Underworld vs. Orbital

I would say it's the opposite. A huge portion of Underworld's material is straight 4/4 techno. "Beaucoup Fish" is particularly homogeneous. Orbital changed styles far more drastically from album to album -- "Snivilisation" was relentlessly experimental and was completely unlike anything else around at the time.

I do agree, however, that Orbital came up with some annoying songs, mainly toward the end of their career. But the Brown/Snivilisation/In Sides triumvirate is arguably the finest three album sequence EVER by any band.

I love them both, but Orbital are my clear pick.

they are better live too

i tend to like individual Underworld tracks more than their albums as a whole.

Orbital, when they were good, had lots of fantastic songs.

So, Orbital.

Though I have to recognize Orbital for providing one of the great eargasms of my musical youth on one of the first albums I ever purchased (In Sides -> Out There Somewhere?)

what?????? Underworld are a thousand times better than Orbital.

for example.

wtf

(maybe one more category, the "wtf.")

Yeah, of course the point I was making was that Underworld had less tricks than Orbital, not less actual individual songs. Will try to avoid metaphor in future for the folks at the back.

And I can see why Ronan would obviously prefer Underworld, but I don't think either of them necessarily appeal to the techno part of my brain. I probably like Orbital especially because they appeal to my prog-rock sensibilities.

But on the other hand, I first heard "Out There Somewhere?" whilst E'd off my face. And "Born Slippy" ended up being me and Mrs Vague's first slow dance at our wedding (true.) So it's not like I'm saying Search one and Destroy t'other.

CLEARLY Orbital.

This thread should be an Orbital rout(e).

If by "best" you mean "best at boring me to sleep," then yes....it's the best Underworld album.

Yes, this is part of what makes their good tracks great.

I do prefer Orbital though.

- ha x-post.

100 Days Off is soooo much worse than [insert name of any other Underworld album] it's ridiculous. Except for "Two Months Off" which KICKS FUCKING ASS AND DON'T LET ANYBODY TELL YOU OTHERWISE!!

orbital for me too. matt dc OTM. i do like a lot of underworld stuff, but when the desert island beckons, it's the orbital stuff i'd grab first. although 'rez' is one of my all-time fave tracks EVER. i have it on a junior boys own pink vinyl promo, and when i showed it to karl and rick (interviewed them once many moons ago) they freaked, since they didn't even have one of their own...

Underworld always seemed a bit, hmmmm, plodding to me, and Hyde's (if he = singer)vocals are grating too.

But they also have more good tracks than Underworld.

This means nothing, ultimately. I just enjoy Underworld a whole lot more.

2nd toughest is one of those divisive albums, and i'm in the camp that loves it. it's their Loveless. squishy trancey droney gooey - it is prob the 2nd most played album i have (i.e. in terms of listen start to finish sort of thing).

Underworld were better live (or was it the druqks) and Rez/Cowgirl still gives me hot-flushes while listening on the iPod

Underworld. on that basis. another time I'll think about it differently and I can imagine saying Orbital (when I've just been listening to MoN or halcyon/chime/belfast etc or something)

Also, Leftfield versus Orbital.........FIGHT!!!!! turned into "UNDERWORLD VERSUS LEFTFIELD VERSUS ORBITAL FITE"

MADNESS

if I agreed that Orbital had more good tracks than Underworld then I would've picked them wouldn't I?

Every Orbital album has at least four stellar songs (often more). The same cannot be said of Underworld, largely because of Second Toughest In The Ridiculously Boring Wank Exercises Except For "Pearl's Girl".

At the end of 1999, Underworld returned from their international Beaucoup Fish tour utterly exhausted. They had spent almost two years on the road, and that was enough for deck wizard Darren Emerson, who picked up his record box, jetted off to Uruguay, claimed his mantle as a globe-trotting international DJ, and turned his back on Underworld forever

Emerson didn't actually perform that mix in Uruguay, but his own bedroom in Essex, as he himself confessed. END FACTOID

Halcyon sounded good at Glasto, didn't it?

Please point out where on ILM I've been praising microhouse ok thx.

Also, "meticulously progressive" = the original mix of "Born Slippy".

I find Underworld odd, in the sense that they're one of my favourite bands of the past ten years and I don't like any of the following tracks: Cowgirl, Rez, Born Slippy (the famous one, not the original), Two Months Off or frankly most of the big dancy numbers, which seem to be the sort of stuff most people like them for. Not that I don't like that sort of music, just not Underworld's take on it. I like Underworld for the stuff that's more like John Martyn/Early Verve/Early Simple Minds etc. That's why I like the last proper album so much.

With that in mind, it makes Underworld vs. Orbital a difficult comparison; since, to me they're completely different bands.

OH YES. Also Underworld live is such a better experience than Underworld in the studio it isn't even funny.

Second Toughest In The Infants
Beaucoup Fish
Dubnobasswithmyheadman (i KNOW this one is best really but i've just never listened to it as much as the others)
A Hundred Days Off

the Pearl's Girl (ft Tin There, Deep Arch etc.) and Dark & Long (ft Thing In A Book etc.) imports are practically albums themselves

also even if Orbital do have more "good songs", this is silly, you compare the two acts based on their best moments and I can't see how Orbital top Underworld in that respect. There's so much more going on with Underworld, mainly because of Karl Hyde. And the live CD remains a total anomaly, there's nothing like it out there, lyrically and in terms of vocal delivery it's just untouchable in such a weird and great way.

The main reason that Orbital hasn't reached that intangible place between euphoria and despair in the same way that Underworld has is because they're a completely different band and have done so in their own way (see: "The Box", "Adnan's", "The Girl With The Sun In Her HEad", "Out There Somewhere", "Remind", "Impact", "Forever", "I Wish I Had Duck Feet", "Sad But True", "Are We Here?", "Kein Trink Wasser", "Otono", "Spare Parts Express", "Know Where To Run", "Philosophy By Numbers", "Science Friction", "Funny Break", "Last Thing", "Times Fly", "Choice", "Satan", "You Lot", "Meltdown", etc etc etc).

This is the same group that did videos that featuring:
- the band members running through a subway system wearing dog masks;
- a how-to-make-spaghetti recipe that culminated in a house party bust;
- a kick-line of Solid Gold Dancer rejects;
- a blue-skinned alien teen heartthrob band?

To my ears, "The Girl With the Sun in Her Head" and "Lush 3-1/3-2" are so much above anything I've ever heard from Underworld--including a few tracks that I think are amaaaazing, that I don't understand why anyone can choose Underworld instead. The thing I especially love about the former is the multiple layers of the song: I think at one point there are five or six melodic lines all locking together to form this incredibly dense but beautiful melody, while still keeping the groove going.

Is this really turning into a head vs ass debate?

I'm glad someone sorted out those abbreviations.

And Dan is right as to what I imagined DP might stand for.

In fact, I think I've just convinced myself - the reason underworld are better is that orbital, for all their greatness, still always sound like they're making music with computers. Underworld manage to transcend that.

Orbital still win this for me but for probably quite personal reasons. I got into Orbital just before I went to a rave and tried E so this was the music I tried out my new rewired ears on and it was a revelation. And I think Orbital's music is frequently geared toward jawdropping astonishment more deliberately and precisely than pretty much anyone. There's a sense with their best work of the music pushing beyond what it should objectively have been capable of - how, for example, does their token jungle track "Are We Here" manage to be so dazzling, so eardrum-rupturingly percussodelic?

x-post - not only is the end of "Cups" brill, but the immediate switch into "Push Upstairs" is one of my favourite track transitions of all time.

the vocalist(s) on Orbital's 'Otono' were 'Pooka' right? have they done anything else? the first line delivered on that track is just brilliantly spooky and very Goldfrapp-like. i'd like to hear more from the vocalist on 'Funny Break' too if there is any.

A friend I've fallen out of touch with swore by their second album which I think had electronic touches, but I never heard it or even saw it.

I've got an old EP of theirs, called City Sick, which is actually very lovely...one of the few early-90s random cd single purchases I made (when I still bought cd singles) and still go back to. Not sure what else they did. They were just a nice two-girls/two-accoustic guitars duo with deep voices and intricate finger-picking.

ooh, spooky xpost. :)

I don't think a new Orbital track has really given my that head-exploding feeling since MoN - with the possible exceptions of Technologique Park and You Lot. Hearing Two Months Off for the first time gave me far more of a 'wow' factor.

One reason why I like the Everything, Everything version of "Cups" so much is because it jumps straight to that sledgehammer ending after going through the good part of "Juanita". The deep house album version has much to recommend it but I miss the instant adrenaline rush. (Actually, "David" by Gus Gus is ESSENTIAL for those who live and die by the end of "Cups" because it's like that entire synth riff has been turned into a new song.)

Also, the "Times Fly" EP may be one of the greatest pieces of recorded music ever.

i don't like Blue but i'd put those three aforementioned tracks in an Orbital top 30 certainly

One of the things I love unreservedly in Underworld is when they seem to be getting sort of monotonous, just basic techno rumbling along, and then an extraordinary chord or two comes in, and the hair on my neck stands up. It's those magical moments that make me love them most.

Agh, I was trying to express this earlier and you've done it.

That "Dark and Long" single, if taken as a proper album, is their best, IMO.

And "Two Months Off", damn.

"Two Months Off" is the shit, though.

"Two Months Off" is amazing yeah.

Ronan I'm surprised you're so upset by this thread. Orbital are actually really good! It's not some sort of anti-dance thing.

The "Two Months Off" single is excellent but I don't know about the album.

Does your copy of Second Toughest include "Born Slippy (Nuxx)" and "Rez" on a bonus disc? However you get it "Rez" especially is essential.

Opinion appears to be split on Beaucoup Fish... I don't like it all that much either, despite having tried loads. I love the first track and can on occasion enjoy some of it, but it mostly leaves me cold. This thread's interesting for me mainly because loads of people like different things about Underworld.

AHEM!

I like Dirty Guitar a lot.

"Ess Gee", however, is classic Underworld WTF. Maybe "Sola Sistim" too.

(The "you lot" comment was a joke based on my disbelief at the amount of people picking Underworld over Orbital)

now for 100 days off...

Now Orbital has been great - Brown/Snivil/In Sides is an awesome trilogy - but they haven't been up to snuff lately. I didn't like a single track on Middle of Nowhere, and only enjoyed a couple of tracks from the last few albums.

I have to say I'm not a big fan of Orbital's sound/production. They obviously have a soft spot for the pastoral/ethereal side of dance music, and lately their tunes have comes across as fluff to me.

Whereas Beacoup Fish I think really plays around with one's assumption as to what Underworld are by just being so brutally uncompromising and tracky so frequently, and because Karl is so often very aggressive. Like, I find the first four tracks to be a totally emotional suite, but not emotional in the sense that the group inject "rock" emotion into a dance setting - the ebb and flow of intensity is much closer to a DJ set. And I perversely enjoy the fact that the slower tracks are just really odd and unwelcoming - it's like the group want to avoid people finding any sort of "relief" in them. Instead, the slow tracks are the uncomfortably, unsettling moments and the hard-edged tracks are the heart and soul of the album.

I think they have more of a sense of unity from song to song than Massive. Even though you have your brooders and your wtfs in with the big anthemic ones, things flow and make a solid piece. Love Massive, but they don't do that like Underworld (IMO, obv).

I've totally failed to love it even a little on previous attempts.

Orbital tracks, on the other hand, use vocals purely as a melodic, harmonic or textural device - one of the many dodgy things about Illuminate was that it felt so WRONG for Orbital to be using male vocalists singing proper words.

I generally dislike male vocalists in dance music, mind - Black Strobe's weakest tracks are those with that dreadful guy singing over the top.

1) The introduction of that madhouse siren synth during the second iteration of the chorus.

2) "THESE ARE MY INTENTIONS."

The song builds directly into both of those moments and can't come off without them.

Rick Smith is a huge Steve Reich fan so the end of Little Speaker (praised above) can be directly attributed to Mr. Smith's Reich obsession. In fact, there are loads of instances of this Reich-ian repetition in Underworlds tunes.

Underworld are better than Orbital.
Dubno is better than Green Album
STITI is equal to or greater than Brown Album
In Sides/Snivilisation are better than Beaucoup Fish (my least fav. UW album)
AHDO is better than anything Orbital has released in the last 4 years.

UW's recent Peel Session is better than Orbital's recent Peel Session.

Darren Emerson is a terrible, mainstream Tech-House DJ who deserves to rot in "SuperClubs", forever followed by (ex Underworld) on the flyers.

It's simple, set up two playlists on your iPod, one filled with your favorite moments from each band, it's essential that you include the killer remixes Underworld have done (most of their mixes from 92-94) and Orbitals greatest in another playlist (this one is easy because Orbital have never turned out a good remix!)...select a playlist, get on your bike and pedal. Whoever's list makes you want to bike longer, wins. Underworld for me. Tested and true.

what do you call what he plays? it's generic TechHouse to my ears. I have been to several of the huge cheesy clubs in the UK and i don't care to go back...Fabric excluded. I've personally wasted 30bucks on watching Emerson mix (two seperate events) and was disgusted by his obvious track selection. Listen to the recent Underworld hosted John Peel Show to see where the creativity in the band lies..here's a hint, it wasn't with Emerson.

What is this "acoustic version of Born Slippy" that :| mentioned at the top of the thread? I tried the link, but unfortunately it's expired.

tougher pick now imo

still Orbital for me; Underworld made it easier by falling the fuck off with their most recent album

ha! Orbital fell the fuck off like three albums ago, dan
best of underworld >>>> best of orbital

I mean if I had to throw out everything by one or the other it's absolutely no contest

juanita/kiteless/to dream of love vs out there somewhere

Underworld.

More human.Superior tunes on the whole. Better live.

Love them both though.

So much that I haven't bought the last Underworld. Read too many 6s,3 stars etc.
Maybe I should make my own mind up

Oblivion With Bells, live discs available through LiveHereNow, internet radio broadcasts with live jams of loads of old tunes = Underworld all the way. new album is great. Peach Tree + Loads of Birds are great b-sides. plenty of amazing music coming from Lemonworld studios still.

orbital because 1) better 2) no shitty 'stream-of-consciousness' lyrical bs.

wow, just found this thread and it's a tough choice indeed.

I have to pick Underworld because they're my favorite band ever, but Orbital IMO were the only electronic act that came close to them; stuff like Chemical Bros. and Aphex were good too but these two stood above everyone, mainly because everything they do goes down so smooth

This would be a lot harder choice if Orbital's Live in Glastonbury album was anywhere near Everything, Everything!! I really anticipated great things there but it's all audience boots which sucks hard

seriously tough choice but I find myself coming back to underworld a whole lot more than orbital.

What would settle this for me would be if someone could point me to a collection of Underworld just-the-vocals mixes.

Sugar box. sugar boy.
Riding in. sugar box.
Sugar boy.
Handheld candle.
Sugar boy.
Your rails.
You're thin.
Your thin paper wings.
Your thin paper wings.
In the wind.
Dangling.
Your sun.
Fly high.
Your window shattered in the wind.
Your coca cola sign rattling.

Remember "spoken word" albums?

Yeah, the vocals ultimately are what put this over the top for me. There are some good Orbital vocal tracks like "Halycon", but UW just had an ace up their sleeve and that's Hyde. Really one of the best vocalists not just in that scene but in any kind of music. Even when he was in Freur he was pretty good.

I'm trying to think of beloved Orbital tracks with male vocals; I think the closest you get are the samples on "Satan"

Oh frogbs, I'm sorry dude, I wasn't serious. I mean, I can't stand Underworld's vocals, even though everything else is sublime.

lol I had no idea! I love the way "Juanita" is sung. You almost never hear someone point to the vocals as a weak point!

xxp: remember "Illuminate"?

"Fiie-wurrks, in the buu, yonnn der maa ee-yooo now shoow me where the reea-liii is"

Naw, 'sdifferent strokes and all, but it frustrates me. Not enough to keep me from listening to Underworld, but it seems like an odd fit - you make such beautiful instrumental music, why do you want to talk too?

Considering I've never encountered who had anything positive to say about "Illuminate", I'm not really counting that one; I think I'm the only Orbital fan alive who doesn't hate it.

I kind of like it!! It's really dumb but kind of funny and better than most of the stuff on that album.

I did have another listen to "Satan" yesterday...can't believe that track is 20 years old!! So many great beats; such a "heads up" style of production

yeah, their early singles are nonstop O_O

I listen to "Chime" and am just blown away, it still sounds like it came from the future.

I don't really like the original mix of it anymore; the "Live Style" mix on their latest comp speeds it up a bit and kind of rearranges the beats, IMO that's the one that really gets me.

Just kinda goin through all their albums now since I'm writing a review page on them. I forgot how "album oriented" the Brown album was; I don't even know if I like the singles outside of the context of the album so much. The way it flows from one track to the next is so perfect.