- Audio CD (26 Feb 2001)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Label: Universal / Island
- ASIN: B00004YTY4
- Other Editions: Audio CD | Vinyl | MP3 Download
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 104,628 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Product details |
Track Listings
| 1. Once More |
| 2. Promis |
| 3. Ghostdancing |
| 4. Turn It Down |
| 5. Egnable |
| 6. Firestar |
| 7. A Mile Long Lump of Lard |
| 8. Centuries |
| 9. Plum Island |
| 10. Hamlet of Kings |
| 11. 1, 1, 1 |
| 12. Thursday's Keeper |
| 13. Terminus |
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Back in the mid 1990s, the release of a new Orb album would have been something of an event. By 2001, most people had probably forgotten that they still existed (their last album was released in 1997). Some music critics even questioned the band's relevance in the 21st century. In an age of sophisticated chill-out tastes, could the Orb still cut it? From the evidence on Cydonia, the answer is a resounding yes. Three years in the making, the album sees main man Alex Paterson fusing rolling dub basslines and classic Orb ambience with crisp breaks, shimmering synths and off-kilter electronics. There are spacious vocal numbers (singers Aki and Nina Walsh sound remarkably like Bjork), short, dub-house instrumentals and spooky, other-worldly drum and bass pieces. It's like rave-era ambient house given a 21st century makeover. It's hardly revolutionary, but that's not the point. As far as space-age chill-out music goes, the Orb are still in a class of their own.--Matt Anniss
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An unbelievably underrated stonker!,
By
This review is from: Cydonia (Audio CD)
The harsh dressing-down this received from reviewers at the time was horribly undeserved. This is perhaps the greatest example of ambient dub in the world today.This album is more consistent and memorable than Orbilivion, and carries more ballast than all of its predeccessors, yet it still remains too ice-cool to be commercial. After lots of trouble, The Orb released this 2 years late, and hence failed to capitalise on the success of Orblivion. However, aside this- they released "Once More" in 2001, with mechanical melodies and some really odd vocals. Fortunately the track is a real grower and is well worth relistening to, just to discover the intricate nature of its production. This is also the lead track on this album, wonferully titled "Cydonia". It's follower, "Promis" is an utterly superb drum n'bass track, with lashings of the odd but effective sounds you come to know and love. "Ghostdancing" is a slightly less effective track, which meanders rather than thrusts but is still a stock album track with nice moments. Tracks like Egnable also highlights the consistent failure to take temselves seriously, and is a humorous romp with an excellent sample. Album highlights among the many are "A Mile Long Lump Of Lard", which is a mutating industrial epic, the blissfully relaxed "Centuries", proving that vocals and a beat do not mean a lack of ambience, "Hamlet Of Kings", a classic orb ambient dub track, and the finale- "Terminus", which is quite honestly so fantastic it would fit on "The Orbs adventures beyond the ultraworld"
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good value reissue with soem interesting alternative versions,
By
This review is from: Cydonia (Audio CD)
If you liked it the first time around then this reissue is a must. The second disc includes some wildly different interpretations, plus the Scourge of The Earth (Caulty) remix of Once More, which I think only appeared on vinyl originally. Disc 2 almost works as an album in its own right, but Disc 1 is still the real business (apart from the silly Egnable, but you can program that out if you wish).
Not always classic Orb, and includes first real foray into vocal tracks (guest vocalists), but more varied than Orblivion and far more accessible than Pomme Fritz. They followed with the dreamy Bicycles and then the dub-tastic Dream, so the Orb are still very much around. However this is a solid album and the reissue is well mastered. One slight gripe, the original photographic artwork (and front cover type) is slightly soft-focus now, almost like a case of bad copying (?!), which detracts very slightly from an otherwise strong package and extended liner notes.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Some good bits, some bad. Worth buying for the good bits.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Cydonia (Audio CD)
There's a real duality in this CD. In my opinion the tracks are either very good or very bad, with nothing in between. In fact some of the dropped tracks like Ralf are better then many included on the release version. Why drop Ralf then? Well I guess this happens all the time with bands and lables agreeing on a final track list.Don't let me put you off though. As I've said there are some stunning examples of Orb at their best, Terminus for example is a beautiful piece of music and I'd buy the CD just for that as it'll never in a million years be released as a single. Now true orb fans just have to put up with people saying, "Oh I like lead singers voice".
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