Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night [Import]

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Japanese edition of the cult alternative act's 1999 outing with four hidden bonus tracks added, 'Galaxidion' and a 3 inch CD single featuring all three backing tracks from the album's first single, 'The Free Design', 'Escape Pod (From The World Of Medical Observations)', 'With Friends Like These' and 'Les Aimies Des Memes'. All four bonus tracks are previously unreleased non-album tracks (barring 'The Free Design' C D single). A combined total of 19 tracks. Double slimline jewel case. 1999 release. The full title is 'Cobra And Phases Group Play

Tracks:

Fuses
People Do It All The Time
The Free Design
Blips Drips And Strips
Italian Shoes Continuum
Infinity Girl
The Spiracles
Op Hop Detonation
Puncture In The Radax Permutation
Velvet Water
Blue Milk
Caleidoscopic Gaze
Strobo Acceleration
The Emergency Kisses
Come And Play In The Milky Night

Amazon.com's Best of 1999

Like Sonic Youth and the Beastie Boys, Stereolab have always acted as cultural ambassadors (enthusiastically turning folks on to neglected artists and sounds) as much as a band of their own. On this gorgeous disc the group spice up their sonic soup with jazz, creating complex songs that are spot-on terrific and remind the listener of no other band in the world. --Mike McGonigal

Amazon.com

On this bemusingly titled album, Stereolab toss around small chunks of music as catchy and irresistable as anything they've ever recorded. The warm Moog synth that leads off "Infinity Girl" or the horns that burst out of Laetitia Sadier's dry, layered voice in "The Free Design" will significantly boost your serotonin levels. The deconstructions these sonic scraps undergo and the analog keyboard textures around them are radically broad-minded, unveiling a separate and equally engaging architecture all their own. The ear follows one, then the other, first harmonically together, then suddenly cacophonous, all wrapped up in that familiar, '60s-a-go-go ambience. The scrupulous sensibilities of coproducers John McEntire and Jim O'Rourke are all over this record, incorporating the Chicago post-rock electronic sound and left-field musical influences at the heart of their work. Yet just when the song is sure to fall apart, Stereolab rediscovers the melody at the core. Take "Puncture in the Radax Permutation": a descending string melody mingles with a plunking xylophone-like pattern, the blend getting more and more abrasive. Suddenly the strings rise up with the drum track and a dreamy little tune reveals itself. It's not a record that's easy to get one's head around. Repeated listens, however, expose the diamonds in the rough, though the rough itself proves just as valuable. --Matthew Cooke

Customer Reviews:

Impressive compilation of relatively mediocre material.......2007-03-15

3 1/2

This might not be one of their most memorable albums, but in an undeniably impressive body of personalized work, this gladly holds up with the best of their light-hearted material. With the personalized stamp of sophisto-indie popsters Stereolab in their full-on prime, it is hard to let many vocal and some instrumental indulgences detract from an ever present playfully arousing but cool, calculated, and detached musical approach. Here more then ever the band is willing to play with it's listeners on as large a level as possible, stretching their already original sound to encompass whatever passing fancy seemed to warrant experimentation. While results feel varied struggling to balance an overtly catchy, structurally-obsessed vocalist with unusually sporadic, sometimes forced band mechanics, through and through the disc remains a solid testament to the group's unique power, only criticized heavily by others when compared to a majority of more focused albums. Still, this lengthy pop excursion would seem essential to anyone into the under appreciated masterminds, and an unlikely though completely appropriate starting point for anyone curious enough to appreciate a good deconstructed melody now and again.

Not Their Best But............2005-06-09

Great none the less. More jazzy than most of their other stuff. It took me 4-5 listens to realize that Cobra & Phases not only didn't suck but is actually a great record.... not phenomenal but indeed great. Not recommended as your first Stereolab purchase (go with Mars Audio Quintet)unless the price is right.

Brilliant, just might need some home-editing.......2004-02-27

I'm a fan who fell for "the groop" after hearing 'Dots & Loops,' and then I'd picked up a couple earlier releases, but the critical magazine reviews for this one (and the ugly cover) put me off until I found it a couple years later in a 'used' bin. Even after getting a listen for myself, my initial response was that the critics were right. After a few spins, I shelved it, until 'Margerine Eclipse' recently got me listening to my old Stereolab discs again.

This still seemed impenetrably dense, a long slog to get through it all in one sitting, until I read through some Amazon reviews and took the advice of those who said to listen to it in short sections. Voila! The secrets of a new world revealed!

There really is a fantastically imaginative album in here. It just needs some editing to bring out its best. Your mileage may vary, but my solution is to cut "People Do It All The Time" and the "Velvet Water/Blue Milk/Caleidoscopic Gaze" section. The start of the album flows better when track 1 goes straight into track 3, and the latter half is tighter without the 24 minutes of slow, ambient texturing of tracks 10-12. (The excised cuts can be worthwhile in their own right, but maybe they just would've been better reserved for an EP or single b-side.) Sometimes I move "People Do It" into the "Spiracles" slot, or I leave in track 10 or 12, but whatever. Just give it a try, and play around with it until the program flows for you.

I can't give 5 stars to an album that needs 3-4 cuts taken out to bring the whole into focus, but digging into this music lately has been an exciting trip. It is Stereolab at their warmest, funniest, and most daring. They sound like a band of unlimited ideas, unafraid to try anything, and able to get most of it across so long as you're willing to make a little effort to meet them part-way. And if a few things don't work so well? Oh, well. Most of it is brilliant, and who else can take you on such a joyride? They're still giving more than your money's worth.

Segun tu estimulante.......2003-12-12

Aunque, según mi criterio, ya estos acercamientos podían sentirse, en este disco stereolab acentúa aun más los sonidos, bases y acordes de jazz, sobretodo en el uso de metales. El primer track fuses, es una clara evidencia de esto. Agresividad moderada, melodías que sumergen en la alegría o la depresión según el estimulante, otro paseo en el casi infinito mundo sonoro de posibilidades que nos brinda stereolab. Escucha y disfruta

not the best, but incredible never- the- less........2003-08-24

Stereolab probably is one of the best kept secrets that never quite reached a level of mass appeal and constant radio bombardment. In a way, this is a good thing because the band is able to maintain reverence among those who are fortunate enough to hear this group.

If this album was a place, it would be Chicago as portrayed by the artist Radebaugh. It's jazzy, mature, retro-futuristic, yet cosmopolitan. Othertimes it is easy going, while capturing elements that are both playful and wonderous. It's certainly not New Yorkish though. This one is distinctly representative of the Windy City. Dots and Loops, while capturing similar elements, is more reflective of a Parisian setting.

Cobra Phases is laced with various musical influences such as Sun Ra, the Free Design (hence the song name), and other obscure vinyl treats that have mostly been tucked away in a warehouse somewhere. It's a wonderful album because it takes these influences and actually uses them to create a musical entity that is in my opinion, more evolved than they ever were. Then again, that is what Stereolab is particularly good at doing- digging up forgotten styles of music and giving them class.

The reason why I could not award this as a 5 star album is that while it was excellent, the problem was that some of the songs should have been trimmed off the album. It could have been about 3 tracks shorter. One song that could have been scrapped is "Blue Milk". Understandably, some people can argue that it reverts back to their pre- "emporer tomato" style of trance-rock. These same people would probably find inspiration in hearing a track of Fran Drescher laughing nonstop for 11 minutes. The song is flat, aggrivating, uncreative, and should have been reserved for a soundcheck rather than as a display of art on the album. I want to hear complexity of absolutely gorgeous songs like "the Free Design." I want to hear the harmonious dischord (in this case the oxymoron works) of acid jazz songs like "Fuses". I want to hear the ultra-lounge chill out sounds of "People do it All the Time" and "the Spiracles." And the list goes on.

Cobra And Phases Group Play Voltage In The Milky Night
Average customer rating:

Great album, beware false description!

Cobra And Phases Group Play Voltage In The Milky Night
Stereolab
Manufacturer: Duophonic
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000025AM2