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Track Listings
| Disc: 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Who's to Blame | |||
| 2. Born Spirit | |||
| 3. For the One | |||
| 4. Femme Fatale | |||
| 5. Life Of A Refugee | |||
| 6. Non-Resistance | |||
| 7. Plants And Leaves | |||
| 8. Sea Of Change | |||
| 9. Quiet Revolution | |||
| 10. No Pain | |||
See all 14 tracks on this disc
| |||
| Disc: 2 | |||
| 1. Confession | |||
| 2. Crash | |||
| 3. Clouds | |||
| 4. Kindness | |||
| 5. Recovery | |||
| 6. Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson | |||
| 7. I Am A Spy | |||
| 8. The Beast | |||
Product Description
Review
Sample based music, or at least that which samples other people's music seems to have reached a bit of an impasse these days. Confined either to the rarified post modern collisions dreamt up by the likes of John Oswald, the dancefloor ironies of the Ninja Tune crowd or the abstractions of Matmos et althe overall impression is of sometimes clever but ultimately cold navel gazing exercises.
The Broadway Project (aka Dan Berridge) has a different idea; take a few of your favourite records,cut them up alittle and then play lots of bits of them together. No post modernist agenda (save a few political references to Human Rights issues), and some of the records are pretty well known, almost iconic (Brian Eno, 10cc, Alice Coltrane, Harold Budd, Nick Drake).
Compassion (originally released last year and now reissued with extra tracks culled from earlier singles) is little short of a masterpiece. Though Berridge's approach seems casual, his results are pure alchemy. Either he's very lucky, or he's not at all casual and spends hours and hours in a darkened bedroom hunched over his PC, timestretching, pitchshifting and all the rest of it. Who knows, and really it doesn't matter.
So what does it sound like ? It's complex, deeply atmospheric, sometimes dark but deliriously beautiful throughout. Even when his sources are instantly recognisable (Eno, 10cc)or more esoteric (Spirit, Stomu Yamashta) Berridge's handling of them produces something new; there's a real sense that he loves and respects the material he's dealing with, and more importantly he's heard a way of re-presenting it.
Often powered by downtempo grooves, Berridge spins plangent electric pianos, big cinematic strings, hysterical guitar rockisms and spoken word into a dense, heady brew that makes most sample based music seem stifling, impersonal and irrelevant. --Peter Marsh
Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
Product Description
2CD
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Audio CD
This is unequivocably one of the best albums from the dance/electronica left-field in the last five years and rival to DJ Shadow's Endtroducing as the high-point in sample-based instrumental music. Remarkably lush and always greater than a sum of its parts, Dan Berridge developes an astonishing melting pot of sound: broken, jazzy drum beats, crackling vinyl, haunted string segments, Ella Fitzgerald/Ertha Kitt-style 'borrowed' vocals, woozy tenor sax and mournful trumpets, and splices of rock guitar. From the swirling, creaking psychedelics of 'Born spirit' and the beautifully-sampled vocals and crackly acoustics of 'For the one', to the synthesiser-led lament of 'Life of a refugee' and literally heart-breaking 'London broken heart' - this album is constantly engaging and surprising in its use of samples (from Faith No More to Enio Morricone) and epic vision. Apparently this album was made while Berridge was suffering from the fatigue syndrome ME, and the album evokes a sadness and compassion for the state of planet as witnessed on television through the eyes of the bed-bound and world-weary. I cannot recommend this album enough, it has to be heard to be believed.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By B. Lasnier
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Audio CD
Compassion was first released at the beginning of last year, and received rave reviews then. After the initial copies sold out, and ahead of the second album, due out later this year, London based Memphis Industries are now finally re-releasing this classic with an additional CD, built around excerpts of rare EPs and unreleased tracks.
Brainchild of Dan Berridge, Broadway Project first emerged in 1999 with a handful of astonishing 12", followed by an album at the beginning of 2001. Dark, atmospheric and melodic, Compassion drew comparisons with artists as diverse as Tom Waits, Portishead, Boards Of Canada or Pink Floyd. Extremely ambitious, this album fuses jazz, avant-rock, experimental electronic, clever vocal samples and cinematic strings without compromising the integrity of the compositions. From the first moments of the dramatic Who's To Blame to the last bars of No Religion, Berridge continuously plays on the combined intensity of melodies, arrangements and vocal performances, offering some of the richest and most luxurious soundscapes heard in years. Berridge doesn't simply juxtapose genres; he truly integrates them to create a truly unique experience, building little vignettes of breathtaking beauty. From the apparent simplicity of Femme Fatale or Life Of A Refugee to the more open intricacy of Non-Resistance, with its vibrant contemporary orchestral harmonies, or the poignant London Broken Heart, Compassion amazes, moves, surprises and captivates endlessly with wonderful orchestrations and atmospheric melodies.
The additional recordings included on the second CD offer a slight different angle on Berridge's music. If the sound is as magnificent, the mood is lighter and fresher.... Read more ›
Brainchild of Dan Berridge, Broadway Project first emerged in 1999 with a handful of astonishing 12", followed by an album at the beginning of 2001. Dark, atmospheric and melodic, Compassion drew comparisons with artists as diverse as Tom Waits, Portishead, Boards Of Canada or Pink Floyd. Extremely ambitious, this album fuses jazz, avant-rock, experimental electronic, clever vocal samples and cinematic strings without compromising the integrity of the compositions. From the first moments of the dramatic Who's To Blame to the last bars of No Religion, Berridge continuously plays on the combined intensity of melodies, arrangements and vocal performances, offering some of the richest and most luxurious soundscapes heard in years. Berridge doesn't simply juxtapose genres; he truly integrates them to create a truly unique experience, building little vignettes of breathtaking beauty. From the apparent simplicity of Femme Fatale or Life Of A Refugee to the more open intricacy of Non-Resistance, with its vibrant contemporary orchestral harmonies, or the poignant London Broken Heart, Compassion amazes, moves, surprises and captivates endlessly with wonderful orchestrations and atmospheric melodies.
The additional recordings included on the second CD offer a slight different angle on Berridge's music. If the sound is as magnificent, the mood is lighter and fresher.... Read more ›
5.0 out of 5 stars
Compassion is an epic, haunting album, an ambitiously unique sound with brushes of outstanding beauty.
27 Jan 2011
Format:Audio CD
Broadway Project was formed by Dan Berridge in 2000 in Bristol, UK. The music was a reaction to the perceived blandness and lack of sincerity in most sampled music at that time. With his first release, Compassion, Berridge created a unique sound, full of soul and melancholia.
Apparently Compassion was made when Berridge was suffering from the fatigue syndrome ME, and the album reflects his journey in coping through his illness and seeing the world through the television whilst he was bed-bound.
Reminiscent of the enigmatic sound of Portishead, Broadway Project is a cinematic mixture of Hip-Hop, Electronica, Rock, and Jazz. Compassion is a heady mix of sounds; jazz drum beats, strips of rock guitar, crackling vinyl, haunting string arrangements, mournful trumpets and different styles of vocal samples. There is a bewildering selection of samples, some well known such as Faith No More, Brian Eno, 10cc, Alice Coltrane, Nick Drake or Ennio Morricone, as well as more obscure samples from Spirit, Stomu Yamashta, and Harold Budd.
Compassion is a luxurious, and at times intense experience. From the first moments of the dramatic 'Who's to blame' to the last song 'No religion', Berridge continuously plays on the combined intensity of melodies, arrangements and vocals, creating some of the richest soundscapes I've heard in years.
The album begins with an Asian or Middle Eastern flute, and a dreamy vocal sample which dominates the haunting 'Who's to blame', overlayed with fuzzy guitars, whispering bells, and cracked strings into a dramatic wall of sound. 'Born spirit' is a subtle low-slung jazz reworking of Spirit's 'The other song', possibly the grooviest song on the album.... Read more ›
Apparently Compassion was made when Berridge was suffering from the fatigue syndrome ME, and the album reflects his journey in coping through his illness and seeing the world through the television whilst he was bed-bound.
Reminiscent of the enigmatic sound of Portishead, Broadway Project is a cinematic mixture of Hip-Hop, Electronica, Rock, and Jazz. Compassion is a heady mix of sounds; jazz drum beats, strips of rock guitar, crackling vinyl, haunting string arrangements, mournful trumpets and different styles of vocal samples. There is a bewildering selection of samples, some well known such as Faith No More, Brian Eno, 10cc, Alice Coltrane, Nick Drake or Ennio Morricone, as well as more obscure samples from Spirit, Stomu Yamashta, and Harold Budd.
Compassion is a luxurious, and at times intense experience. From the first moments of the dramatic 'Who's to blame' to the last song 'No religion', Berridge continuously plays on the combined intensity of melodies, arrangements and vocals, creating some of the richest soundscapes I've heard in years.
The album begins with an Asian or Middle Eastern flute, and a dreamy vocal sample which dominates the haunting 'Who's to blame', overlayed with fuzzy guitars, whispering bells, and cracked strings into a dramatic wall of sound. 'Born spirit' is a subtle low-slung jazz reworking of Spirit's 'The other song', possibly the grooviest song on the album.... Read more ›
1 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Audio CD
This is music that makes you think as well as feel, a multidimensional and emotive journey that weaves an evocative web around the listener. This album reveals more about itself each time it is played, the musical layers slowly opening up to expose it's central theme - Compassion. A feeling is hard to describe, especially one so complex as compassion, but this album manages to convey the essence through it's beautifully crafted songs. In our world today where compassion is a rare thing, this album should be compulsory listening.
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4.5 out of 5 stars
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