Top 50 Dance Albums of the Nineties?

[mixed_biscuits]

hmm yeah - I forgot about the SUAD albums (mainly because I have them on vinyl and so they're not on my PC). Death Is Not The End is quality. Their recent one Reclaim The Streets (2003) also has some damn good tracks (featuring Ade on vocals again).

Mr Tea - I put Jilted above Experience because I think it has more scope. Dead Cities I used to have but it's since gone AWOL and so I've forgotten what it's like.

 

[Edward]

Wow things like massive attack and goldie i would put in the "irredemably naff" thread but that must just be me. Seems like coffee table music for people who don't actually like listening to music.
OK I'll go and hide behind the sofa while you all slag me off.


My 90s faves:
Drexciya - The Unknown Aquazone - UR
AFX - ambient works 1 & 2
UR-Acid Rain
Ragga Twins - Reggae Owes Me Money
and all the LPs by SUAD & Rum & Black
Derrick May - Innovator
Model 500 - classics
(but those 2 are best-ofs)

like the man said, all the best stuff was just on 12s.

I just went and looked at my records and all the albums are hip hop or prince or acid house comps.

 

[Blackdown]

Maurizio series CD anyone?

 

[Guybrush]

Wow things like massive attack and goldie i would put in the "irredemably naff" thread but that must just be me. Seems like coffee table music for people who don't actually like listening to music.

Hey! That’s a bit harsh.

Three more coffee table albums:

Massive Attack - Protection
Adam F - Colours
CJ Bolland - The Analogue Theatre

 

[hamarplazt]

the moment i finally DID buy into the dhr image was the first time i got hold of their newspaper. at the risk of sounding crass (pun intended), reading that you could really tell they meant it maaaaaan. it was the inkiest, dirtiest, punkiest zine i've ever seen, and it was massive, full of unintelligible guff about new world orders and adverts in german. brilliant.

so yeah, i'd definitely vote 'burn, berlin, burn' in alongside the undoubtedly brilliant alec empire solo stuff like generation star wars.

Yeah OK, that paper was pretty amazing and got me into the whole thing for some time, but then, it was also such a complete mess, like they had no idea what they wanted the whole thing to turn into yet, and I guess that was also how it was to begin with. In a few years, though, it became just the kind of thing I feared when I first heard about the concept. "Burn Berlin Burn" (or "Delete Yourself", as it was called over here) was probably the DHR-record closest to the caothic spirit of the newspaper, and I actually did consider it for my list. But in the end there was just too many things I found better.

 

[DJ PIMP]

[insert lengthy thread here about how the spirit of dance music is captured by, if anything, singles, not albums (potentially with tangents about albums being too rock and some muddled use of a the term "rockist")]

I assume you're being facetious.

 

[Freakaholic]

Id like to add to this some of my most listened to electronic albums from the 90s:

Eon - Void Dweller
Photek - Form & Function
Hive - Devious Methods
Plug - Drum n Bass for Papa
Trip do Brasil
The Best of Rave, vol 1 (but i think this is cheating)

 

[ford.anglia]

[insert lengthy thread here about how the spirit of dance music is captured by, if anything, singles, not albums (potentially with tangents about albums being too rock and some muddled use of a the term "rockist")]

bit of truth in that and albums if they were compilations/mixtapes so i'll have

Acieed Inferno Vols 1 & 2

and some of the early Deep Heat double albums...lots of dodgy poppy stuff mixed up on these but loads of quality/underground stuff too and as eclectic as a lot of the parties were back then...and in the case of the latter even TV advertised!

ps couple of years early as they're all from from 1988 and 1989 but they were bang on the case and right on one matey

 

[michael]

I assume you're being facetious.

Well, yeah, insofar as I was writing the direction I expected this thread to go in, as opposed to what I actually thought. I was just trying to save us all some time.

If you're talking about music designed for clubs I do think it's fairly true. I also think it's fairly true that people don't use the word "rockist" in a consistent way. But this is the discussion I was trying to avoid having! Just seen it go round and round too many times before.

By someone like Edward's standards I'm an unabashed coffee table listener, so I think I'd find it very difficult to think of 50 (let's go to a club and) dance albums I really like. Should probably have stayed the fuck out of the thead.

 

[dominic]

twenty-five dance albums from first 5 years or so of the 90s, perhaps a bit too canonical . . . .

808 state, "united states 90"
the it, "on top of the world"
orbital, s/t -- i.e., the green cover
lfo, "frequencies"
primal scream, "screamadelica"
n-joi, "live in manchester"
adamski, "live and direct"
deee-lite, "world clique"
fierce ruling diva, "sounds of planet earth"
guy called gerald, "28 gun bad boy"
4hero, "in rough territory"
nicolette, "now is early"
nature boy, "ruff disco"
rebel mc, "black meaning good"
ragga twins, "reggae owes me money"
dr alban, "hello afrika"
genaside ii, "new life 4 the hunted"
depth charge, "nine deadly venoms"
tricky, "maxinquaye"

label comps =
kemet crew, "champion jungle sound"
vizion sounds, "committed to jungle"
production house, "best of . . . ."
black market, "paroxysm, volume 1"
strictly rhythm, "this is . . . . volume 1"
xl recordings, "3rd chapter: breakbeat house"

 

[dominic]

Lots of Digital Hardcore - nice.

Strangely, I remember being so disappointed by 4 Hero's In Rough Territory when I got it that I threw it away (the only time I've binned music).

i had this on cd and somehow managed to lose it. personally i prefer this early primitive house-y sound to pretty much everything they did since

 

[dominic]

actually, i just put on the fierce ruling diva, and it's not an album and it kinda sucks, w/ one or two exceptions

so let's leave it at 24, unless something comes to me

 

[leamas]

twenty-five dance albums from first 5 years or so of the 90s, perhaps a bit too canonical . . . .

4hero, "in rough territory"
ragga twins, "reggae owes me money"

great call. "Reggae..." gets better every listen. remember seeing Ragga Twins on The Word when I was a teen - bet you don't hear the 'new rave' heads talking bout them.

Definitely some hip hop albums which should also be added to this discussion like Dr Octagon and Jeru "Wrath of the Math".

 

[dominic]

oh, and i should definitely drop dr alban from my top 25 -- only one good song, the rest is fluff -- what was i thinking? -- i need to give this away to somebody or throw out on street

smith & mighty, "bass is maternal" should be on the list

and for a good trance-y album, try ebi, "zen" on space teddy label

in general, i think first half of the 90s was much better for dance music than second half, even for albums -- i.e., i can't think of any good uk garage albums, nothing but singles

 

[dominic]

great call. "Reggae..." gets better every listen. remember seeing Ragga Twins on The Word when I was a teen - bet you don't hear the 'new rave' heads talking bout them.

great call, yes, but by the dissensus consensus, not by me

the 4hero "rough territory" is more controversial, see upthread

the only hidden gem on my list is nature boy -- really ruff merger of nyc and bristol at the time

verything else is rather canonical

 

[stelfox]

has anyone here mentioned ginger by speedy j?
if that's missing, then something is seriously, seriously wrong.
also cj bolland's the fourth sign, if only for camargue.

 

[STN]

A vote for Bass is Maternal, Ragga Twins and Genaside II from me.

 

[Grievous Angel]

Ginger is good, but I think Public Energy No. 1 was better.

Hmm... that was the occult roots of glitchcore dubstep act Cloaks when you think about it.

In terms of artist albums, I know these are dully canonical, but I'd go for Dubnobasswithmyheadman, the Brown and Green albums, and above all, UFOrb. None of them are perfect though

In terms of DJ albums, by a mile for me it's Coldcut's Journeys By DJ - even more dully canonical, but there you go. Though the Micky Finn

Lets leave hiphop to one side shall we or we'll be here all week - there's already a very thread on that with about 20 pages on it.

Actually we really should - as some contributors have already - split this into artist albums, DJ mix albums, and compilations. I think I'm most interested in mix albums.

 

[Ulysses]

Orb - UFOrb
Aphex Twin - Analog Bubblebath series
Hardfloor - Ascperience
Plasticman - Sheet One
Bandulu - Redemption
Leo Anibaldi - Cannibald
FSOL - Lifeforms
Rob Hood - Internal Empire
Joey Beltram - Places
Robert Armani - Circus Bells
4 Hero - Parallel Universe
Goldie - Timeless
Guy Called Gerald - Black Secret Technology
Alex Empire - Generation StarWars
808 State - Ex:El
Interdimentional Transmissions - comp
Prodigy - Firestarter
Mike Dearborn - Razorsharp
Christian Vogel - All Music Has Come To An End
SuperCollider - S/T
AXUS - Soundtrack for Life
Maurizio - M Series
Basic Channel - Discog
69 - Sound of Music
Paperclip People - The Secret Tapes of Dr Eich
Waveform Transmissions v.1 & 2
Underground Resistance - Interstellar Fugitives
Luke Slater - Planetary Assault Systems
LFO - Tied Up
Nightmares on Wax - Smokers Delight
Peace Orchestra - S/T
Boards of Canada - Music Has the Right to Children
Autechre - Tri Repetae
Endemic Void - Equations
Porter Ricks - S/T

 

[hamarplazt]

has anyone here mentioned ginger by speedy j?
if that's missing, then something is seriously, seriously wrong.

Don't worry, it's on my list.