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- Artist: Junkie XL
- Rating:
- Release Date: February 10, 2004
- Genre: Electronica
Review
On his first album since striking worldwide gold with a remix of Elvis' "A Little Less Conversation," Junkie XL gathers a clever group of collaborators and celebrates the "anything goes" spirit of the digital age. Before you go thinking that Radio JXL is another flashy exercise in excess like the Elvis single, check the excellent "Tennis," a laid-back and loose groover that shows tasteful restraint. Unlike the glittery Funkstar de Luxe -- who started the trend of remixing the dead with multiple Bob Marley mixes -- Junkie XL has vision and ideas that go well past cheeky rebirths. One of the best is having the snarl of former Republica vocalist Saffron on three tracks. Her cool and cocky style sits well on top of Junkie's cinematic and driving music, and a full-length from the two would be more than welcome. Elsewhere a lost Peter Tosh track gets respectfully housed, Dave Gahan, Gary Numan, and Grant Nicholas from Feeder deliver emotive epics, and former Specials-man Terry Hall goes completely boisterous and bonkers on a bouncy and infectious rave-up. The Chuck D and Solomon Burke appearances are disappointingly moderate, but a second disc of spacious and chilled beats that flows extremely well makes up for it. You don't have to stop there if you follow Junkie's plan. The liner notes point to a website he's constructed around the album with two more discs to download and a 24-hour radio station that streams alternate mixes and unreleased Radio JXL tracks day and night. The only quibble is that sticking the Elvis cut on the American version is a tacky record company move that messes up the flow of the album a bit while sacrificing some rather good collaborations with Infusion. Still, it's an exciting album in both execution and concept with much more substance than expected. ~ David Jeffries, All Music GuideTracks
CD 1
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| Intro 3 PM | Junkie XL | (:50) | |
| Tennis | Junkie XL | (6:20) | |
| Crusher | Junkie XL, |
(5:29) | |
| Don't Wake Up Policeman | Junkie XL, Peter Tosh | (4:53) | |
| Reload (Lyrics) | (4:54) | ||
| Spirits | (4:23) | ||
| Angels | Gary Numan, |
Gary Numan, Junkie XL | (4:19) |
| Perfect Blue Sky (Lyrics) | Junkie XL, |
(4:11) | |
| Between These Walls (Lyrics) | Junkie XL, Anouk | (4:12) | |
| Access to the Excess | Chuck D, Junkie XL | (3:27) | |
| Catch Up to My Step | Solomon Burke, Junkie XL | (4:13) | |
| Never Alone (Lyrics) | Terry Hall, |
Junkie XL, Terry Hall | (3:41) |
| Configuring Audio System | Junkie XL | (:24) | |
| A Little Less Conversation | Billy Strange, Mac Davis | Junkie XL, |
(3:33) |
| Beauty Never Fades (Lyrics) | Junkie XL, |
(3:34) | |
| Broken (Lyrics) | (3:41) | ||
| JXL Radio Technical Support | Junkie XL | (1:17) |
CD 2
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| Intro 3 AM | Junkie XL | (:55) | |
| Chilled | Junkie XL | (2:27) | |
| Dubzilla | Junkie XL | (5:04) | |
| Casio | Junkie XL | (5:20) | |
| Angels [12 Inch Cut] | Gary Numan, |
Junkie XL | (8:16) |
| Breezer | Junkie XL, Sasha | (7:26) | |
| Nudge | Junkie XL | (7:05) | |
| Red | Junkie XL | (11:00) | |
| Beauty Never Fades [12 Inch Cut] | Junkie XL | (12:34) | |
| Cosmic Cure | Junkie XL | (8:32) | |
| Rehsurc | Junkie XL | (4:34) |
