous as anything else found here. Whilst it’s a great opportunity to own this pioneering piece in an official form, it’s a misleading signpost, dating as it does from before The Orb’s successful 90s heyday. ‘Sail’ is too sweet and sounds suited to TV-advertised chill-out compilations. The disc closes with two tracks that closely mirror efforts from the band’s better known era. First up is rarity ‘Apple Tree (Abacus remix)’, previously only available on a compilation put together by Youth. It’s essentially a remake of ‘Little Fluffy Clouds’, with fruit trees replacing the vaporous stuff as the lyrical subject matter. This, of course, is no bad thing! ‘The Orbots Surround The Trojan Horse’ is akin to u.f.orb’s ‘Sticky End’: a minute of sonic farts and vocal samples panned hard left and right, including a travel congestion report. It’s fair to say this piece deserved its former obscure status.
The “West Side/Earth” disc is primarily concerned with The Orb’s more danceable oeuvre. Whenever employing a four-to-the-floor beat, the band are sure to overlay spherical sounds and dub elements, so whilst there’s less tempo variation, it’s far from a dull ride. Many of the best tunes on this disc come from Okie Dokie, The Orb’s album on Kompakt. It’s been often said that this record made the band cool again. These are relatively streamlined pieces that seem to bear a larger portion of Fehlmann’s DNA. ‘Cool Harbour’ contains a groove similar to Leftfield’s ‘6/8 War’ punctuated by snappy offbeat strings. ‘Ripples’ has less immediate appeal but works its way nicely into a squelchy bass groove, whilst ‘Captain Korma’ sounds like an exercise in creating and maintaining tension, as layers and layers of sound build up on top of each other.
Baghdad Batteries is also heavily represented on disc 2, the 5 tracks taken from the album ranging from crunching rhythmic work on ‘Dolly Unit (Flowing remix)’ to a number of more experimental, beat-free offerings. Furthering the experimental nature of the disc is the ‘Battersea Brunches’ original soundtrack – the longest tune to feature on the entire compilation, and a fine reminder that The Orb have lost none of their daring spirit with age. ‘Shem’ and ‘Shem Version’ close the disc, representing the Orbsessions Vol 2 compilation, but both are forgettable and demonstrate the downside of prolificacy.
The final audio disc, which, along with a DVD of promotional footage, is only available to those who purchase the “deluxe” option, opens with ‘Chuck’s Peaks’, a vinyl-only track from the Baghdad Batteries set, featuring a constrained groove and four to the floor kick that would have been better suited to the second disc. Spud vs Kreature’s mix of ‘Tower Twenty Three’ is a powerful piece of digital dub with enough trickery to sustain interest from start to finish. Overall the opening to the CD is disparate and far more hit and miss than the previous two slabs.
The disc takes shape halfway through, with a run of tunes taken from Kompakt’s Pop Ambient compilation series. ‘Falkenbruek’ is playful and contemplative at once; ‘Edelgrun’ builds a tight, tuneful minimal piece around a strummed guitar riff; and ‘Glen Coe’ sparkles as the band create a hypnotic tune that evolves slowly and worms its way into the subconscious. ‘Traumvogel’, taken from the Okie Dokie album, is a kindred spirit to these Pop Ambient works, with offbeat harpsichords and a sequenced bass line. None of these tracks outstay their welcome: a collection of delicate miniatures that offer respite, akin to a secluded park in a bustling city centre.
This brings us to the band’s recent and much feted collaborations with Lee “Scratch” Perry and we’re treated to four versions of varying degrees of obscurity to close the audio collection. The OICHO remix of ‘Golden Clouds’ matches gated, trance-like synths and heavy dubstep beats. The ‘Little Fluffy Cloud’ samples are well integrated and whilst no match for the panache of the original ‘Golden Clouds’, it’s worthy of its place on the collection. Next up is the compilation’s only true exclusive: a Thomas Fehlmann re-edit of the Villod remix of ‘Soulman’. The new edit doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but this version is already embedded in the same fertile dub-techno soil explored by Rhythm and Sound on the See Me Yah Remixes disc. The DABRYE remix of ‘Ball Of Fire’ centres around a fine organ riff and a snatch of Perry’s vocals that sounds like it has been beamed in from another planet. The Deadbeats Champions League dub of ‘Fussball’ is another track only previously available on vinyl. The spacey dub feel of the music aims for the stratosphere, but is brought to earth by Perry’s silly lyrics, a further demonstration that no subject is too mundane for his inspired delivery.
This compilation is far from perfect and in this sense it’s a perfect allegory for the band behind the music. It would have been nice to include at least one Lee “Scratch” Perry track that wasn’t a remix and the omission of any excerpts from the David Gilmour collaboration, Metallic Spheres, suggests that Youth’s label Malicious Damage weren’t keen to pay the major-label licensing fee necessary to obtain such material. There is a common misconception that The Orb’s time as one of the UK’s most creative entities came to a close either upon or slightly before their departure from Island records. This box set puts that rumour to bed, amply illustrating the diversity and quality of the band’s sprawling, rambling output since. History Of The Future Part 2 shows off The Orb as national treasures: one of the most consistently surprising and delightful acts out there.
