yes, this once diehard orbital fan was extremely disappointed with 'the
altogether'. i was so looking forward to one more huge techno opera to
soundtrack the summer but it flopped miserably for me and just about
everyone i know. it's actually very difficult for me & my wife to listen to
most of the tracks. i can't even name them because i never wanted to take
the time to get to know them. too many cack samples and cackier
arrangements. i generally fast-forward to track 6 as it's the closest to
being an enjoyable listen for me, and it's still filler. from there i 'bear
with' dr-who and maybe listen to the last one - that one (meltdown?) could
be fleshed-out quite nicely so i'm still hopeful for the extended version on
dvd.
and about their studio version of dr. who? why did they go and ruin a good
memory from their live shows from '99? there's far too much resonance
applied to the filtering on certain parts...when the drumtrack drops in you
expect it to knock you down but it's mixed in a way that renders it rather
un-punchy...also the patterns change directions very suddenly at certain
points where it really makes no sense - it just doesn't seem that musical.
a crappy 64kps file of the live version recorded from what must be the
restroom comes across SO much smoother, immediate & straightforward.
sigh.
they just can't be the same hartnoll brothers who gave us lush, halcyon &
out there somewhere. still, they DO put on a fantastic live show and i hear
a us tour is planned for the fall. please no horrific jocktronica openers!
for some straight-up 100% idm content - go forth and purchase this if you
haven't already: psi performer - "art is a division of pain" w/remixes from
plod, jake mandell, solvent & multicast - damn it's a good record! already
wearing out the solvent side, and still waiting patiently for a suction
records night *anywhere* in CA...
ray