In Sides

In Sides
Studio album by Orbital
Released	May 1996
Recorded	1995/6
Genre	Electronica Acid techno Braindance
Length	72:02
Label	FFRR, Internal Records
Producer	Paul and Phil Hartnoll
Professional reviews
Allmusic Review by John Bush Publication date: unknown link [1] Select Magazine Review by Stuart Muirhead Publication date: June 1996 link[2] Rolling Stone Review by Smith Galtney Publication date: 8 August 1996 (1996-08-08) link [3] Entertainment Weekly B+ Review by Jon Wiederhorn Publication date: 21 June 1996 (1996-06-21) link [3] Ink blot magazine Very favourable Review by Peter Hanks Publication date: unknown link [3] Stylus magazine Very favourable Review by Andrew Unterberger Publication date: 16 January 2004 (2004-01-16) link [3] Almostcool.org (8.5/10) Publication date: unknown link [3]
Orbital chronology
Snivilisation (1994) In Sides (1996) The Middle of Nowhere (1999)

In Sides is the fourth album recorded by Orbital, released in 1996. The name is a reference to the fact that the album was originally available as a 3-LP vinyl box set, with one track per "side" of each LP.

The album

"The Girl with the Sun in Her Head" was dedicated to the memory of Volume magazine photographer Sally Harding who died in 1995.^[4] The track was recorded using electricity from a Greenpeace solar power generator. It opens with the sound of a heartbeat which serves as bass and develops into a cyclopean soundscape which many critics hold as one of Orbital's most accomplished pieces.^[5]

"P.E.T.R.O.L." was included in the soundtracks for the video game wipE'out" and also the film π. The title of the fifth track, "Dŵr Budr" is Welsh for dirty water and was written with the then-recent MV Sea Empress oil tanker disaster just off the coast of Wales in mind.^[6] "Adnan's" was originally written for 1995's The Help Album benefitting War Child.^[5]

Vocals on the album are credited to the mysterious Auntie, a pseudonym used by Alison Goldfrapp^[7] on this release. Her singing on "Dŵr Budr" is nonsensical chanting, and has been rumoured to have been played backwards, though neither the brothers nor Alison will divulge any information.

American and other overseas versions of the album contained a bonus CD of tracks that had been previously released in the UK, such as "Times Fly", "The Saint", "The Sinner", "The Box" and live versions of "Satan" and "Halcyon".

Success & critical response

The album spent 12 weeks in the UK charts in 1996, and reached a high of #5 the week of its release.^[5] By late May 2006, over 60,000 copies of the album had been sold.^[5]

The album was also included in British music magazine Melody Maker's, end-of-year, best albums / singles retrospective.

The album was also included in Q magazines "90 Best albums of the 1990s".^[11]

The single "The Box" also made NME's Best singles of 1996 list coming in at number 5.^[12]

Track listing

The original track listing from 1996:

1. "The Girl with the Sun in Her Head" – 10.26
2. "P.E.T.R.O.L." – 6.17
3. "The Box (Part 1)" – 6.28
4. "The Box (Part 2)" – 6.00
5. "Dŵr Budr" – 9.55
6. "Adnan's" – 8.41
7. "Out There Somewhere? (Part 1)" – 10.42
8. "Out There Somewhere? (Part 2)" – 13.26

The U.S. version of the record was initially packaged to include the Times Fly EP along with The Box EP (the latter included as a single 28-minute track):

1. "Times Fly (Slow)" - 7:58
2. "Sad But New" - 7:29
3. "Times Fly (Fast)" - 7:53
4. "Tranquilizer" - 6:27
5. "The Box" (Extended Play, full version) - 28:11

In 1997, the reprint of the album included both tracks of The Saint single along with Irving Plaza recordings of "Halcyon" and "Satan" (previously found on Orbital's "III EP" and the "Satan Live EP"):

1. "Satan (Industry Standard)"
2. "Satan (Live at NYC Irving Plaza)"
3. "The Saint"
4. "The Sinner"
5. "Halcyon (Live at NYC Irving Plaza)"

References

External links

• In Sides at Discogs
• Full details of Orbital In Sides
• Reason for album name explained
• Orbital Gear List, including a list of synths used on In Sides