Beaucoup Fish - 4 CD Remastered Deluxe Box Set (8/25/2017)

[industri_studios]

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/...beaucoup-fish/

Pitchfork have reviewed the album...

[dubman]

Originally Posted by industri_studios

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/...beaucoup-fish/

Pitchfork have reviewed the album...

What Sherburne touches on about Kittens is what i almost started a separate thread about (and in fact it'd be fun to have a whole thread dedicated to individual tracks in some interesting/personal perspective way), but couldn't capably condense my nebulous vibes&thoughts on it enough to justify making a whole thread.

KITTENS.

it's a bit of a awkward bastard in 2017 isn't it? it used to be a head-floating bigtime highlight for me, but in the last decade or so a bad notion started creeping up, that it might but be... extraordinarily cheeseball. and not in the "all in good fun" kind.
individually, there's nothing wrong with earnestness, big statements, escalating synths, and the hard beat, but put together in this kind of package, it's the one on beaucoup fish that feels the most dated. if it's techno, it equates to a noxious, neverending fistpump. if it's underworld, it's pretty juvenile. if it's a stadium banger, it's almost cynical? what does this track do that Cherry Pie doesn't also indulge in with better results?
maybe it just all circles back to Sherburne's off-handed diagnosis: those fucking crash cymbals.

[pandamagic]

Originally Posted by dubman

What Sherburne touches on about Kittens is what i almost started a separate thread about (and in fact it'd be fun to have a whole thread dedicated to individual tracks in some interesting/personal perspective way), but couldn't capably condense my nebulous vibes&thoughts on it enough to justify making a whole thread.

KITTENS.

it's a bit of a awkward bastard in 2017 isn't it? it used to be a head-floating bigtime highlight for me, but in the last decade or so a bad notion started creeping up, that it might but be... extraordinarily cheeseball. and not in the "all in good fun" kind.
individually, there's nothing wrong with earnestness, big statements, escalating synths, and the hard beat, but put together in this kind of package, it's the one on beaucoup fish that feels the most dated. if it's techno, it equates to a noxious, neverending fistpump. if it's underworld, it's pretty juvenile. if it's a stadium banger, it's almost cynical? what does this track do that Cherry Pie doesn't also indulge in with better results?
maybe it just all circles back to Sherburne's off-handed diagnosis: those fucking crash cymbals.

yup, this exactly. Kittens is emblematic of what began to turn me off about Underworld during the Beaucoup Fish years. (This also applies to Moaner as well, I guess, which gave me a headache both then and now.) I'd always loved the fine-tuned craftsmanship of the previous two albums, the sumptuous layers, the intricate percussion, the balancing act of being simultaneously moody and danceable. Even the "big" tracks like Cowgirl and the aforementioned Cherry Pie were smart and elegant in their own ways, never having to sacrifice detail for large scale impact. Kittens on the other hand, even though it wasn't entirely without precedent (Rowla for example), just seemed very . . . basic. It's moves were predictable, its intentions were obvious. I could appreciate that not everything they did needed to be an ornate, elaborate masterpiece, but did they really need to dispense with all their usual nuance? As dubman mentioned, Cherry Pie is just as massive sounding while still managing to be about 100 times more interesting. And it was only a b-side!

At least Cups was there to reassure me that the old Underworld I knew and loved still existed.

[mortslaw]

Hi all, got my boxset. Is there no download code like there was for previous reissue boxsets?

[TheBang]

Originally Posted by mortslaw

Hi all, got my boxset. Is there no download code like there was for previous reissue boxsets?

No download code. Welcome to the forums!

[Lx_Nen]

I got a download code in mine!

[Troy McClure]

Originally Posted by Lx_Nen

I got a download code in mine!

Was your download code for all 4 CDs or just disc 1? What format can you download with the code?

[TheBang]

Hm, might just be the US version then that didn't get a download code.

[dubman]

ok third post in a row, but ending on a positive note:

after taking the BF box in full i understand and even appreciate a little having 2 discs of remixes. something still nags at the back of my head as to why more underworld material couldn't have made it, but the remixes are a distinct part of BF as a snapshot of the band in that time. they aren't photobombing it, they're part of the ethic. if you followed them, they bring back different but related memories (i only bought the singles box set to get at "Please Help Me", but ended up listening to some of the remixes for a time).

so fine, fine.

i'm happy with the outtakes (especially nifter) and my faves from that blend nicely into my big BF playlist.

[dubman]

I know there's some people here who consider it indispensable so i want them to jump in too.

rowla is a good contrast because it's simple minded but (imo) sneaks up on your groove detection system and implies a lot more than it lays out. those implications get explored and overblown in endless rolls on the live version, but i digress.
if you stripped Kittens down and let those synths breathe on their own, what would that sound like? wouldnt it imply everything else that the track adds and bricks you upside the head with? if you brought a beat in, what would it be like at half time? i'm sure a lot of this was explored by R&K&D, but something feels muffed about this almost-classic in a very weird way.