Beaucoup Fish is the fifth album by Underworld, released in 1999. Following the huge success of the single "Born Slippy .NUXX" from its use in the film, Trainspotting, Beaucoup Fish was Underworld's most anticipated release. It spawned several successful singles, including "Push Upstairs", "Jumbo" and "Moaner", which was previously used in the film Batman & Robin. It is the last studio album to feature Darren Emerson.
The album's working title was Tonight Matthew, I'm Going to be Underworld, inspired by the famous catchphrase "Tonight [host name], I'm going to be...", used on the British celebrity impersonation TV programme Stars in Their Eyes.[1] The title was changed to Beaucoup Fish ("beaucoup" being French for "many"), on the basis that the tongue-in-cheek title would be incomprehensible to listeners outside of the United Kingdom. The current title comes from a sampled voice used in "Jumbo".
Overview
Beaucoup Fish was released after the massively successful single "Born Slippy .NUXX"; a single that began to define Underworld's signature sound of stream of consciousness lyrics, anthemic melodies and abrasive beats and rhythms. Lead single "Push Upstairs", with its aggressive piano melody, exemplified this new sound. Much of the album featured experimentation not heard on previous albums: several tracks incorporated samples of dialogue recorded by the band itself, while the progressive aspect of previous albums was mostly slashed in favour of shorter, tighter arrangements.
"King of Snake" features a tape-edited guitar intro titled "Shudder", leading into a lively house track that interpolates the bassline from Donna Summer's disco hit "I Feel Love", before fading into sampled dialogue about the blood sport of snake baiting. "Skym" features little more than a solo keyboard and light piano chords over Karl Hyde's vocals, while "Bruce Lee" has more akin to rock music than trance. Beaucoup Fish also features a downtempo re-imagining of "Push Upstairs", cleverly titled "Push Downstairs"; only the vocal track is kept between the two. "Moaner", a song featured in the film Batman & Robin, is presented on Beaucoup Fish with its final three minutes removed by a fade out.
"Push Upstairs" and second single "Jumbo" were both hits on the dance charts and in clubs. Beaucoup Fish was well-received critically (one review calling it "electronica's The Dark Side of the Moon") and remains Underworld's most successful album, with over 1 million copies sold.
Artwork
The art for Beaucoup Fish was once again designed by Tomato, the art firm that Underworld is a part of. Each page of the liner notes featured a stylized shape in a large blue field. The shapes used are a circle for CD; a square for vinyl; and an elongated rectangle for MiniDisc and cassette formats.
Due to delays, the packaging incorrectly lists 1998 as the release year.
Track listing
All songs by Darren Emerson, Karl Hyde, and Rick Smith unless noted.
Side one
- "Cups" – 11:45
- "Push Upstairs" – 4:34
Side two
- "Jumbo" – 6:57
- "Shudder/King of Snake" (Underworld/Bellotte/Moroder/Summer) – 9:30
- "Winjer" – 4:30
Side three
- "Skym" – 4:07
- "Bruce Lee" – 4:43
- "Kittens" – 7:30
Side four
- "Push Downstairs" – 6:03
- "Something Like a Mama" – 6:37
- "Moaner" – 7:38
Limited edition bonus CD
- "Push Upstairs (Roger S. Narcotic Haze Dub)" – 6:37
- "Jumbo (Futureshock Worlds Apart Mix)" – 6:31
- "King of Snake (Dave Clarke Remix)" – 6:01
- "Bruce Lee (The Micronauts Remix)" – 8:54
- "Cups (Salt City Orchestra Remix)" – 9:24
References
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Underworld |
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| Karl Hyde · Rick Smith · Baz Allen · Bryn Borrows · Alfie Thomas · Darren Emerson · Darren Price |
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| Studio Albums (mk.1) |
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| Studio Albums (mk.2/3) |
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| Live albums and Compilations (mk.2/3) |
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| Soundtracks (mk.3) |
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| The Riverrun Project (mk.3) |
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| Singles (mk.2/3) |
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| Videography |
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