Orbital - Brown Album Deluxe 4xcd with underworld mix

[negative1]

yes, the brown album is being reissued
(along with the EPS), will probably have the
full underworld mix, and not the edit.

not much new on this, if you have it already..

https://superdeluxeedition.com/news/orbital-the-brown-album-reissue/

https://superdeluxeedition.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/spread_alt_600.jpg


Orbital?s self-titled second album, known as ?The Brown Album?, is being reissued across a number of formats, in May.

Released in 1993, it features tracks such as ?Halcyon + On + On?, ?Impact (The Earth Is Burning)? and ?Lush 3-1? and ?Lush 3-2?.

Two box sets are available: a 4LP vinyl package and a 4CD box, both large format. They come with a 60-page hardcover book (which features notes by Andrew Harrison), two A6 flyers and a sticker. The vinyl is cut at half speed, although it?s not clear if that extends to the two bonus LPs in the box (which additionally comes with a slipmat for your turntable). The CD box offers 22 bonus tracks, the 4LP set, delivers 11 bonus tracks (see full tracklistings, below).

An album-only 2LP set is available on black vinyl and coloured variants and there?s also a 2CD set and a cassette available. The 2CD version is simply the first two discs from the 4CD box.

The Brown Album is reissued on 23 May via London Records. The official shop is offering signed prints with either of the box set editions.


4CD box set

CD 1
Time Becomes
Planet Of The Shapes
Lush 3-1
Lush 3-2
Impact (The Earth Is Burning)
Remind
Walk Now?
Monday
Halcyon + On + On
Input Out

CD 2
Halcyon
The Naked And The Dead
Sunday
The Naked And The Dub
Lush 3-3 (Underworld)
Lush 3-4 (Warrior Drift) (Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia)

CD 3
Lush 3-5 (CJ Bolland)
Lush (Euro-Tunnel Disaster ?94)
Walk About
Semi Detached
Attached
Impact USA (The Earth Is Burning: Diversion)

CD 4
THE LIMELIGHT NEW YORK 1992
The Naked and the Dead (Live)
The Naked and the Dub (Live)
Sunday (Live)
Remind (Live)
Halcyon (Live)
Walk Now (Live)
Kinetic (Live)
Choice (Live)
Chime (Live)
Satan (Live)

4LP vinyl

2CD deluxe

2LP vinyl


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[fivesixzero]

I remember picking up the Diversions EP (https://www.discogs.com/master/23482-Orbital-Diversions) back in the mid-90's just to get my hands on UW mix. Enjoyed the whole EP quite a bit back then, made me hope for more collisions between Mk2 and the Hartnoll brothers. Mixed the UW track into several b-sides tapes for friends at the time, fit in pretty well with the Dark & Long and Pearl's Girl EPs.

Cool to see them including most of the Diversions tracks with the set, with the only exception being the Walk About Peel Session track that was mixed together with Lush Euro Tunnel Disaster. Might be tacked on there though in the same track, like it was on Diversions. Didn't see track times listed on any of the pre-order pages.

[purlieu]

Walk About is on CD3, the whole Peel disc is:
Lush (Euro-Tunnel Disaster ’94)
Walk About
Semi Detached
Attached
Impact USA (The Earth Is Burning: Diversion)

Apparently the reason there's no exclusive material is that... none exists. Which I can't get my head around, being a fan of Underworld, FSOL and Aphex, all of whom have given us generous peeks into their archives. Orbital not having a single unused track, demo or alt mix blows my mind.

[saintrik]

And it looks like the expanded digital release contains a few extra tracks labeled as Disc 5 on Qobuz (https://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/album/orbital-2-orbital/umq3yg1d4wuba)...


1. Semi Detached 9:32
2. Lush (Spacewalk Mix) 7:06
3. Lush (1926 Trancendance Mix) 5:38

[34958hq439-qjw9v5jq298v5j]

Walk About is on CD3, the whole Peel disc is:
Lush (Euro-Tunnel Disaster ?94)
Walk About
Semi Detached
Attached
Impact USA (The Earth Is Burning: Diversion)

Apparently the reason there's no exclusive material is that... none exists. Which I can't get my head around, being a fan of Underworld, FSOL and Aphex, all of whom have given us generous peeks into their archives. Orbital not having a single unused track, demo or alt mix blows my mind.

all three of those groups seem like they have a different approach to making music, they're constantly recording and remixing and jamming, putting out albums when they have to more or less. Orbital strikes me as being more like Kraftwerk, they approach things from a more conceptual angle. KW don't have a lot of B-sides either. in fact they have almost none

[aphasein]

all three of those groups seem like they have a different approach to making music, they're constantly recording and remixing and jamming, putting out albums when they have to more or less. Orbital strikes me as being more like Kraftwerk, they approach things from a more conceptual angle. KW don't have a lot of B-sides either. in fact they have almost none

I don't know - Orbital has extra B-sides and mixes for several of their later albums (really like their deluxe versions and just picked up the Optical Delusion one this week that I had missed a couple years ago around the release, three really good B-sides, a couple mixes from them and a great Plaid remix).

Do think, as mentioned, that they don't produce a ton of extra material like the other groups though, and are a lot more focused in production. May be more a case of the later albums having more time between for them to generate more tracks, and also their early days using up any available tracks across all the singles and EPs then (there were a lot of those happening). They also produce plenty of single tracks in between albums, so seem to work regularly, if not as intensely.

Still a lot more (thankfully) than many traditional pop/rock artists, some of whom only write in the studio during album sessions (which always seemed wild from a budget standpoint). :)

[aphasein]

And on the original topic: I won't be getting this brown album deluxe set, though. Much as I love this album, I also already have everything here (especially the Underworld mix) and they didn't even remaster it any (as the engineer apparently told them it was perfect, nothing to improve when they tried, at least according to the press release info).

[negative1]

i'm pretty much just getting it for the book, and vinyl.

but it is nice to have everything in one place.

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[2dreamofluv]

and they didn't even remaster it any (as the engineer apparently told them it was perfect, nothing to improve when they tried, at least according to the press release info).

i believe that.

[negative1]

so the release is out,

along with the digital version with the extra tracks..

sounds good.
enjoying the live tracks.


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[Dino3D]

Wait! The album reissue isn't remastered?? I'm still waiting for my copy, but if it's not a remaster, I will be mad.

[purlieu]

It hasn't been advertised as remastered so it would be unwise to expect it to be.

[Dino3D]

For me it was obvious that a 30 year old album will be remastered, unless what's the point of this reissue, especially when nothing new or unreleased in the package (I don't care about live stuff)? I am in shock.

[purlieu]

The point is it's a way of bringing the entire brown album era back into print in a straight-forward way, combined with an unreleased live album and a big book of history and liner notes.

Like, I get some albums need remastering - Dubnobass is a great example, the original always sounded thin and flimsy - but the original brown album sounds pretty fucking great to this day, so I don't really see why it needs it. If it ain't broke etc.


The fact that three tracks are digital only, despite there being space for them on the physical release, now that is a bit fucking irritating.

[holden]

Passed on this because aside from the live tracks, nothing I didn't have or feel the need to re buy. The brothers have been re-releasing EPs for the past few years that have been fun to hear. But yeah, I went deep down the Orbital collector rabbit hole years ago, so this release is inessential to me.
That said, anyone else disappointed with the live track quality? Just streamed and I appreciate that they're 30+ years old, but they sound flat, hardly any crowd and not very exciting renditions...but then I suppose it was pretty early on in their live career.

[negative1]

Passed on this because aside from the live tracks, nothing I didn't have or feel the need to re buy. The brothers have been re-releasing EPs for the past few years that have been fun to hear. But yeah, I went deep down the Orbital collector rabbit hole years ago, so this release is inessential to me.
That said, anyone else disappointed with the live track quality? Just streamed and I appreciate that they're 30+ years old, but they sound flat, hardly any crowd and not very exciting renditions...but then I suppose it was pretty early on in their live career.

i saw them live during this era.

to me this was their peak. they haven't been able to match
it the decades that have passed since then.

i haven't cared for anything they have released besides a few singles.

basically their first 2 albums was what made a huge 'impact' on me.

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[iamneorev]

i saw them live during this era.

to me this was their peak. they haven't been able to match
it the decades that have passed since then.

i haven't cared for anything they have released besides a few singles.

basically their first 2 albums was what made a huge 'impact' on me.

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ne gative 1

Snivilisation and In Sides was peak Orbital for me. I'm not really a fan of Green. Brown is decent. I love Wonky. Felt like a return to form. The rest is okay with some songs here and there I like.

[purlieu]

I really rate all five '90s albums, and have a soft spot for The Altogether which was a failed but brave experiment. Since then it's been a mixed bag, every album with a few great tracks and some utter stinkers. Something happened to their production and things just don't sound as big or dynamic as they used to for some reason.

[Dino3D]

I think there won't be any more Orbital remasters if the Brown haven't been remastered.

[holden]

Some albums certainly benefit from a remaster and I'm usually all for that. The fact that "Brown" LP was considered fine as-is is...something. So the re-release is really about combining all the peripherals for 1) fans that haven't got it all, 2) completists who want something new, be it a live cd, harder to find track, or even just the booklet. And that's fine. Underworld's three re-release box sets (Dubno, STITI, Beacoup Fish) had a bunch of extra demos, which was fantastic, but we, as superfanz still found ways to complain about it - e.g. stuff we already had on singles, EPs, remixes. It's new for many, old news for some.

Orbital does, in my opinion, seem to be mining the nostalgia/legacy route a lot lately, what with Green, Brown boxes, EPS (Omen, Chime, Lush, III, Midnight/Choice, Belfast), the 30Something re-edits/remix collection. I don't doubt they'll continue the trend with Snivilization...maybe even In Sides, since their first four are considered classics of the genre, and later releases get a bit more divisive.

(i'd rank 'em as such:
1. Brown, In Sides
2. Snivilization, The Middle Of Nowhere
3. Green, The Altogether, Blue, Wonky, Monsters Exist, Optical Delusion
Nothing bad, just preference and the later stuff is still mostly good in my mind, if a bit of retreads (Blue, Wonky), or oddball (The Altogether, Phil's contributions to Optical Delusion), or solid but pretty unsurprising (Monsters, Paul's tracks on Optical Delusion). Green is a collection of singles and sounds dated, whereas the rest feel cohesive and hold up well through time and space and loops of that nature!)

[iamneorev]

i'd rank 'em as such:
1. Brown, In Sides
2. Snivilization, The Middle Of Nowhere
3. Green, The Altogether, Blue, Wonky, Monsters Exist, Optical Delusion
Nothing bad, just preference and the later stuff is still mostly good in my mind, if a bit of retreads (Blue, Wonky), or oddball (The Altogether, Phil's contributions to Optical Delusion), or solid but pretty unsurprising (Monsters, Paul's tracks on Optical Delusion). Green is a collection of singles and sounds dated, whereas the rest feel cohesive and hold up well through time and space and loops of that nature!)

01 In Sides
02 Snivilisation
03 Wonky
04 Blue
05 Brown
06 Monsters Exist
07 Green
08 Optical Delusion
09 The Altogether
10 The Middle Of Nowhere

[purlieu]

I don't doubt they'll continue the trend with Snivilization...maybe even In Sides, since their first four are considered classics of the genre, and later releases get a bit more divisive.
Yeah, they announced three or four years back that they were doing a full catalogue reissue campaign. Or at least the ones owned by London (so everything up to The Altogether).
Green is a collection of singlesReally? The UK version, at least, features no singles. No 'Omen', no 'Satan', 'Chime' and 'Midnight' only appearing as live versions.





Hmm
1. Snivilisation
2. In Sides
3. Brown
4. Green
5. The Middle of Nowhere
6. Wonky
7. The Altogether
8. Monsters Exist
9. Optical Delusion
10. Blue

[negative1]

That said, anyone else disappointed with the live track quality? Just streamed and I appreciate that they're 30+ years old, but they sound flat, hardly any crowd and not very exciting renditions...but then I suppose it was pretty early on in their live career.

the quality is fine for what it is...

i LOVE the early years, the mixing between tracks, gives it a DJ set,
thats like underworld... it flowed incredibly well, and there wasn't
any stopping and starting between tracks, which is what bands
do nowadays. unfortunately.

seeing them live was amazing, with the flashlight headsets, and a minimal dark lighting setup.

was totally blown away, seeing and hearing them... i had no idea who they were, it was part of a techno festival...

along with 808 state, who were incredible back then also...90s techno pioneers.

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[purlieu]

I loved the Satan Live singles, the first time I heard most of their hits, and they were all paired up with other tracks... I taped their new years 96/97 gig off the radio too. And I remember downloading a bootleg of a Middle of Nowhere tour where Spare Parts Express morphed into the end of Impact, which led to that track being structurally backwards, which was brilliant. I know they've done some different arrangements in recent years, partly down to changing gear, but I definitely think the earlier approach was much more interesting. Similar could be said for Underworld.


That reminds me, I've been meaning to look up footage of their Green/Brown tour to hear how they've been doing things. In one interview (possibly in the Green boxset booklet?) Paul said he enjoyed revisiting the more stripped-back approach of their really early material and that might influence the next record. Much as I like some of their recent stuff, it'd be cool to hear them go back to straight-forward techno again.

[negative1]

some great live shows late 1990's:
from MTV

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0qH12wNCmE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiVckFoTlIc

there are more from other festivals...

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[darmok]

Orbital does, in my opinion, seem to be mining the nostalgia/legacy route a lot lately, what with Green, Brown boxes, EPS (Omen, Chime, Lush, III, Midnight/Choice, Belfast), the 30Something re-edits/remix collection. I don't doubt they'll continue the trend with Snivilization...maybe even In Sides, since their first four are considered classics of the genre, and later releases get a bit more divisive.


I appreciate the reissues, and the remasters are really well done (https://darko.audio/2024/04/orbitals-green-album-2024-edition-43-bonus-tracks-improved-sound/). That said, the pricing is outrageous. Of course I've got the deluxe LP and CD sets on order. Of course.


(i'd rank 'em as such:
1. Brown, In Sides
2. Snivilization, The Middle Of Nowhere
3. Green, The Altogether, Blue, Wonky, Monsters Exist, Optical Delusion
Nothing bad, just preference and the later stuff is still mostly good in my mind, if a bit of retreads (Blue, Wonky), or oddball (The Altogether, Phil's contributions to Optical Delusion), or solid but pretty unsurprising (Monsters, Paul's tracks on Optical Delusion). Green is a collection of singles and sounds dated, whereas the rest feel cohesive and hold up well through time and space and loops of that nature!)

We're doing this, I guess.


In Sides + The Box EP
Brown
Snivilisation
The Middle of Nowhere
Green


... all the rest somewhere below that. Pretty much the same as your list.