New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

Hello,

I saw Underworld earlier in the year at the All Points West Festival in New Jersey and I wanted to pick up an album or two. However as I look through their wikipedia page it seems that they have released a ton of material and in different stages of the band.

I'm looking for advice from the Underworld fans. Is there a 'definitive' Underworld LP? Is there a consensus 'best' album? Any help is appreciated and thank you for your time.

Travis

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

Many will say the debut, Dubnobasswithmyheadman and others will say, Second Toughtest in the Infants.

I say Beaucoup Fish... just so you aren't too overwhelmed by the older stuff

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

Hi Travis, and welcome. I too was at that show.

Their first album as Underworld the way you know them is called Dubnobasswithmyheadman. Its a solid beginning and one that will always be dear to me as the album that got me hooked. Not sure how it will sound to someone new to the band though -- maybe a bit outdated but most likely not. The beginning is never a bad place to start, imo. That said...

I'd say Beaucoup Fish would be a pretty good entry point as I know a lot of people that listened to that one first. Its an album that spans a lot of styles and has quite a few heavy-hitters on it. They played three songs from this album at the All Points show: King of Snake, Jumbo and Moaner; Moaner closed out the set.

Having been a fan for a long time, I find myself listening to Oblivion With Bells, their recent album, the most these days. At All Points, they played 2 or 3 tracks from this one.

Each of their other major releases has points of interest that could be THE one that you fall in love with though. Its hard to know what one person might like over another.

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

Hi and welcome!
You're bound to get a bunch of opinions on which is the "best" Underworld album - they all have their high points, but i dunno if there's a definitive record.
As an introduction to various parts of their career, maybe check out their compilation "Underworld 1992-2002", a 2-CD.
Or, to prep you for the live experience, get "Everything,Everything", the live album from 1999. Sure, they have two more receond studio records since then, and lots of newer tracks, but you'll get a great impression of the improvization, energy and mixing of the live show.

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

All of this is really good info thank you. I definetely agree that it is fun to start at the beginning. I'm 28 but my friend who's in his early 40's has been sending me boxes of LPs that he's got duplicates to. All of a sudden I've been exposed to the intial efforts of DEVO, Talking Heads, R.E.M. just to name a few and it's really interesting to see how they started off and follow their progression. More often than you would think I've found many bands initial efforts to be their most accessible (and even most enjoyable).

As far as compilations...I just can't get there. I have trouble listening to greatest hits albums or anything like that. One of the things I enjoy most about albums is how you can really get a feel for the mood and stylistic creativity of a band at a given time period. That is all obviously lost on compilations. I understand why they work for many but it's not my thing.

So Oblivion With Bells is a good album? I heard somewhere that it wasn't as preferred as previous efforts but if it's a good listen I'm pretty sure I can get that on LP (which is what I would prefer).

Thanks again.

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

yea - I am also not a fan of compilations ... well some can be good (like when you can have the rare occurrence of finding a band that releases a legitimate, definitive singles collection & some genre-specific ones can be nice... but I digress)

yea - "Dubno..." or "Second Toughest..." are probably going to be considered to be their best/strongest albums, but in all honesty I would really recommend starting with "Beaucoup Fish"

I say that b/c "dubno" can be a little dated in some ways (I think it's waaaay too quiet) and is more proggy than their other albums (I'm not saying that second comment necessarily as 'negative')

and STITI is probably their most "drum and bass"-esque album of theirs and has a more 96/97 vibe about it

Whereas BF has a nice variety amongst sounds... you get a little sampling of their more 'dance' tracks, some definite ambient pieces, some downtempo, more dn'b type stuff... etc etc

I would NOT start with "A Hundred Days Off" - taken as a whole (like including b-sides) it's a nice 'era' of UW... but it really sounds more like a "transition" album than anything (like not quite as sophisticated as "Oblivion with Bells", doesn't quite have as much "ooomph" as "Beaucoup Fish") but it definitely has some really strong tracks (Two Months off & Leutin)

Oblivion with Bells is great... but it's also definitely a more 'chill' album

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

Beaucoup Fish


...definitely. Then just start from the beginning (1992, dubnobass...) and work your way to 2008.

Oblivion with bells however, is becoming my favorite release. (which was once held by Beaucoup Fish)

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

is it possible to mix out the "quiet" of Dubno?

I'd say STITI while not sober, Beacoup while sober.

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

Travis -

I too was at that show, so I'm relieved Underworld managed to pick up some new fans like yourself despite the circumstances. Underworld were typically brilliant, but that crowd was absolute crap. I've never seen so many people stand so perfectly still. Probably didn't help that Underworld played while the sun was still out, but I was stunned nevertheless. They played what are arguably some of the best dance tracks ever and those Radiohead fans took a nap!

ANYWAY

Start with Oblivion With Bells and then work your way backwards to the RiverRun EPs and so on. Skip A Hundred Days Off and come back to it when you're done with everything else.

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

Just stick with Karl's advice, buy everything,everything,everything,everything,everyt hing...

;)

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

Watch out for unscrupulous (or just ill-informed) sellers calling some of underworld's singles albums. While the April Records 'Dark and Long' and the US 'Pearls Girl' and similar are excellent, and nearly full up to the limit of a CD, they are singles not albums.

Also, put "Underneath the Radar" and "Change the Weather" to the back of your shopping list, they feature a very different line-up (known round here as Underworld mk1) and sound to the band as it sounds today.

I get the feeling that most people would put 'Dubnobass...', '2nd toughest', 'beaucoup fish' and 'oblivion with bells' as the top 4 underworld albums, and while everyone hasa favourite, opinion is evenly spilt about which is the best. I say start with "dubnobass", then work chronologically forward, then fill in the gaps with the bigger singles and '100 days off', then move on to the less mainstream riverrun series, pick up a few of the recent liveherenow gig recordings, then the other singles and the full set and start on the remixes they did for other bands, then the MK1 stuff, then devote your life to tracking down the Screen Gemz single and that Confusion the Waitress remix that was only ever pressed on 2 dubplates, then finally die lonely and unfulfilled under an avalanche of 'liveherenow' CDs.

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

Honestly, you can't go wrong (or right). Just pick up whatever you can and start from there. You will end up getting it all anyway. ;)

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

I agree with everyone here. In the meantime check out the Riverrun EPs:

http://www.underworldlive.com/shop/p...ken-Thing.html
http://www.underworldlive.com/shop/p...-For-Eggs.html
http://www.underworldlive.com/shop/p...ig-Sister.html
http://www.underworldlive.com/shop/digital-audio.html

Pizza for Eggs is my favourite UW release of all time.

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

I never knew what MK stands for, I keep thinking mortal kombat ha

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

I'm the opposite. I like the RRs, but consider them supplements. I rarely go back and listen to them.

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

to me - the new RiverRuns are kind of like those old long EP's that UW used to release (like the two versions of "Dark & Long" and "Pearls Girl")

btw - I'd say that the version of the "Dark & Long EP" with "Mos Ospitable" is pretty essential

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

Absolutely! You've got both styles of u/w music on that ep - the sublime beauty of "Most 'Ospitable" and the driving beats of "Dark Train" and "215 Miles". Of course, the other Dark and Long ep with "Thing in a Book", is also essential

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

Nobody's mentioned Everything, Everything yet? (okay, one person did) It's an amazing live album with near-perfect sound quality. I really do not have a single qualm about it. Plus, it contains most of the better Beacoup tracks anyway. After that dubnobasswithmyheadman is where I would go...

I started with Fish (because it was new), but Everything Everything really put me into the world of the UW fan. Even though you don't like comps 1992-2002 is a really solid one that features 7 (out of 16) non-album tracks. "Rez" and "Dark Train" are must-haves anyway...

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

To me b-fish is the low point. Can't stand the album. Moaner grates my nerves. Jumbo is such a snoozer I have a hard time believing they use it for a set closer.

Out of the others get them all in the order that you can find them at reasonable prices.

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

The Hump

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

Dubnobasswithmyheadman is perfect for when you are alone in the car at night. My pick for 1st album for sure.

Second Toughest in the Infants is great for when you are drunk with headphones on. It's one of their best, but it's an acquired taste for sure. Blueski is amazing but soooo subtle.

Beacoup Fish is the one Underworld album your "normal" friends might tolerate.:D Not a bad place to start, but much different than the first two for sure.

A Hundred Days Off has Twist and Lutein so check it out for those alone (Trim is very underrated too).

Oblivion With Bells is one of their top three albums and it feels like the bastard fuckchild of Dubno and Days Off. Very nice throughout.

I say just go in order, then hunt down River Run 2 and 8 Ball.:cool:

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

I have to go with the majority here and say Beaucoup Fish, although for a different reason. Everyone else says it's their most accessible album. I say it's basically their best.

If you don't think Cups is a wondrous work of subtle progression, then I don't even want to speak to you. Most people, on listening to BF for the first time, would just skip it. Don't. It's brilliant, it's amazing. If UW had truly wanted to make it their most accessible album, they would have started with Push Upstairs, but they didn't. They started with a sublime groove that draws you in with its hypnotic vocals, and then completely throws you at the end.

Bruce Lee is incredible. In fact, right now, go listen to the live version, because in its truncated studio form you're in serious danger of missing the actual story that the woman is telling. It gives me goosebumps every time.

Push Downstairs is pretty awful, but apart from that it's brilliant track after brilliant track.

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

I agree with you. It's a bit embarrassing to have a live album as your starting point, however (and hearing the enhanced versions of their tracks can make their studio counterparts seem a bit two-dimensional), so I'd recommend listening to the album versions before you hit the live stuff. I'd also recommend BF as a starting point, but contest the idea of AHDO by the others here as essentially an afterthought. The "new" Underworld is very summed-up on that album, with their ambient and "dancefloor" sides very well-balanced in tracks like Two Months Off and Luetin (the spelling they use in the track). I'd also recommend listening to Kittens before you've drowned yourself in the hits: it loses a bit of its punch if you wait too long.
...Speaking of which, is Travis even reading this any more? It seems like we're doing quite a bit more talking than he is responding. Ah, well. Even if he's left, we could probably sticky this as "fan advice" for all newcomers.

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

Hey sorry I'm still here. I definitely bookmarked the thread so I didn't lose it. I've actually been moving the past couple of days and this is the first time I'm checking e-mail, etc in a few days. Let me try to respond to everyone at once....

First of all thank you all very much for your comments. The internet can be a wonderful thing and unbelievably helpful. I'm extremely impressed with everyone's interest in trying to help me out. I went out in search of some expert opinion on the band and I got more than I could’ve hoped for. Thanks.

I think for starters I'm going to try to pick up Beaucoup Fish (sorry Bas_I_am you were outnumbered). It seems like from what you all are saying, a good analogy for this album would be 'The Bends' with RH in terms of accessibility yet different from future material. Sounds like a good place to start.

I like to buy vinyl, yes I’m one of those dorks, if at all possible so I think I'll have to hunt on ebay for that one. CDs are a dying media to me and I just can't stand digital unless I have to. I also want to grab Oblivion With Bells for the simple reason that the record is still currently available. As soon as records sell out they seem to disappear forever and I wouldn't want to miss my opportunity to pick it up. I'm sure I'll be getting others in time.

Yeah I'm pretty confused about the whole 'mk' thing but I saw there's a big write-up on wikipedia about it. Just haven't had the chance to read through it.

JohnnyMetropolis- I don't know if you were/are familiar but a big reason why the crowd was so lame at APW is twofold:
1. New York crowds are just too cool for school. Everyone has to try to be cooler than everyone else. It's pretty stupid. I'm sure when I really like a band I look like a fool but I really don't care (and I even smile too!). For my new UK friends, if you are unfamiliar with the 'NYC hipster' please see this extremely hilarious and sarcastic video here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAO4EVMlpwM). Yes there are people who are like this...It's insane.
2. Girl Talk, probably the most popular band in the NYC area other than RH at the festival, was playing at the first stage as Underworld. Honestly, I was really watching Underworld because I liked The New Pornographers (who played before) and I wanted a good spot for RH. I had wanted to see Girl Talk but there was no way in hell I was going to fight that crowd. After seeing Underworld there and then Girl Talk about two months later I'm really glad I made that decision.

Regardless of the movement Johnny I thought they were sweet and got some great pictures with even better memories.

Mcgorgomagan- I haven't gotten to your track yet but I am currently listening to the whole link. I will get to your track by the end of the night.

On that note I think I’m going to smoke a bowl, continue unpacking and try to read that wiki write-up. I will try to be more prompt with responses.

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

Oh really???

Hmm... I doubt anyone here would take BF in its entirety over the sublime half hour that opens STITI. If they would, then dont trust their opinion.

What about BF vs Dubno's 'Dark and Long/Mmmm.... Skyscraper' + 'Dirty Epic' + 'River of Bass' + 'M.E.'

Same goes for BF vs. OWB's 'Crocodile/Beautiful Burnout' with 'Best Mamgu Ever' thrown in.

The only album where there may be a contest is probably AHDO, but this is only because AHDO's qualities are not readily apparent and only reveal themselves on repeated listening.

Still, hands down, AHDO is a much better album than BF.

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

couldn't disagree with you...


...more.

i'd say you've got a point about and dubno (not 'm.e.' though - the lyrics suck - but chuck in 'cowgirl' and you're kicking) and 2nd toughest without reserve; though i still often prefer fish above all others (apart from 'moaner', which feels like an add-on). 'ahdo' has too much noodling - it's like a jazz album at times, and 'bells' tails off badly, reaching a bit of a nadir with 'ring road' (first time i've heard uw sound like somebody else (the streets)) 'bf' has a warmth and a drive to it that keeps me going back to it. but that's me; a mkII man ;)

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

still Ian. . you would take half of STITI or DubNo over the entire BF album, right?

I guess you could disagree with me more, eh?;)

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

i'd take fish over half of dubno (the half without skyscraper, cowgirl, dark and long, dirty epic! :p)

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

smartass:mad:

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

What a killingly funny video Travis - makes me want to overcome my fear of flying and visit NY to see real life hipsters:)

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

I've got plenty of 'normal' friends and honestly, for the amount of times I've brought their discs to parties or played in the car, I don't think anyone's ever complained, and I do have a great UW mix that gets lots of people dancing, and it's tunes are from all over the map. I think that's one thing that's pretty cool about them, they're good but not weird, and pretty much everyone can tolerable their music.

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

I want that kind of normal friends. My normal friends don't even go near any kind of electronic music at all (except rubbish 90's nostalgia or recent generic charts shit which, technically, might be referred to as 'electronic').

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

same here... maybe a German idiosyncrasy? Sometimes it's like they have no taste at all!

not everything was bad

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

SOMETIMES??? Just look at the charts - at TV - at the Internet, ffs - at anything at all! (Am I an ubercoolish, unsurpassably underground hipster now?)
Admitted. But, looking at the proportions, I nonchalantly omitted the occasional lucky strike. :cool:

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

A great introduction to Underworld is 92-02. That's the first album I bought.

Re: New Fan Looking for Some Album Advice
 

Not so sure about that... exposing him to the unedited, 13-min single versions of the album tracks and giving him songs like Bigmouth and Spikee to chew over should wait until he's really gotten a good idea of what Underworld is all about.