Under rated Chems albums/tracks?

[Mippio]

ello ello

Now that it's been 23 years (!) since the very first Chems album, I was wondering thinking back over their long and illustrious career are there any albums or tracks you feel didn't get the love they deserve?

was listening back to We Are The Night the other day, and it struck me how many absolutely awesome the whole thing is, with some stone cold classic tracks on there from start to finish. it's got a real other-worldly feel to it, very woozy with some amazingly well written melodies/grooves. i enjoyed listening to it at the time, but I feel as time's gone on it's aged really well and is up there with DYOH/Surrender for me in terms of classics. whereas PTB for example hasn't aged quite as well (IMHO).

i'd also like to add the track BITE. for me it's one of the best tracks they've ever written and sums them up - that mix of electronic/organic, druggy vibe, surprising sounds and some genuine machine fun goin' on.

what's yours?!?!?!?!?!?!

[Bosco]

'Theme for Velodrome', the entire 'Hanna' Soundtrack, 'Further', and if I haven't made it clear enough already, 'Go'.


In retrospect the entire 'Further' era, and the period after, kinda felt like a renaissance. I suppose this only makes sense to those who think 'Exit Planet Dust' - 'Come With Us' was the golden era of studio albums.

'Hanna' soundtrack is damn great. 'Container Park' is amongst their best work.

'Go', was love at first listen for me. It's the only time I felt like a Chemical Brothers track could break the barrier of (US) top 40 radio. At a time where aging artists struggle for an audience, I'm baffled how lightly this track was marketed. What I presume most of you think is melodic cheese, was actually an easily digestible and contagious melody. I can't help but feel they missed out on a major payday.

[Enjoyed]

'Go', was love at first listen for me. It's the only time I felt like a Chemical Brothers track could break the barrier of (US) top 40 radio. At a time where aging artists struggle for an audience, I'm baffled how lightly this track was marketed. What I presume most of you think is melodic cheese, was actually an easily digestible and contagious melody. I can't help but feel they missed out on a major payday.

Agree with you completely. Was pretty enamoured with it when it came out, and I remember talking to friends who usually couldn't give two hoots about the music I was interested in about this great new Chemical Brothers track they had heard on the radio. "You like The Chemical Brothers, right? They have a new song on the radio!" - telling me as if I maybe didn't know yet.
My friends loved it, I loved it. But they just kind of let it out and left it a little. It definitely made its way into a number of places. BBC music in the background, commercials, I heard it in bars and clubs, but it never really seemed to reach the level of, say 'Up All Night', which I think it had a pretty could chance of at least trying to compete with. Weird one.
I actually think the video REALLY didn't help...

In terms of underrated. I would argue Come With Us in its entirety is hugely underrated, certainly for a lot of people on here (love you, guys).
Not many people talk about H.I.A., which I've always loved. It grows in such a driving way. It's kind of weirdly compressed into itself as well and I love that.
Theme for Velodrome is one of the best things they've released in the last 10 years. It's super sweaty and delicious.

[Bosco]

I actually think the video REALLY didn't help...

Yup, although I'm not sure how much influence music videos have nowadays. I like Michel Gondry's vision typically, but they should have gone with a more mainstream style upon realizing the song was marketable. Maybe even invite Q-Tip to star in video.

[WhiteNoise]

Reflexion to me is the third in a trilogy involving Burst Generator and Escape Velocity, and I definitely feel it still hasn't gotten enough love. It's definitely the Return of the Jedi of the trilogy in terms of quality, but still a classic.

I don't feel like Orange Wedge or Surrender get enough love! Or Surrender's sister The Diamond Sky, among their best B-Sides.

Let Me In Mate is also a great song that should have made it onto a bigger release.

Where's Geoff so he can bring up Clip Kiss?

In retrospect the entire 'Further' era, and the period after, kinda felt like a renaissance. I suppose this only makes sense to those who think 'Exit Planet Dust' - 'Come With Us' was the golden era of studio albums.

'Hanna' soundtrack is damn great. 'Container Park' is amongst their best work.

'Go', was love at first listen for me. It's the only time I felt like a Chemical Brothers track could break the barrier of (US) top 40 radio. At a time where aging artists struggle for an audience, I'm baffled how lightly this track was marketed. What I presume most of you think is melodic cheese, was actually an easily digestible and contagious melody. I can't help but feel they missed out on a major payday.

agree with literally all of this, though I don't think Further has ever been underrated. I see it brought up often in conversations about how it's their best "new" work and one of their best albums, like as a proof to detractors that they haven't gotten worse with age.

was listening back to We Are The Night the other day, and it struck me how many absolutely awesome the whole thing is, with some stone cold classic tracks on there from start to finish. it's got a real other-worldly feel to it, very woozy with some amazingly well written melodies/grooves. i enjoyed listening to it at the time, but I feel as time's gone on it's aged really well and is up there with DYOH/Surrender for me in terms of classics.

Another big agree. The synthwork and atmosphere of WATN is incredible, and I think would be considered one of their most cohesive and best works had the singles been so wildly different from the album cuts. People judged WATN by Do It Again and Salmon Dance and got the wrong idea of it.

[whirlygirl]

Ah, good topic for retrospective chat! I'm not sure if We Are The Night is underrated, but maybe it might not get as much appreciation as I think it deserves! In its entirety, it is my favorite Chemical Brothers album. Lots of memories associated with it, very bittersweet in some ways, elated in most ways, bordering on ridiculous with that Salmon Dance nonesense - I love it all. So. Much. And don't get me started on its lush, otherworldly soundscapes. It has aged gracefully. We Are The Night is one of those albums for me that feels like going home when I listen to it. OK, I'll shut up now about We Are The Night!

Underrated for me would be Marco Ging (It has such an organic, childlike feel, and also feels so bright and lovely). Giant is another for me, as is Spring. HIA. Container Park.

I'm sure there are others but I'll be here all night if I don't stop...

[neorev]

I'm with @whirlygirl
Also a huge We Are The Night fan.

I love how We Are The Night has the same noisy tweak sound from The Sunshine Underground, almost to say this album is the darker brother of Surrender in a way.

I absolutely love The Salmon Dance. I don't care what anyone says, that song is fun and quite genius. I see a lot of folks praise Push The Button and I think We Are The Night is so much better. We Are The Night and Further, the Chems were getting back into their prime here for me.

My wife is also a huge fan of WATN and love The Salmon Dance.

[Bosco]

Not that anyone asked...

I've given WATN several chances, and I mean several. The album just doesn't click for me. I could go through my feelings from track to track, but I respect you guys and I hate to discourage people from what they like.

I will say, it's not 'Salmon Dance' that does it in for me. 'All Rights Reversed' and 'Do It Again' are tracks I just can't enjoy. That being said, 'Do It Again' does redeem itself in the live realm.

Listening to the album in whole, is just exhausting for me.

[Wolkenkrabber]

^ I can't even disagree with your criticisms Bosco. Even though I enjoyed Klaxons' "Myths Of The Near Future", I didn't dig them on a Chems album. WATN is neither my least nor most favourite, BUT it's worth pointing out the tracks that you haven't mentioned:
Title track
Saturate
Burst Generator AND A Modern Midnight conversation. I always seem to group these two together, and they are the combined highlight/centrepiece of the album for me.
Das Spiegel, Battle Scars, Harpoons and The Pills are all pretty decent too.
So it's an album that defies my original expectations, and I gave it minimal listens at the time of release. But I enjoy going back to it now, almost like a surprise gift that I forgot about.

[WhiteNoise]

'Go', was love at first listen for me. It's the only time I felt like a Chemical Brothers track could break the barrier of (US) top 40 radio. At a time where aging artists struggle for an audience, I'm baffled how lightly this track was marketed. What I presume most of you think is melodic cheese, was actually an easily digestible and contagious melody. I can't help but feel they missed out on a major payday.

I love it too - still wish it was a bit more mad, especially in the bridge, but the song is great. As a frequent DJ on campus it goes down well at nearly every event I'm at.

This surprised me to find out today: Go is actually the most played Chemical Brothers song of all time - above Hey Boy Hey Girl, Galvanize, and well above Block Rockin Beats - on Spotify:



(Block Rockin Beats may still win, considering this is just the number of plays on the Brotherhood version, not including the album version and the thousands of compilations its on)

[Stefan]

No Need definitely doesnt't get enough love. I bought the single of DIA just for this track.

[Owa]

Quite agree on we are the night, wich in terms of sound design,variety & consistency is my 3rd favorite after Surrender & Dig your own hole. This album got awesome tracks "we are the night" & "burst generator" are exemples.

For tracks, i think i'm the only one who got a deep love for "in dust we trust". I never understand why they never tested it live (have some ideas but not sure). It really rocks and i think it is one of the most underrated one. Everything is good about this track wich i way prefer to Leave Home or Dig your own hole as "big beat" reference (we all know the best is "Elektrobank"  )

Here some b-sides, albums tracjs or remixes underrated for me
HIA,
Swastika Eyes remix
I think i'm in love remix (my favorite Chems one)
Marvo Ging
Electronic battle weapon 5 aka it began in afrika (wich opening is in my top 5 build up by the chems)
Electronic battle weapon 6
Lost in the k-hole
Pioneer skies

[Wolkenkrabber]

This surprised me to find out today: Go is actually the most played Chemical Brothers song of all time...on Spotify:

* Of All Time = since Spotify became popular around 2012 or something.

I'm sorry to add that - having just encouraged someone on the forum to sign up to Spotify - clearly their listeners are (mostly) dicks. Take a look at the track with the least number of plays in that list of ten (What order are they listed in? It's not popularity). And then take a look at the track immediately above it in the list. 'Nuff said.

[Conn6orsuper117]

Prescription beats is (mostly because its a B-Side) and Get Up on it like this. I also wish Nude Night got some love as well.

[WhiteNoise]

Not that anyone asked...

I've given WATN several chances, and I mean several. The album just doesn't click for me. I could go through my feelings from track to track, but I respect you guys and I hate to discourage people from what they like.

I will say, it's not 'Salmon Dance' that does it in for me. 'All Rights Reversed' and 'Do It Again' are tracks I just can't enjoy. That being said, 'Do It Again' does redeem itself in the live realm.

Listening to the album in whole, is just exhausting for me.

I get this, and I want to reinforce Skyscraper's response. When I think of We Are The Night, I think of these songs:

We Are The Night
Saturate
Das Spiegel
Burst Generator
A Modern Midnight Conversation
Harpoons
The Pills Won't Help You Now
Seal
No Need

(the last two since I originally always listened to the Japan edition)

And to me, that's an incredible album, with wonderful cohesive psychedelic synthwork and a really iconic sound bridging the tunes. I almost never listen to Do It Again, All Rights Reversed, Battle Scars (which I still like) and The Salmon Dance in the context of the album, and when I think of any of those 4 songs, I genuinely don't associate them with the album at all.

So that's not fair to the album itself - the album is what it is, and justly should be weighed down by its inconsistency - but I can't help but only think of those 10 great songs when I think of We Are The Night, and it forever holds a higher place in my rankings thanks to that.

We Are The Night is their most underrated album, hidden beneath oddball singles.

[neorev]

@Bosco
@Wolkenkrabber

Your experience with We Are The Night is how I feel about Push The Button. I've tried and tried and just cannot get into Push The Button at all. I can't make it through a track. Think it's their weakest album. None of the tracks work for me, except for maybe Surface To Air. But enjoy Snow/Surface To Air a lot more. After my experience with Push The Button, We Are The Night was a breath of fresh air. I really do love WATN.

Further was definitely the renaissance for me. It's not perfect, but the closest they got to that classic Chems sound. Hanna was great a well.

Only two albums I found weak. The rest of their albums I enjoyed, just some more than others. But Push The Button and Born In The Echoes bore me. I hold Born In The Echoes just above Push The Button as I enjoyed a couple of tracks off it, but still a weak album. The rest of their albums I can put on and play from front to back. But these two, very skippable.

[Bendy1001]

Playground for a Wedgeless Firm. It's not a standout track from the album, but it's damn funky and works really well as the last song before the closer. In that way it it's a lot like Harpoons & Surrender.

Also have to agree with the love for Burst Generator & Reflexion. Two of my favourites from the brothers!

[ThePumisher]

Hard nuts

For Prodigy, it would be easy for me => AONO, hated it when it was released, but did a spin on it ten years later and was overwhelmed by it and actually would place it on the same position as TFOTL is.

But the Brothers? I think i would go with Come With Us. It's far better than Surrender, but not even gets the same attention. Think this is because of the missing of a super well known track like Hey Boy Hey Hey Girl - even though you got some bangers like the title track, Afrika, Galaxy and Hoops on it as well as some of the most chemical songs you can find anywhere => Star Guitar & The Test. And don't forget the classy The State We're In, which fitet so perfectly in Lost In Translation. And all those dope b-sides => Hot Acid Rhythm, Base 6 & H.I.A.. Oh, and did i mention that i first see the Brothers live on the CWU-Tour (2001/08/18, Bizarre Festival, Weeze, Germany)?

[WhiteNoise]

Come With Us. It's far better than Surrender

[neorev]

@WhiteNoise
LOL

Yeah, sorry, nothing is better than Surrender