Dubnobasswithmyheadman

dubnobasswithmyheadman
Studio album by Underworld
Released 24 January 1994
Recorded 1993 at Lemonworld Studios and The Strongroom in London
Genre Techno, progressive house, progressive trance, ambient
Length 72:53
Label Junior Boy's Own
Producer Underworld
Underworld chronology
Change the Weather
(1989)		 dubnobass-
withmyheadman
(1994)		 Second Toughest in the Infants
(1996)
Singles from dubnobasswithmyheadman
  1. "Mmm…Skyscraper I Love You"
    Released: 11 June 1993
  2. "Cowgirl"
    Released: 1994
  3. "Dark & Long"
    Released: 18 June 1994
  4. "Dirty Epic"
    Released: 18 July 1994
Alternative cover
Vinyl edition

dubnobasswithmyheadman is the third album by Underworld, released in the UK on Junior Boy's Own on 24 January 1994.[1][2] It was the first Underworld album after the 1980s version of the band had made the transition from synthpop to techno and progressive house and is also the first album to feature Darren Emerson as a band member, ushering in the "MK2" phase of the band, which continued until Emerson's departure in 2001.

Background

The first version of Underworld had ended after a 1989 tour of North America as the support act to the Eurythmics. After the tour Karl Hyde had stayed in the US for two months to work at Prince's Paisley Park Studios in Minneapolis as a session musician, and then toured with Debbie Harry and Chris Stein.[3] When Hyde returned to the UK he found his former bandmate Rick Smith had been collaborating on dance tracks with a teenage DJ named Darren Emerson, a friend of Hyde's brother-in-law, at Hyde and Smith's studio in Romford: Emerson had been eager to learn how to use the equipment in a recording studio, and in turn Smith had been keen to have somebody who could introduce him to electronic music and club culture which he had grown increasingly interested in.[3][4] The three men started to swap ideas and create songs, resulting in a series of singles released throughout 1992 and 1993 under the names Underworld and Lemon Interrupt.

Composition

Underworld's approach to songwriting was very fluid, and based on the idea that everything was valid. Hyde told Melody Maker, "We're grabbing elements from all different times and areas of music and taking them somewhere else. We don't want to simply regurgitate the past, and even though we're using vocals and guitars, we're trying to do it in new ways. We're trying to find ways which makes those elements relevant to today. By not following a blueprint, we're able to base a song on acoustic guitar, or we can do a pure techno track, based on an oscillator. In the past, Rick and I have often been excited by a poem or a film or something and thought, 'That's inspired us to do a great reggae tune but we can't because we're not in a reggae band'. Now we would think, 'F*** yes, let's do it'." Smith added, "There's a lot of cutting and pasting, especially with the vocals. Something which is recorded for one track one day may well end up on three different tracks a few months down the line. Nothing is fixed. They're just points for us to jump off of."[4]

Many of Hyde's lyrics were written during his sojourn in the US: "Dark and Long" was intended to evoke the open prairies of Minnesota that he had visited while working in Minneapolis, and "Mmm Skyscraper... I Love You" was inspired by walking around Greenwich Village in New York City. Hyde stated that the biggest influences at the time on his writing style had been Lou Reed's 1989 album New York, and playwright Sam Shepard's autobiography Motel Chronicles.[3]

Artwork

Tomato, the art design collective that includes Underworld's Rick Smith and Karl Hyde, designed the artwork for dubnobasswithmyheadman. It features black and white type that has been "multiplied, smeared, and overlaid" so much that it is nearly unreadable, alongside a "bold symbol consisting of a fractured handprint inside a broken circle".[5][6] The artwork was originally intended for Tomato's book Mmm... Skyscraper I Love You: A Typographic Journal of New York, published in 1994.[7]

According to the authors of The Greatest Album Covers of All Time, the cover "set a new standard of presentation for subsequent Dance albums".[7] In Graphic Design: A New History, Stephen Eskilson cites the cover as a notable example of the "expressive, chaotic graphics" that developed in the 1990s, a design style he calls "grunge".[8] In an article published in the journal Substance Paul Zelevansky says that "the packaging... replays the visual poetry of the 1960s and '70s and fast forwards to the alchemical transformations of computer graphics packages".[5]

The album artwork also features excerpts of lyrics to the band's 1996 hit Born Slippy .NUXX, which is surprising as the track was released two years after the album.

Karl Hyde told Uncut magazine in 2014 that the album's title had come from him misreading Rick Smith's writing on a cassette tape box.[9]

Critical reception

Original release (1994-2003)

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
Drowned in Sound10/10[11]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[12]
NME8/10[13]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[14]
Slant Magazine[15]
Vox8/10[16]

dubnobasswithmyheadman received widespread acclaim from music critics. Writing in Melody Maker, a year before he left to co-found the specialist dance music magazine Muzik, Ben Turner proclaimed that "Dubnobasswithmyheadman is the most important album since The Stone Roses and the best since Screamadelica... While others are content to go techno techno techno techno [a reference to the lyrics of "No Limit" by 2 Unlimited, a UK No. 1 hit the previous year], Underworld have taken a step back, utilising Karl Hyde and Rick Smith's experience in rock music and throwing it full in the face of 22-year-old DJ, Darren Emerson. The result is utterly contemporary, the sound of the moment, beautifully capturing melodic techno, deranged lyricism, historic bass and lead guitars and astounding walls of rhythm... This breathtaking hybrid marks the moment that club culture finally comes of age and beckons to everyone."[17] NME said, "Before Underworld's startling remixes for Björk and Orbital last year, no-one would've put money on ex-members of... popsters Freur making the first visionary record of '94... The sheer weight of ideas on offer and the constant variance of sounds and textures add up to a coherent, cogent whole, not a series of jack-tracks sequenced together, nor a series of hits with filler thrown in... By writing 'songs'—albeit playful, deranged ones—Underworld have come up with a solution for the facelessness that blights some dance music."[13] Vox wrote that "apart from the lumbering blasphemy of 'Dirt Epic' [sic], the only non-event here, it's all go-with-the-flow stuff laced with intricacies... Attractive, undulating and with moments of innovation, this Underworld offering transcends many of the limitations of its genre."[16]

John Bush from AllMusic gave the album 5 out of 5 stars saying, "From the beginning of the first track 'Dark & Long', Underworld's focus on production is clear, with songwriting coming in a distant second", also adding that "Underworld are truly a multi-genre group".[10] Adie Nunn from Drowned in Sound gave the album a perfect 10/10 score describing it as "An album indie kids and pop kids could like as well as the electronic elite, whist the band retained their credibility".[18] Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine gave it 4 out of 5 stars saying that "It stands as their greatest overall contribution to electronic music" and also stating that "The album blends Acid House, Techno and Dub into a refined, epic headrush".[15]

2014 reissue

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Q[19]
Mojo[20]
Uncut9/10[9]
PopMatters10/10[21]
Louder Than War10/10[22]
Pitchfork Media9.2/10[23]
The Line of Best Fit9.5/10[24]

In 2014, the album was reissued on vinyl, Blu-Ray, and 2-CD and 5-CD expanded editions. Reviewing the reissue, Q described the album as "superb" and proposed that Hyde and Smith's previous 14 years of making music "was why the uncannily undated dubnobasswithmyheadman still exudes such multidimensional sophistication".[19] Uncut praised the material on the extra four discs, but felt that the original album was still Underworld's key record, claiming that Hyde's lyrical vision was able to make Romford sound as exotic as the USA he had seen on his travels, and that this was the reason why "twenty years later, the results of that crazy belief still sound like dance music's dirtiest epic".[9]

Accolades

dubnobasswithmyheadman was ranked at number 16 in Melody Makers "Albums of the Year" in 1994.[25]

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Dark & Long"  Hyde/Smith 7:35
2. "Mmm…Skyscraper I Love You"  Emerson/Hyde/Smith 13:08
3. "Surfboy"  Emerson/Hyde/Smith 7:33
4. "Spoonman"  Hyde/Smith 7:41
5. "Tongue"  Hyde/Smith 4:50
6. "Dirty Epic"  Hyde/Smith 9:55
7. "Cowgirl"  Hyde/Smith 8:29
8. "River of Bass"  Hyde/Smith 6:26
9. "M.E."  Hyde/Smith 7:08
2001 Japanese edition bonus mini CD
No. Title Length
1. "Rez"   9:56
2. "Why Why Why"   12:24
2014 20th anniversary 2-CD edition, CD2
No. Title Length
1. "Eclipse" (released under the name Lemon Interupt) 13:01
2. "Rez"   9:58
3. "Dirty" (released under the name Lemon Interupt) 10:19
4. "Dark & Long" (Dark Train) 9:55
5. "Spikee"   12:51
6. "Concord" (3 comp75 id9 a1771 aug 93a) 6:51
7. "Can You Feel Me?" (from a4796) 4:31
8. "Birdstar" (a1558 nov 92b.1) 4:53

20th anniversary 5-CD super deluxe edition (2014)

CD2, Singles 1991–1994
No. Title Length
1. "The Hump" (Wild Beast) 6:25
2. "Eclipse" (released under the name Lemon Interupt) 13:00
3. "Rez"   9:57
4. "Dirty" (released under the name Lemon Interupt) 10:18
5. "Dirty Guitar"   10:01
6. "Dark & Long" (Hall’s Edit) 4:10
7. "Dark & Long" (Dark Train) 9:54
8. "Spikee"   12:33
CD3, Remixes 1992–1994
No. Title Length
1. "Mmm…Skyscraper I Love You" (Jam Scraper) 9:14
2. "Cowgirl" (Irish Pub in Kyoto mix) 11:45
3. "Dark & Long" (Most ‘ospitable mix) 5:55
4. "Mmm…Skyscraper I Love You" (Telegraph 16.11.92) 7:09
5. "Dark & Long" (Burts mix) 8:47
6. "Dogman Go Woof"   12:15
7. "Dark & Long" (Thing in a Book mix) 20:14
CD4, Previously unreleased recordings 1991–1993
No. Title Length
1. "Concord" (3 comp75 id9 a1771 aug 93a) 6:51
2. "Dark & Long" (1st ruff id3 a15512) 9:34
3. "Mmm…Skyscraper I Love You" (a1765 sky version id4. harmone6 comp43) 9:58
4. "Mmm…Skyscraper I Love You" (after sky id6 1551 2) 5:29
5. "Can You Feel Me?" (from a4796) 4:30
6. "Birdstar" (a1558 nov 92b.1) 4:51
7. "Dirty Epic" (dirty ambi piano a1764 oct 91) 6:48
8. "Spoonman" (version1 a1559 nov92) 10:04
9. "Organ" (eclipse version from a4796) 6:19
10. "Cowgirl" (alt cowgirl c69 mix from a1564) 10:12
CD5, Live jam Kyme Rd (previously unreleased live rehearsal recorded in the band’s home studio in 1993)
No. Title Length
1. "Mmm…Skyscraper I Love You"   13:27
2. "Improv 1"   7:27
3. "Bigmouth"   8:16
4. "Improv 2"   8:03
5. "Big Meat Show"   11:16
6. "Improv 3"   9:52
7. "Spoonman"   18:05

Early prototype

On 3 October 2008 a DAT from 1993 surfaced on Underworld's official messageboard, which featured a different running order, some extended mixes and three previously unreleased songs: "Big Meat Show", "Organ" and "Can You Feel Me", an outtake from previous sessions. The poster of the DAT called it "just a sampling of the type of songs the band was creating, showing any potential label that was interested …"[27]

No. TitleReleased Length
1. "Dirty Epic"    9:59
2. "Jamscraper"  as "Mmm…Skyscraper I Love You (Jam Scraper)" 8:57
3. "Big Meat Show"  unreleased, a longer version on 1992–2012 The Anthology 6:52
4. "Mmm…Skyscraper I Love You"    13:02
5. "Organ"  as "Organ (eclipse version from a4796)" (dubnobasswithmyheadman 20th anniversary) 6:23
6. "River of Bass"  unreleased, 6:26 version on dubnobasswithmyheadman 9:10
7. "Dark and Long"    7:31
8. "Dirty Fuzz"  as "Dirty Guitar" 9:55
9. "Can U Feel Me"  as "Can You Feel Me? (from a4796)" (dubnobasswithmyheadman 20th anniversary) 4:31
10. "Goodbye Mother Earth"  as "M.E." 7:08

Charts

Chart (1994) Peak
position
UK Albums Chart[28] 12
Chart (2014) Peak
position
UK Dance Albums Chart[29] 12

References

  1. ↑ Jones, Nick (January 1994). Mixmag. London, England: DMC Publishing. 2 (32): 29. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ↑ "From the Underworld". Melody Maker. London, England: IPC Media: 4. 15 January 1994.
  3. 1 2 3 Petridis, Alexis (November 2014). "The modern dance". Mojo. London, England: Bauer Media Group (252): 51–55.
  4. 1 2 Push (22 January 1994). "Going Overground". Melody Maker. London, England: IPC Media: 24–25.
  5. 1 2 Zelevansky 1997, p. 136.
  6. ↑ Eskilson 2007, p. 375.
  7. 1 2 Miles et al. 2005, p. 214.
  8. ↑ Eskilson 2007, p. 374.
  9. 1 2 3 Mulholland, Garry (November 2014). "Review: Underworld – Dubnobasswithmyheadman". Uncut. London, England: IPC Media (210): 85–87.
  10. 1 2 Bush, John. "Dubnobasswithmyheadman – Underworld". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  11. ↑ [redacted] (13 January 2003). "Album Review: Underworld – Dubnobasswithmyheadman". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  12. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-857-12595-8.
  13. 1 2 Fadele, Dele (15 January 1994). "Review: Underworld – Dubnobasswithmyheadman". NME. London, England: IPC Media: 28.
  14. ↑ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-743-20169-8.
  15. 1 2 Cinquemani, Sal (2 February 2002). "Underworld: dubnobasswithmyheadman". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  16. 1 2 Strongman, Phil (February 1994). "Review: Underworld – Dubnobasswithmyheadman". Vox. London, England: IPC Media (41): 68.
  17. ↑ Turner, Ben (15 January 1994). "Review: Underworld – Dubnobasswithmyheadman". Melody Maker. London, England: IPC Media: 27.
  18. ↑ Nunn, Adie (13 January 2003). "Review: Underworld – Dubnobasswithmyheadman". Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  19. 1 2 Harrison, Ian (October 2014). "Review: Underworld – Dubnobasswithmyheadman". Q. London, England: Bauer Media Group (339): 124–25.
  20. ↑ Worthy, Stephen (November 2014). "Review: Underworld – Dubnobasswithmyheadman Super Deluxe". Mojo. London, England: Bauer Media Group (252): 111.
  21. ↑ "Underworld". PopMatters.
  22. ↑ "Underworld: Dubnobasswithmyheadman (20th Anniversary Edition) - album review". Louder Than War.
  23. ↑ Heyland, Nick (8 October 2014). "Review: Underworld – Dubnobasswithmyheadman (20th Anniversary Remaster)". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  24. ↑ http://www.thelineofbestfit.com/reviews/albums/underworld-dubnobasswithmyheadman-reissue
  25. ↑ "Albums of the Year". Melody Maker. London, England: IPC Media: 66–67. 24 December 1994.
  26. ↑ "Underworld - Dubnobasswithmyheadman CD".
  27. ↑ deckard236. "unreleased dubnobasswithmyheadman era". Dirty Forums. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  28. ↑ "UNDERWORLD".
  29. ↑ "Official Dance Albums Chart Top 40".

External links

Bibliography

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