Orbital - The Altogether

Label: FFRR
Catologue Number: 8573877822
Format: CD
Date: 2001
Style: Breakbeat / Electro / Techno
Rating: 6/10
Reviewer: Sidney James

There’s always been a part of me that’s respected the work of Orbital. From the cool futuristic techno rhythms to the great use of a wide range of samples (How many other bands could get away with sampling the Butthole Surfers, Crass and Scott Walker and do it with dignity). However there is also was a growing part of me that had begun to get bored of Orbital. The last two albums Insides and Middle of Nowhere had seen Orbital treading over familiar ground and not pushing their sound any further. Apart for a few tracks (The Box from Insides for example) Orbital seemed to have lost their magic and appeared to be bands who were stuck in a musical tar pit.

Many it’s because of blind loyalty or maybe down to have an insatiable appetite for consuming music that I decided to give Orbital another chance to impress. So with a degree of anxiety and caution I decided to buy The Altogether, expecting an album that was going to continue Orbital’s journey through the familiar with the odd flash of brilliance. However as seen as the album started to seep out of my speakers I immediately knew that Orbital had recorded The Altogether with a different approach in mind. Instead of heading towards a brighter future, they had decided to steal from the past to create a new hybrid of a sound, part 80’s Electro and one part 90’s big beat.

The Altogether begins with the excellent Tension; all Warp style twisted beats and a deep dirty buzzing bass line. These underlying rhythmical elements are soon joined by bursts of sampled guitars and chopped up vocal loops (the best being a rock n’ roll oom bam a bam sample). The track works exceedingly well and recalls a more up-tempo and aggravated Orb. The initial impact is too show that Orbital have moved away from the more pastoral sounds of their last two albums.

Next up is Funny Break, which was released, as single previous to the album release. Funny Break sounds closer to traditional Orbital than anything else on the album does, closest to classic tracks like Halcyon and The Girl with the sun in her hair. A bit of variation is added with the use of neat brass samples. Like classic Orbital it’s one of those songs that is great for drifting away to on a sunny day.

Orbital have always been a band for sampling the famous and the infamous. On the third track Oi! they use a sample of Ian Dury and the Blockheads as the centre piece of the track. The track begins with typical Orbital style beats before a nice fat 303 bass line kicks in. Add to this funky breaks and cheeky sampling of whistles and horns and Orbital manage to create a huge party choon. The song also shows the first knowing nod to Orbital’s musical heritage; with the song showing a great deal of influence from the late 80’s Electro funksters like the David Howard Singers and Stump.

Just as you think Orbital have hit a seam of brilliance, they lose the flow with the tacky and frankly outdated Pay Per View. Groaning sex samples and slap bass may have been all the range in the 80’s, but they just sound cheesy and overdone now. Pay Per view may try to sound sleazy, but ends up a premature ejaculation rather than a frenzied orgy of a track.

Orbital then try to redeem themselves with the Tool sampling cybermetal spasm that is Tootled. The song is all runaway beats and short bursts of mangled guitar. As an experiment in combing rock and techno it fails miserably and has me reaching for my Young Gods albums to hear how it should be done.

Things get back on form with Last Thing a track that manages to combine the better elements of Pay Per View with the more traditional Orbital sound. The track manages to blend female vocals with another phat squelching bass sound. It’s a good track than manages to pull The Altogether away from the pit of novelty it had nearly fallen into.

Right this is when I lose all my cred and admit total bias. You see Orbital have done of a cover of the best theme tune in the world ever. What is it? Doctor Who you fools that’s what. Yeah, Orbital have covered the classic BBC Radiophonics signature tune. Already a staple of their live show, Doctor Who is kept true to the original with a few techno elements added to the beats. Suddenly I’ am taken back to the Saturday evenings of my youth, were hiding behind the sofa from Daleks and Cybermen was the order of the day.

And if one Doctor Who influence is not enough, the next track Shadows is book ended by samples of Tom Baker (the best Doctor). The track itself consists of dark electronics and the favourite weapon of the post rocker the glockenspiel. The song then develops into a very cinematic number with urgent beats adding to the atmosphere of the track. It stands out as one of the true great tracks on the album, and sees Orbital clearly stepping away from their usual sound.

Waving not Drowning, sees Orbital using a variety of sounds to create an interesting track that recalls the better moments of Bentley Rhythm Ace. Samples of acoustic guitars, phone tones and fat 70’s synth sounds are mixed to create a very playful song that any sometimes sounds like a combination of Cowboy music and techno beats. More Midnight Cowboy than The Grid’s Swamp thing.

Just when things are looking up again, Orbital unleashes something than is cheesier than a fondue party in an Edam factory. The track in question is Illuminate, which features everyone’s current favourite MOR balladeer David Gray on vocals. The music in the track recalls the incidental music used in BBC educational programmes and sitcoms with Mr Gray’s syrupy vocals floating on top. The second time I listened to the track it was as bad as the first time, but the track feeds my mind with images of Level 42 jamming with Sting. Not a pretty sight.

An Orbital album wouldn’t be an Orbital album unless it contained one long epic of a song. The final track Meltdown firmly fits this bill. It begins with cybernetic chirps and bleeps, before the sound of breaking glass and the sound of typewriters are added. The track then covers a myriad of styles including Industrial dance, techno and experimental. Which all help to create a track which does actually sound like society is melting down into one homogeneous mass. Again Orbital prove than you can experiment with your sound without resorting to avant-guard retardism.

The Altogether is a brave step by Orbital to try to add some more colours their musical pallet. When it works it works well, when it doesn’t it slips into the world of 80’s embarrassment. The Altogether is also not as directly geared towards the dance floor as other albums and can probably be closest compared to Orbital’s debut album than any of Orbital’s album. It’s just a shame that the album is let down by the weakest tracks that Orbital have ever recorded.