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Basement Jaxx capped a run of three marvelously progressive and near-perfect albums with a singles compilation deserving of the stature shared by Pet Shop Boys' Discography, New Order's Substance, and the Smiths' Singles. Where to go from there? Away with 1999, in with Gypsy Beats and Balkan Bangers and other expectedly unexpected inspirations. Out pops Crazy Itch Radio, a disc loosely wrapped around the concept of the duo running their own station. They could have just as easily sold this as an original cast recording to a nonexistent stage production. Then again, the music is so color-packed, so off-the-wall that it could also work as the soundtrack to Rat Fink renderings of scenes from a movie dreamed by Baz Luhrmann. It's too big to fit on a stage and in an orchestra pit that would have to accommodate the Jaxx, a very active horn section, the London Session Orchestra, a Russian accordionist, a pile of vocalists and MCs -- including Linda Lewis, Biz Markie, and Robyn, along with the relatively unknown likes of Vula Malinga (previously heard on the non-album single "Oh My Gosh"), Lady Marga, Martina Bang, Skilla, Younger Sensation & Charmzy -- and 30 kids from Malawi's Nanthomba Orphan School. The album takes the form of a nearly linear narrative involving the ups and downs of an alcohol-fueled romance between a boy and a girl. Given the assorted voices and the unflagging flow of recombinant sounds, it's easy to be thrown off this trail, but there is a definite method behind the pacing and sequencing, and the emphasis on songcraft and the making of a thematic whole is more than apparent. The story begins with a dinner at an unfinished Mexican restaurant (the sparkling, hilarious, rush-inducing "Hush Boy") and moves to his place (the "Cotton Eye Joe"-destroying banjo-house jam "Take Me Back to Your House"). In "Hey U," the boy lowers the boom on the girl, tells her he'll "always be a travelin' man," and then declares on the following "On the Train," over shades of the Stray Cats' "Stray Cat Blues," that "mamma gave me dancing legs." During and after these events, there is some longing, a lot of heartache, a healthy amount of playground-style spite, and some resolution. The songs, when added up, don't amount to the heights of the previous albums. They don't pack the same immediate wallop. While they do benefit from repeated listens, that familiar urge to rewind and commit to memory isn't as powerful. The Jaxx, however, are as adept as ever when it comes to unlikely fusions and unexpected twists that lord over anything else that could be termed left-field dance-pop. At this point, it's impossible to imagine them topping themselves; an album that is merely deeply engaging and wildly entertaining cannot be considered a flop in any way. Next time out, they'd do well to further explore the direction taken by the unlisted track that closes the album. A sinuous slow jam not terribly unlike Remedy's "Being with U," its seductive simplicity is at odds with everything else in the program.
© Andy Kellman /TiVo
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London Session Orchestra, StudioMusician - Basement Jaxx, MainArtist - Simon Ratcliffe, Programmer - Felix Buxton, Programmer - Geoff Pesche, Engineer - Metro Voices, Choir - Wil Malone, Arranger, ComposerLyricist - Andy Hughes, MixingEngineer - CMRRA, MusicPublisher
2006 XL Recordings Ltd 2006 XL Recordings Ltd
S. Mason, Lyricist - Basement Jaxx, MainArtist - Simon Ratcliffe, Producer, Programmer, ComposerLyricist - Felix Buxton, Producer, Programmer, ComposerLyricist - Sony, MusicPublisher - Geoff Pesche, Engineer - Jason Boshoff, MixingEngineer - Wil Malone, Arranger - Biz Markie, StudioMusician - Winston Blisset, StudioMusician - Vula Malinga, Lyricist, AssociatedPerformer - Warner Chappell Music Publishing Ltd., MusicPublisher - Universal Music Publishing Ltd., MusicPublisher - ATV Music Publishing, MusicPublisher - Sean Allen, AssociatedPerformer - Harry Fox Agency, MusicPublisher - A.D. Burisse, Lyricist - J.D. Burisse, Lyricist - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Marlon "Skilla" Barrett, AssociatedPerformer
2006 XL Recordings Ltd 2006 XL Recordings Ltd
Basement Jaxx, MainArtist - Simon Ratcliffe, AssociatedPerformer - Felix Buxton, AssociatedPerformer - Geoff Pesche, Engineer - Mark Brown, StudioMusician - Wil Malone, Arranger - Winston Blisset, StudioMusician - Vula Malinga, StudioMusician - Hornall Brothers Music, MusicPublisher - Harry Fox Agency, MusicPublisher - Unknown Bonner, ComposerLyricist - Unknown Hamilton, ComposerLyricist - CMRRA, MusicPublisher
2006 XL Recordings Ltd 2006 XL Recordings Ltd
London Session Orchestra, StudioMusician - Basement Jaxx, MainArtist - Simon Ratcliffe, Producer, Programmer, ComposerLyricist - Felix Buxton, Producer, Programmer, ComposerLyricist - Geoff Pesche, Engineer - Jason Boshoff, MixingEngineer - Wil Malone, Arranger - Martina Sorbara, ComposerLyricist - Vula Malinga, StudioMusician - Universal Music Publishing Ltd., MusicPublisher - Harry Fox Agency, MusicPublisher - Cassie Watson, StudioMusician - Mas Music, MusicPublisher - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Martina Bang, StudioMusician
2006 XL Recordings Ltd 2006 XL Recordings Ltd
Linda Lewis, AssociatedPerformer - Basement Jaxx, MainArtist - Simon Ratcliffe, Programmer, ComposerLyricist - Felix Buxton, Programmer, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Robyn Carlsson, StudioMusician - Geoff Pesche, Engineer - Jason Boshoff, MixingEngineer - Wil Malone, Arranger - A. Sical, ComposerLyricist - Universal Music Publishing Ltd., MusicPublisher - Harry Fox Agency, MusicPublisher - Pirahna Musikverlag, MusicPublisher - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Marcus J. Thomas, AssociatedPerformer - Nanthomba Orphan School, StudioMusician - Serguei Pachnine, AssociatedPerformer, StudioMusician
2006 XL Recordings Ltd 2006 XL Recordings Ltd
Basement Jaxx, MainArtist - Simon Ratcliffe, Programmer, ComposerLyricist - Felix Buxton, Programmer, ComposerLyricist - Tommy Blaize, ComposerLyricist, StudioMusician - Geoff Pesche, Engineer - Mike Kearsey, StudioMusician - Mark Brown, StudioMusician - Wil Malone, Arranger - Ben Edwards, StudioMusician - Wayne Hernandez, StudioMusician - Universal Music Publishing Ltd., MusicPublisher - Shea Bryce, StudioMusician - Harry Fox Agency, MusicPublisher - CMRRA, MusicPublisher
2006 XL Recordings Ltd 2006 XL Recordings Ltd
Basement Jaxx, MainArtist - Simon Ratcliffe, Programmer, ComposerLyricist - Felix Buxton, Programmer, ComposerLyricist - Geoff Pesche, Engineer - Jason Boshoff, MixingEngineer - Wil Malone, Arranger - Universal Music Publishing Ltd., MusicPublisher - Lady Marga, StudioMusician - Peermusic Ltd, MusicPublisher - Harry Fox Agency, MusicPublisher - Daryl John, AssociatedPerformer - CMRRA, MusicPublisher
2006 XL Recordings Ltd 2006 XL Recordings Ltd
Basement Jaxx, MainArtist - Simon Ratcliffe, Programmer, ComposerLyricist - Felix Buxton, Programmer, ComposerLyricist - Geoff Pesche, Engineer - Wil Malone, Arranger - Universal Music Publishing Ltd., MusicPublisher - Harry Fox Agency, MusicPublisher - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Marlon "Skilla" Barrett, StudioMusician - Adline Elvany, AssociatedPerformer - Jackieta Robinson, AssociatedPerformer
2006 XL Recordings Ltd 2006 XL Recordings Ltd
Basement Jaxx, MainArtist - Simon Ratcliffe, Programmer, ComposerLyricist - Felix Buxton, Programmer, ComposerLyricist - Geoff Pesche, Engineer - Mike Kearsey, StudioMusician - Mark Brown, StudioMusician - Wil Malone, Arranger - Ben Edwards, StudioMusician - Andy Hughes, MixingEngineer - Universal Music Publishing Ltd., MusicPublisher - Harry Fox Agency, MusicPublisher - Milly Oldfield, StudioMusician - CMRRA, MusicPublisher
2006 XL Recordings Ltd 2006 XL Recordings Ltd
Linda Lewis, ComposerLyricist, StudioMusician - London Session Orchestra, StudioMusician - Basement Jaxx, MainArtist - Simon Ratcliffe, Programmer, ComposerLyricist - Felix Buxton, Programmer, ComposerLyricist - Geoff Pesche, Engineer - Lily Allen, AssociatedPerformer - Mike Kearsey, StudioMusician - Jason Boshoff, MixingEngineer - Mark Brown, StudioMusician - Wil Malone, Arranger - Ben Edwards, StudioMusician - Universal Music Publishing Ltd., MusicPublisher - Harry Fox Agency, MusicPublisher - Mcps Music, MusicPublisher - CMRRA, MusicPublisher
2006 XL Recordings Ltd 2006 XL Recordings Ltd
London Session Orchestra, StudioMusician - Reena Bhardwaj, StudioMusician - Basement Jaxx, MainArtist - Simon Ratcliffe, Programmer - Felix Buxton, Programmer - Geoff Pesche, Engineer - Metro Voices, Choir - Wil Malone, Arranger, ComposerLyricist - Daryl John, StudioMusician - CMRRA, MusicPublisher
2006 XL Recordings Ltd 2006 XL Recordings Ltd
Reena Bhardwaj, ComposerLyricist, StudioMusician - Basement Jaxx, MainArtist - Simon Ratcliffe, Programmer, ComposerLyricist - Felix Buxton, Programmer, ComposerLyricist - Geoff Pesche, Engineer - Wil Malone, Arranger - Sharlene Hector, AssociatedPerformer - Vula Malinga, AssociatedPerformer - Universal Music Publishing Ltd., MusicPublisher - Dwayne Ellis, AssociatedPerformer - Harry Fox Agency, MusicPublisher - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Marlon "Skilla" Barrett, AssociatedPerformer - Martina Bang, AssociatedPerformer - Elida Zulu, StudioMusician
2006 XL Recordings Ltd 2006 XL Recordings Ltd
Basement Jaxx, MainArtist - Simon Ratcliffe, Programmer, ComposerLyricist - Felix Buxton, Programmer, ComposerLyricist - Geoff Pesche, Engineer - Wil Malone, Arranger - Winston Blisset, StudioMusician - Universal Music Publishing Ltd., MusicPublisher - Harry Fox Agency, MusicPublisher - Milly Oldfield, StudioMusician - Jo Benjamin, AssociatedPerformer - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Marcus J. Thomas, AssociatedPerformer
2006 XL Recordings Ltd 2006 XL Recordings Ltd
London Session Orchestra, StudioMusician - Basement Jaxx, MainArtist - Simon Ratcliffe, Programmer - Felix Buxton, Programmer, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Geoff Pesche, Engineer - Wil Malone, Arranger - Universal Music Publishing Ltd., MusicPublisher - Ade Omotayo, AssociatedPerformer - Harry Fox Agency, MusicPublisher - CMRRA, MusicPublisher
2006 XL Recordings Ltd 2006 XL Recordings Ltd
Album review
Basement Jaxx capped a run of three marvelously progressive and near-perfect albums with a singles compilation deserving of the stature shared by Pet Shop Boys' Discography, New Order's Substance, and the Smiths' Singles. Where to go from there? Away with 1999, in with Gypsy Beats and Balkan Bangers and other expectedly unexpected inspirations. Out pops Crazy Itch Radio, a disc loosely wrapped around the concept of the duo running their own station. They could have just as easily sold this as an original cast recording to a nonexistent stage production. Then again, the music is so color-packed, so off-the-wall that it could also work as the soundtrack to Rat Fink renderings of scenes from a movie dreamed by Baz Luhrmann. It's too big to fit on a stage and in an orchestra pit that would have to accommodate the Jaxx, a very active horn section, the London Session Orchestra, a Russian accordionist, a pile of vocalists and MCs -- including Linda Lewis, Biz Markie, and Robyn, along with the relatively unknown likes of Vula Malinga (previously heard on the non-album single "Oh My Gosh"), Lady Marga, Martina Bang, Skilla, Younger Sensation & Charmzy -- and 30 kids from Malawi's Nanthomba Orphan School. The album takes the form of a nearly linear narrative involving the ups and downs of an alcohol-fueled romance between a boy and a girl. Given the assorted voices and the unflagging flow of recombinant sounds, it's easy to be thrown off this trail, but there is a definite method behind the pacing and sequencing, and the emphasis on songcraft and the making of a thematic whole is more than apparent. The story begins with a dinner at an unfinished Mexican restaurant (the sparkling, hilarious, rush-inducing "Hush Boy") and moves to his place (the "Cotton Eye Joe"-destroying banjo-house jam "Take Me Back to Your House"). In "Hey U," the boy lowers the boom on the girl, tells her he'll "always be a travelin' man," and then declares on the following "On the Train," over shades of the Stray Cats' "Stray Cat Blues," that "mamma gave me dancing legs." During and after these events, there is some longing, a lot of heartache, a healthy amount of playground-style spite, and some resolution. The songs, when added up, don't amount to the heights of the previous albums. They don't pack the same immediate wallop. While they do benefit from repeated listens, that familiar urge to rewind and commit to memory isn't as powerful. The Jaxx, however, are as adept as ever when it comes to unlikely fusions and unexpected twists that lord over anything else that could be termed left-field dance-pop. At this point, it's impossible to imagine them topping themselves; an album that is merely deeply engaging and wildly entertaining cannot be considered a flop in any way. Next time out, they'd do well to further explore the direction taken by the unlisted track that closes the album. A sinuous slow jam not terribly unlike Remedy's "Being with U," its seductive simplicity is at odds with everything else in the program.
© Andy Kellman /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 14 track(s)
- Total length: 00:46:42
- Main artists: Basement Jaxx
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: XL Recordings
- Genre: Electronic
2006 XL Recordings Ltd 2006 XL Recordings Ltd
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