Amazon.co.uk Review
Ever since they were credited with inventing progressive house with their first single "Not Forgotten" in 1991, Leftfield have been earmarked as pioneers. Their debut album was a glorious fruition of their talents, delivering on all fronts and sealing their place in dance music history. Effortlessly weaving intoxicating rhythms and sublime melodies around the diverse vocals of former
Sex Pistol John Lydon, reggae toaster Earl Sixteen and indie ice maiden Toni Halliday,
Leftism is a scintillating journey through all the planes of club culture. From the interstellar dancehall vibes of "Release The Pressure" to the languid splendour of "Melt" and the peerless dancefloor dynamics of "Song Of Life", Paul Daley and Neil Barnes prove themselves jacks of all trades and masters of them all. "Make room for me," screamed Lydon on "Open Up"; the rest of the dance music world duly stepped aside to let the Leftfield juggernaut through. --Ed Potton
Description
With Leftism, Leftfield made the crossover of techno into the pop mainstream two years before the likes of the ChemicalBrothers. Embarking on a series of high-profile collaborations, they introduced to the charts a musical manifesto that had been popular in the clubs for years - including ambient ('Song Of Life'), pure techno, ragga, African tribal chants ('Afro-Left') and the all-important remix. The pumping, snarling 'Open Up', featuring John Lydon, predated the Prodigy in its blend of punk and dance, and 'Original', with Curve's Toni Halliday, ironically inspired a multitude of imitators.Most of these tracks have become ubiquitous through mainstream television and film, and it is easy to forget that, before Leftfield, techno music had only rarely stepped outside clubland.