Amazon.co.uk Review: To remain relevant after a decade in the music industry is rare indeed; for a dance act, it's virtually unique. Singles 93-03 ably demonstrates how the Chemical Brothers have managed it. Having first carved a reputation as DJs the Dust Brothers in the early 1990s, the two home-counties history graduates narrowly avoided calling themselves the London Dust Explosion before spearheading big beat, becoming a huge live draw, collaborating with Noel Gallagher and having Glastonbury Festival founder Michael Eavis play "Hey Boy, Hey Girl" at his wedding. It's been 10 years of fun, frolics and gigantean left-field beats for Ed Simmons and Tom Rowland and, as this faultless singles collection testifies, continual reinvention.
From the seething siren, pounding breaks, breathy vocals and spellbinding post-acid electronica of album opener "Song to the Siren" to the ingenious collaboration with the Flaming Lips, "The Golden Path", Tom 'n' Ed have somehow managed to carve tracks that appeal equally to radio, clubs and the live arena. Alongside the cement-cracking bass of "Leave Home" and "Block Rockin' Beats" comes the high-inducing sonic debauchery of "The Private Psychedelic Reel" and dancefloor filler "Star Guitar", to name but a few of the many highlights. Ingenious, boundary-baffling stuff, this compilation offers a hypnotic historical tour of one of the most creative careers in dance music. --Christopher Barrett
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - bargaub
This was such a bargain. Arrived in excellent condition, really quickly and was cheaper to buy as a CD than just downloading the tracks I really like from any download site.
Rating: - Glorious Dance Pioneers
There are few bands who can be considered to be peerless in their musical creativity. Like so many bands before and since, though, their back catalogues are obliged to be condensed into singles packages for the mass market, which is fine by me.
Song To The Siren sets the tone, and the message is that you must turn the volume up louder. By the time you reach the musical beanstalk that is The Private Psychedelic Reel, you might be physically in your lounge or kitchen, but mentally you ... Read More
Rating: - Incredible sound
this album is eveything you could want from the chemical brothers with some world class number ones and some others that you may not have heard of.The tracks also improve with listening and there isnt a disappointing track on the album
Rating: - Superb compilation
This faultless celebration of dance music's most important names since Kraftwerk demonstrates the diversity and imagination that it is possible to produce within the much maligned genre. Kicking off with three singles off their fine debut album 'Exit planet dust',this CD continues to impress with the excellent Noel Gallagher collaboration 'Setting sun', the classic 'Block rockin beats' and the otherworldy 'Private psychadelic reel' off the superb 'dig your own hole' album. The pattern here ... Read More
Rating: - Ho Hum
It seems rather odd for a "dance" band to have something as boringly conventional as a "greatest hits" album, but when the dance band in question is The Chemical Brothers, there's an embarrassment of riches to choose from.
As the title suggests, this album traces a chronological line from their arrival on the scene in 1993 with the still-stunning "Song To The Siren", through the commercial zenith of the "Dig Your Own Hole" and "Surrender" albums with the slightly formulaic rock/dance splicing ... Read More
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