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Dig Your Own Hole

 
Album Review: Dig Your Own Hole

Review

Taking the swirling eclecticism of their post-techno debut, Exit Planet Dust, to the extreme, the Chemical Brothers blow all stylistic boundaries down with their second album, Dig Your Own Hole. Bigger, bolder, and more adventurous than Exit Planet Dust, Dig Your Own Hole opens with the slamming cacophony of "Block Rockin' Beats," where hip-hop meets hardcore techno, complete with a Schoolly D sample and an elastic bass riff. Everything is going on at once in "Block Rockin' Beats," and it sets the pace for the rest of the record, where songs and styles blur into a continuous kaleidoscope of sound. It rocks hard enough for the pop audience, but it doesn't compromise either the Chemicals' sound or the adventurous, futuristic spirit of electronica -- even "Setting Sun," with its sly homages to the Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows" and Noel Gallagher's twisting, catchy melody, doesn't sound like retro psychedelia; it sounds vibrant, unexpected, and utterly contemporary. There are no distinctions between different styles, and the Chemicals sound as if they're having fun, building Dig Your Own Hole from fragments of the past, distorting the rhythms and samples, and pushing it forward with an intoxicating rush of synthesizers, electronics, and layered drum machines. The Chemical Brothers might not push forward into self-consciously arty territories like some of their electronic peers, but they have more style and focus, constructing a blindingly innovative and relentlessly propulsive album that's an exhilarating listen -- one that sounds positively new but utterly inviting at the same time. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Block Rockin' Beats (Lyrics) Jesse Weaver, Tom Rowlands, Edmund Simmons The Chemical Brothers (5:14)
Dig Your Own Hole The Chemical Brothers (5:27)
Elektrobank Tom Rowlands, Ed Simons The Chemical Brothers (8:18)
Piku Tom Rowlands The Chemical Brothers (4:54)
Setting Sun (Lyrics) Noel Gallagher, Ed Simons, Tom Rowlands The Chemical Brothers (5:29)
It Doesn't Matter (Lyrics) The Chemical Brothers (6:14)
Don't Stop the Rock (Lyrics) Tom Rowlands, Ed Simons The Chemical Brothers (4:48)
Get Up on It Like This (Lyrics) Ed Simons, Tom Rowlands The Chemical Brothers (2:48)
Lost in the K-Hole (Lyrics) Tom Rowlands, Ed Simons The Chemical Brothers (3:51)
Where Do I Begin (Lyrics) The Chemical Brothers (6:51)
The Private Psychedelic Reel Jonathan Donahue, Tom Rowlands, Ed Simons The Chemical Brothers (9:28)

Credits

Beth Orton (Vocals), The Chemical Brothers (Producer), Tim Holmes (Engineer), Steve Dub (Engineer), Jon Dee (Engineer)
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Wikipedia: Dig Your Own Hole
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Dig Your Own Hole
Studio album by The Chemical Brothers
Released 7 April 1997 (1997-04-07)
Recorded 1996
Genre Big beat
Length 63:22
Label Junior Boy's Own
Producer Tom Rowlands, Ed Simons
Professional reviews
The Chemical Brothers chronology
Exit Planet Dust
(1995)
Dig Your Own Hole
(1997)
Surrender
(1999)

Dig Your Own Hole is the second album by British electronica duo The Chemical Brothers, released in the UK on 7 April 1997 (see 1997 in music). It features Noel Gallagher of Oasis and Beth Orton as guest vocalists.

In 1998, Q magazine readers voted Dig Your Own Hole the 49th greatest album of all time. In 2000, the same magazine placed it at number 42 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever.

In 2004, the album was packaged with 1995's Exit Planet Dust in a limited edition box set as part of EMI's "2CD Originals" collection. It was certified platinum by the BPI on 21 January 2000. [1]

Track listing

All tracks written by Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons, except where noted.

  1. "Block Rockin' Beats" (Rowlands, Simons, Jesse Weaver) – 5:14
  2. "Dig Your Own Hole" – 5:27
  3. "Elektrobank" (Rowlands, Simons, Keith Murray, Ali Friend) – 8:18
  4. "Piku" – 4:54
  5. "Setting Sun" (Rowlands, Simons, Noel Gallagher) – 5:29
  6. "It Doesn't Matter" (Rowlands, Simons, Paul Conley, John Emelin, Tom Flye, Rusty Ford, Kim King) – 6:14
  7. "Don't Stop the Rock" – 4:48
  8. "Get Up on It Like This" (Rowlands, Simons, Quincy Jones) – 2:48
  9. "Lost in the K-Hole" – 3:51
  10. "Where Do I Begin" – 6:51
  11. "The Private Psychedelic Reel" (Rowlands, Simons, Jonathan Donahue) – 9:29


Preceded by
Spice by Spice Girls
UK number one album
19 April 1997 – 25 April 1997
Succeeded by
Ultra by Depeche Mode

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Dig Your Own Hole" Read more

 

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