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Product details
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Track Listings
| 1. Dream [Rhythm and Gardening Mix] |
| 2. Vuja De |
| 3. Something Supernatural |
| 4. Beautiful Day |
| 5. Ddd [Dirty Disco Dub] |
| 6. Truth is... |
| 7. Phantom of Ukraine |
| 8. Mother Nature |
| 9. Lost & Found |
| 10. Forest of Lyonesse |
| 11. Katskills |
| 12. High Noon |
| 13. Sleeping Tiger & the Gods Unknown |
| 14. Codes |
| 15. Orbisonia |
Product Description
Review
Three years after their last album, the ambient dub spaceship, The Orb, drifts back onto our radars. The floating duo has been shorn of Thomas Fehlmann; replaced by old-time collaborator, producer and bass maverick, Martin 'Youth' Glover. And with other old shipmates like System 7 guitar wrangler, Steve Hillage, on board it's no surprise that The Dream is a return to the dubby, post-rave, sample-heavy playfulness of the band's earlier triumphs. Yet it comes with a lighter more danceable touch than recent offerings. Maybe it's the re-assertion of Alex Paterson's playful approach to sample-ology, after the dominance of Fehlmann's more dour, minimal electronica that graced 2005's Okie Dokie!, but for some reason one comes away from this album with a sense of nostalgia.
With Paterson now 48 and Youth (ho ho) 47, it's no surprise that there's a whiff of if not dad-rock, then dad-rave about all this. Tracks like the single Vuja De and DDD/DDD put one in mind of nothing less than Primal Scream's seminal rock/rave moment, Screamadelica, with their gospel-y, life-affirming exhortations. It's not helped that Paterson's choice of samples runs the rather obvious gamut from chemical nudge-nudge, wink-wink stuff to sounds that that reference prog. The title track opens with a guitar line snatched from Caravan's Winter Wine, while The Truth Is!features radio evangelist, The Prophet Omega, who first appeared on the solo albums of King Crimson's Adrian Belew. It also has the same sample that graced their finest moment, 1992's The Blue Room.
Yet, it's not all backwards-facing. Katskills comes close to dubstep, showing that Paterson hasn't just been at home browsing through his old Gong albums. As mood-enhancing standard-bearers The Orb still have a deft touch. While the towers of dub still stand tall on tracks such as Lost & Found or the shimmering High Noon, the real surprises are on the free-form snippets (The Forest Of Lyonesse, Sleeping Tiger & The Gods Unknown). And when they stretch out and well, blow their own minds with the 6-minute Orbisonia, you're left wishing they could have made an entire album like this.
Long-time space voyagers are going to be perfectly at home with The Dream. As to whether they still have a place in these darker, less optimistic days remains to be seen. --Chris Jones
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I'd almost given up on Alex's work, but then almost out of the blue he's started working with Youth and Steve Hillage again, and the result is quite simply marvellous!
I wasn't sure about it at first, but The Dream has really, really grown on me (unlike the last 10+ years worth of material - OK, must admit that I'm more of 89-92 period Orb Fan). In fact I'm addicted, and I have no intention of quitting! The Dream is warm, groovy, wacky and mellow in all the right proportions. Encore!
I wasn't sure about it at first, but The Dream has really, really grown on me (unlike the last 10+ years worth of material - OK, must admit that I'm more of 89-92 period Orb Fan). In fact I'm addicted, and I have no intention of quitting! The Dream is warm, groovy, wacky and mellow in all the right proportions. Encore!
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This is almost the antithesis of Okie Dokie, what was sparse minimal and ambient but an empty feel to the music is now a rich beautiful landscape of electronica, ambient, dub, raggae, world and ethnic influences sometimes all at once blended into a track - samples, guitar lines and vocals come in and out of view - one or two tracks are just jaw-dropping especially; The Dream, Codes, Katskills and Orbisonia. The track Vuja De is the closest thing they've done to a single since the days of Once More.
Yet again they've discovered a new area, a new sound - the closest I can approximate this album to in sound is parts of Bicycles and Tricycles but it feels more complete an ambition fulfilled. I have one or two gripes, on occassion the female 'soul' vocals seem out of place such as the track 'Mother Nature' and 'A Beautiful Day' and the raggae vocals get annoying sometimes. i like the cheesy pads on 'A Beautiful Day' very porn-film esque. I like the dripping textures. The beats are not dub but there is a feel of dub about some of the tracks. Codes reminded me of 'A mile long lump of lard' updated.
A magnificent effort Alex, you have veered away from The Orb's slightly dated past few works. This has brought everything up to date. I still feel they could have done with Thomas Fehlmann's efforts on co-production but I hope they keep this form up into the next album and use Thomas as well!
Yet again they've discovered a new area, a new sound - the closest I can approximate this album to in sound is parts of Bicycles and Tricycles but it feels more complete an ambition fulfilled. I have one or two gripes, on occassion the female 'soul' vocals seem out of place such as the track 'Mother Nature' and 'A Beautiful Day' and the raggae vocals get annoying sometimes. i like the cheesy pads on 'A Beautiful Day' very porn-film esque. I like the dripping textures. The beats are not dub but there is a feel of dub about some of the tracks. Codes reminded me of 'A mile long lump of lard' updated.
A magnificent effort Alex, you have veered away from The Orb's slightly dated past few works. This has brought everything up to date. I still feel they could have done with Thomas Fehlmann's efforts on co-production but I hope they keep this form up into the next album and use Thomas as well!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I love this album and have been playing it to death. I usually re-burn my purchases to cut out the "filler tracks" but this album is all good. Start to finish. Everyone who comes to the house asks what's playing. This album has all that's good about ambient, dub with heavy reggae and world influences. This sounds more like Dreadzone re-mixed by The Orb than the more sci-fi style "Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld" and I assume that's why some people have marked it down as it may not have been what they expected.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Will's review
I bought this as a present for my son who is 'into' The Orb but I play it all the time. Perhaps a slight change of genre on The Dream but some great tracks, particularly tracks 4... Read more
Published on 10 Nov 2009 by WK
The Orb "The Dream"
If you have been a fan of The Orbs early work then avoid this like the the plague.An odd and really quite a poor effort and not up to the usual standard you expect from the gods of... Read more
Published on 18 Jan 2009 by Inverted Syrup
It's no nightmare!
Having listened to Adventures beyond the Ultraworld until I knew every note - I wondered if any future album would live up to this benchmark. Read more
Published on 13 Aug 2008 by A. Smith
Not bad, not bad: worth a listen.
On "The Dream" Dr. Paterson et al continue with the sound settled on with 1997's "Orblivion," only in my opinion this is the superior album. Read more
Published on 7 Jun 2008 by E. Smith
Stunning
Quite simply, this is The Orb's best album for many years and a stunning return to form...
More sober, beats inspired and infectious than AP's music has been over the... Read more
More sober, beats inspired and infectious than AP's music has been over the... Read more
Published on 6 Jun 2008 by Robster
Brilliant
What can i say about this album, it easily the best album since UFORB. The Orb are a cool band once more. This is why i originally liked them in the first place.
Published on 5 April 2008 by Howard Miller
Very good album indeed!
I have sort of lost touch with the Orb in recent years, having big a huge fan in my student days (required listening if you were a student in the early to mid 90's) and the last... Read more
Published on 25 Mar 2008 by T. SMEDLEY
not impressed : (
i had high hopes for this album, getting back together some of the dudes from the orb's previous glory days such as steve hillage et al. Read more
Published on 3 Mar 2008 by Mr. M. S. Hall
Return of the UFOrb
So, The Orb are back with their 8th album proper (not including the mass of remix, live, hits and mini-albums out there), and the Dream sees Dr LX and pals returning back to the... Read more
Published on 10 Dec 2007 by J. S. Meins
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