Work: 1989-2002: Orbital: Amazon.ca: Music

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Despite their reputation as that rare techno artist who thinks in terms of albums, not singles, Work 1989-2002 makes it obvious that a retrospective like this from Orbital is well overdue. At one time, Orbital was one of the biggest, if not the biggest, names in techno, a result of their willingness to tour like a rock band and put on performances with light shows and improvised DJ work. Hence, tracks like "Halcyon and On and On" (from Orbital 2) and early ravers like "Chime" have so imprinted themselves on our collective techno memory that it seems odd they haven't been packaged together already. Still, as a definitive collection, Work is less than perfect. First off, the tracks here are relatively bland 7-inch versions of songs that have all been mixed to hell and back; "Nothing Left" from 1999's underrated Middle Of Nowhere should be a monstrous mix of swooping melodies and fat chords, not the tepid radio version used here. Surely, another four minutes of "Halcyon" or "The Box" (from In Sides) would be preferable to songs like "Illuminate" off last year's disappointing The Altogether. Similarly, it's a mystery why the record includes not the brilliant, original 1990 version of "Satan," but instead the inferior retread recorded with Metallica's Kirk Hammett for the Spawn soundtrack. But even though Work isn't perfect, it's tough to discount a record when at least half the tracks are classics of the genre. --Matthew Cooke

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Customer Reviews

11 Reviews

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
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Average Customer Review

3.5 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Good starter, July 1 2004

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"ms570752" (Downingtown, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Work: 1989-2002 (Audio CD)

Basically, this is a good cd to get if your new to Orbital as it samples most of the singles on their other albums, but don't stop with this album.

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4.0 out of 5 stars You can't please everybody..., April 2 2004

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Draykov (Ft. Worth, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Work: 1989-2002 (Audio CD)

This album gets a bad rap, and I can understand why. To arrive at a banquet only to be promptly sent back out the door with a snack tray would be considered by most to be an unpleasant experience. To top it off, when artists are as dynamic as the Hartnoll brothers are, you run into subgroups of fans of their music that have widely different tastes concerning what the "best of" should entail.

Most of the tracks included on Work are great. I do, however, question the judgment to include the David Gray collaboration, Illuminate. I like the track, but for many (in the U.S., anyway) Gray's distinctive vocals were too much of a departure from Orbital's bread and butter tracks. The exclusion of the Green Album version of Satan is also a puzzler.

Without a doubt, many quality tracks were overlooked when compiling this disc, but then again, the tracks that are included are by no means bad. Personally, I think if they had taken a page from Björk's book and simultaneously released a "best of" and a Family Tree style album, people who wanted a little something more out of Work would've been happy, and those just discovering Orbital would've had a better starter kit.

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1.0 out of 5 stars Just To Get Your Attention, Dec 11 2003

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ScareKrow666 (9th circle of hell) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Work: 1989-2002 (Audio CD)

I have to say, growing up listening to rap music (2pac) mostly, i never thought that any other type of music would touch me like 2pac's powerful words did. I listened to 2pac alot as a teen. Fighting you know, anger, depression and all that other adolescent stuff which i am still going through, I would just go to my room, be alone and be one with the music. What can I say, I have a very deep appreciation for music that I think most people do not have. I have now grown to like all types of music as long as it moves me. I will end this by saying, Orbital are musical geniuses. They are really what true music is all about. I have a lot of songs by them and each one though different is truly a masterpiece. Get all of their albums

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars solid introduction
Although it is rather frustrating that whoever compiled this cd devoted 10 minutes to not-so-great songs like 'Impact' and 'Belfast' while giving 3 minutes to great songs like... Read more

Published on May 19 2003 by useless idiot

4.0 out of 5 stars Good to start with
I recommend this to any Electronic fan that haven't been able to pick up an orbital cd yet. Where I'm at, its pretty hard to find them. Read more

Published on Jan 22 2003 by P. Cheung