Amazon.co.uk Review: A key record of the 1990s, Exit Planet Dust invented the big-beat style that dominated British dance music in the second half of the decade, and it still sounds superb in its own right. Skull-crunching hip-hop loops, fuzz guitar, insistently repetitive spoken samples and thunderous basslines make up the blueprint for one of the most instantly energising albums ever recorded. Many of the titles--"Chemical Beats", "Fuck Up Beats", "Chico's Groove"--are fairly self-explanatory. Others show a level of erudite humour; "Song To The Siren" filches the name of a Tim Buckley ballad for a track more in keeping with the mysteries of a car alarm, while "One Too Many Mornings" is nothing that Bob Dylan would recognise in a hurry. Collaborations with Beth Orton ("Alive Alone") and the Charlatans' Tim Burgess ("Life Is Sweet") add human voices to the brilliant mechanical formula. --David Bennun
From Amazon.com: For years before the release of Exit Planet Dust, the production duo of Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons were cranking out slabs of the biggest sounds around on the U.K. label Junior Boys' Own. Before screeching guitars and massive breakdowns were par for the course in dance music, they were unleashing monsters like "Chemical Beats" and "Song to the Siren"; their distorted beats and rock mentality were years ahead of their time. And, not surprisingly, they still hold up today, collected and rereleased, along with several newer tracks, on Exit Planet Dust. All the singles that established the trademark Chemicals sound are present, as are explorations of pop-song forms with vocalists Beth Orton ("Alive Alone") and Tim Burgess ("Life Is Sweet"). While a more evolved sound can be heard on their follow-up, Dig Your Own Hole, the roots of big beat can be found here. --Matthew Corwine
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - in my opinion "THE BEST"
i have all the albums (apart from we are the night) and i think this has to be the best. yes the beats are quite simple, but they are genius! very addictive listening if your in the mood.
tracks 1-6 are quite simply brilliant. "leave home" is a brilliant start to the album and probably their best piece of work. another track is "three little birdies down beats" this is very repetitive, but is a tune which will get you dancing. "f*ck up beats" is basically a follow up beat to "chemical ... Read More
Rating: - a legendary album
Took me a while to buy this, ten years after its release. I thought the beats would be quite dated,which is kind of true,but then it was recorded 12 years ago. It starts off with a stomper ,`Leave Home`. which i first heard 10 years ago, and its a great start. `In Dust We Trust` is ok, has some interesting scratchy sounds. `Song to the Siren` is great,consisting of a whiny female vocal which may sound bad but is good.the next track`3 little birdies down beats` is repetitive but energetic, `fup beats` ... Read More
Rating: - ein klein elevator music?!
For a while I used to believe that the Chem's singles were the only audiable listenable stuf they could produce, and the rest is just to fill in the gaps, but this album prooves otherwise. At times they're tunes can be very scary and one can imagine the madness you can sucumb to on drugs, however I think they're music suggest some drug inspired look into the darkr aspects of the human psyche. This album is not as scary as the likes of setting sun and the surrender album, and is great to listen to if your ... Read More
Rating: - The first and the worst
Released in 1996, this was the Chemical Brothers debut album. Unfortunately, it is also the weakest of the Chem's collections. Not to say that this album is awful - in some instances it is actually very good - but compared with the other musical gems that Ed and Tom have released, this is simply not up to standards.
The first 6 songs do not show off what the Chemical Brothers are good at - they are simply a collaboration of uninspiring melodies, slow, tame drumbeats, and a few unusual sound effects. ... Read More
Rating: - pop
the most poppy of their albums i think. still worth a listen.
- 
-