The Orb's Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld

Amazon.com essential recording
The first Orb album was entirely new when it appeared: a low-key dance record, with echoes and swells more than up-front tunes, stoner-level dub bass, and all sorts of samples and sounds--seagulls, film clips, astronaut voices, bits of disco--fluttering through the mix like hallucinations. Essentially a techno album for tired dancers, it's held up nicely over time, thanks to its intricate, dreamy sonics. Beyond the classic "Little Fluffy Clouds"--a set of interlocking synth hooks and loping percussion, held together by a cut-up sample of Rickie Lee Jones talking about the skies of her youth--there are lots of mellow delights here, particularly the blissful reggae groove "Perpetual Dawn." --Douglas Wolk

The Orb's Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld,The Orb,Island Red / Pgd,Ambient Dub,Ambient House,Ambient Techno,Electronica,England,IDM,Pop,Popular Music,Rock,Rock/Pop

The Orb's Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld

Average customer rating:

A "trip" indeed!
The Orb's Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld
Though uneven and definitely not for everyone, "Adventures" is an influential album that ambient fans will love
The start of something new......
A "Trip" Through the Universe

The Orb's Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld
The Orb
Manufacturer: Fontana Island
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ambient | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Techno | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Dance Pop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

IDM | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
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Lifeforms
U.F.Orb (Limited initial quantities include 2nd disc with full length 40 minute "Blue Room" +3)
Chill Out
Dead Cities
76:14

ASIN: B000005HTX
Release Date: 1994-03-01

Tracks:

Little Fluffy Clouds
Earth (Gaia)
Supernova At The End Of The Universe
Back Side Of The Moon
Spanish Castles In Space

Tracks:

Perpetual Dawn
Into The Fourth Dimension
Outlands
Star 6& 7, 8, 9
Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From The Center Of The Ultraworld, A

Amazon.com essential recording

The first Orb album was entirely new when it appeared: a low-key dance record, with echoes and swells more than up-front tunes, stoner-level dub bass, and all sorts of samples and sounds--seagulls, film clips, astronaut voices, bits of disco--fluttering through the mix like hallucinations. Essentially a techno album for tired dancers, it's held up nicely over time, thanks to its intricate, dreamy sonics. Beyond the classic "Little Fluffy Clouds"--a set of interlocking synth hooks and loping percussion, held together by a cut-up sample of Rickie Lee Jones talking about the skies of her youth--there are lots of mellow delights here, particularly the blissful reggae groove "Perpetual Dawn." --Douglas Wolk

Customer Reviews:

A "trip" indeed!.......2007-04-05

This is easily one of the most influental albums in electronica. It is of course, a classic of the genre (Ambient House/ Dub). One thing that people seem to miss is that the album is not just a journey in the figurative sense, but also thematically.
First off, the track number's aren't typical (1. 2. 3. etc.), but are known as Earth Orbit One, Earth Orbit Two etc. progressing through Lunar Orbits, on to Ultraworld Probes until finally by the last track, Ultraworld Ten- "A Huge Evergrowing Pulsating Brain That Rules from The Center Of The Ultrworld: Live Mix MK 10" The music follows suit. The farther out towards the "Ultraworld" the album goes, the more "spacey" the album gets.
Also, it's the first in a three album cycle. The second album, "U.F.Orb" is equally as good if not a little better than "... Ultraworld", but it's the Orbs return journey from the Ultraworld. Finally there's "Orbus Terrarum", which as the title suggests finds the Orb exploring Earth itself with song titles like, "Oxbow Lakes" & "Valley".
Do I have too much time on my hands?

The Orb's Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld.......2006-04-13

I can't believe no one has reviewed this album.

I first heard of it through pitchforkmedia.com's best albums of the 90's list and I enjoyed it upon first listen, though it is a little intimidating. By contrast "Little Fluffy Clouds," the opening track, was the albums single and starts an intense and foreboding album off on a tangible and rewarding foot.

I describe this album as intimidating for a few reason's. It's huge. Songs are very long and not one doesn't fit the overused description of "epic." It's house music, but the sound reminds me a lot of the sound experiments of "Echoes" on Pink Floyd's album Meddle. It also reminds me of the Boredoms Vision Creation Newsun in that the album is a sort of song cycle. It has to be listened to in one fell swoop (or at least it's hard to imagine someone putting just one of these songs on repeat). It's an album of intense atmosphere, but the songs are good enough that you needn't only dwell on one thing that makes the album intriguing.

It's hard to recommend this album to anyone not knowing what music it fits into. It is house music but, that being said, if I read this review I might not be too intrigued (not being too into that specific genre). But how about this; From one music geek to another- this is one of the most interesting and repeatable albums from a decade of many interesting and repeatable albums. I don't think you would need to be afraid of this excellent album because it doesn't fit in with your collection.

Certainly not an album for everyone. If you are at all interested in the different possibilities in sound and music I would recommend this album. I don't think I would recommend it to someone I work with.

Though uneven and definitely not for everyone, "Adventures" is an influential album that ambient fans will love.......2006-01-03

The Orb's "Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld" was essentially one of if not THE first ambient house album (it at least inspired other artists and (somewhat) popularized the genre - "Little Fluffy Clouds" is a very appealing track). It is, admittedly, a little uneven. If you've only heard the song "Little Fluffy Clouds", be prepared for a quick change of pace. The rest of the album is very ambient and very experimental, but for ambient fans and the open-minded it's very interesting stuff to listen to. My personal favorites are the first three tracks, and the rest I don't think are as fun to listen to as a whole (they're definitely very good, though). It's not ambient in a traditional sense - there's definitely a beat in most of the songs which help keep them accessible. What's also great is how you're essentially getting two albums for the price of one (actually more like the price of 1.5 albums)! If it weren't for this fact and its influence on the world of music, I probably would've given it a 4.5. Ambient and electronica fans will definitely love it, though. Even if most people won't like the album as a whole, they'll most likely enjoy "Little Fluffy Clouds". Highly recommended!

Highlights include:
the entire album!

The start of something new.............2005-08-23

This album created a movement thats been slowly evolving ever since. Comparable to Future Sound of London's 'Lifeforms' or 'Dead Cities' this journey into musical bliss is layered with beautiful yet strange samples and textures found only in a handful of electronic artists* ( *see: Future Sound of London , Boards of Canada , Aphex Twin , 2 Lone Swordsmen, Jean-Michel Jarre). As one reviewer already said this release was way ahead of its time. This album is a mix of different styles from ambient to dub to acid house which at some points is more dance oriented than strictly ambient. With almost 2 hours of music on 2 cds this might seem long but does it ever fly by. I enjoyed this album as a whole rather than just having favourite tracks. If you're into sci-fi and space exploration you deffinately need to buy this. I recommend smoking a spliff and sitting back in a lawnchair looking up at the stars and letting your subconcious take over. Its hard to believe its been 14 years since its conception . Only open minds need apply.

A "Trip" Through the Universe .......2005-01-10

The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Underworld may officially be called techno, but it's hardly dance music. This is techno as filtered through a 70's haze of Pink Floyd and Tangerine Dream. Pothead pixies Gong are another influence, and former Gongster Steve Hillage turns up here as co-writer and producer on a few tracks.

Your pilot, Dr Alex Paterson, takes control of the spacecraft and guides you to other worlds with a swirling sound collage of beats, samples, music and voices. Your tour of the Underworld and beyond takes place over 10 long tracks on 2 CD's. This is very trippy stuff, like the bands named above with a modern-production cinematic quality.

Favorite tracks are "Earth (Gaia)" (I love that voice-of-God bit) and the space reggae of "Perpetual Dawn."

Average customer rating:

I knew something like this would happen. A re-issue of the ultimate classic of the "Ambient Dub" genre
Excellent Reissue

Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld
The Orb
Manufacturer: Umvd Import
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ambient | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Techno | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Dance Pop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

IDM | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Dance & DJ | Imports | Stores | Music
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U.F.Orb (Limited initial quantities include 2nd disc with full length 40 minute "Blue Room" +3)
Orbus Terrarum
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Fabric 26

ASIN: B000FJAV2I
Release Date: 2006-07-10

Tracks:

Little Fluffy Clouds
Earth (Gaia)
Super Nova At The End Of The Universe
Back Side Of The Moon
Spanish Castles In Space

Tracks:

Perpetual Dawn
Into The Fourth Dimension
Outlands
Star 6 & 7 8 9
A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From The Centre Of The Ultraworld

Tracks:

Perpetual Dawn
Little Fluffy Clouds
Back Side Of The Moon
Outlands
A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From The Centre Of The Ultraworld : Loving You
Spanish Castles In Space

Album Description

Digitally remastered three CD reissue of this influential 1991 techno album,. Features the original album on the first two CDs, while Disc Three contains numerous bonus tracks including two versions of 'The Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain...' (John Peel Radio Session and Jim Cauty & Dr. Alex Paterson's Aubrey Mix Mk. II) plus remixes of classic tracks like 'Perpetual Dawn', 'Little Fluffy Clouds', Back Side Of The Moon', 'Outland' and 'Spanish Castles'. Universal. 2006.

Album Details

2006 Triple CD Deluxe Digitally Remastered Edition Celebrating the 15th Anniversary of the Orb's Genre Defining Debut from 1991 Disc One and Two Include the Original Album. Disc Three Includes the John Peel Session from December 1989 which was the Most Requested Session in the History of his Show. Also Included is the Andrew Weatherall, Vinyl-only, "Ultrabass Ii" Mix of "Perpatual Dawn" and Five of the Aubrey Mixes which were Deleted on Day of Release in 1991.

Customer Reviews:

I knew something like this would happen. A re-issue of the ultimate classic of the "Ambient Dub" genre.......2006-09-18

It's great that they re-issued their first and most important album. This album, and their second album "UFOrb", are probably the considered "classics" of the whole ambient dub genre. I see that "UFOrb" is currently unavailable so it's possible that they could be working on a new re-issue of that album, too.

I can see that this new re-issue of "Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld" has an additional bonus CD of some of their re-mixes from back then. If you are fortunate enough to have their very scarce "limited edition" UK Only 1992 release of "The Orb: Aubrey Mixes: the Ultraworld Excursions", then you will already have most of the tracks that are here on the bonus CD. I use to be obsessed with The Orb back in their beginning. Their appeal ended abruptly when I tried to sit through, and make sense of, "Pomme Fritz". I couldn't leave the ground with this strange short collage of dissonant go-nowhere sounds and effects.

However, I will admit that I haven't paid much attention to The Orb for many years now. The classics "Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld" and "UFOrb", remain their ultimate classic innovative projects (including the various remixes and non-commercial releases surrounding those two albums). I tried "Pomme Fritz", "Orbvs Terrarvm", and "Orblivion", and I just gave up on The Orb. Many other releases followed where I only read the CD jacket but never cared to buy anymore. I played some snippets here and there but nothing really captured my attention like the first two Orb albums did.

I did give "Cydonia" a try and I even bought it ("used" of course, so I didn't really risk much. I thought "Cydonia" was okay, not the greatest, but certainly more interesting than everything from "Pomme Fritz" forward. Then I actually paid full price for "Bicycles and Tricycles". I don't know what compelled me to do that. Maybe I just wanted to make sure I walked out of the CD store having bought something. Anything.

On "Bicycles and Tricycles", Alex has recorded probably the most ignorant rap track I have ever heard. Any rap track, that sounds angry, especially from a woman, is so damn annoying!. I'm already use to the fact that we seldom ever hear anything very positive from male rappers anyway. What's more, a "rap" track doesn't belong here anyway. That's not Orb music! But anyway, that stupid song "Aftermath" greatly reduced the appeal of the album "Bicycles and Tricycles" for me, and continues to justify my opinion that The Orb is no where's near as great as they were with "Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld" and "UFOrb".

I don't know why The Orb feels that they have to have a speaking part in the middle of their albums although I liked the american guy on "Bicycles and Tricycles" talking about his observation of "pretty girls used for advertising". That was kind of cute. Hell, that could have easily been me talking. That's definately my style of dry wit. However, the speaking part on "Cydonia" was confusing and annoying.

Their latest CD, "Okie Dokie", just isn't the Orb that they use to be. What was unique about "Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld" and "UFOrb" was that the main theme of those two albums are about Outer Space, Lunar Modules, Interplanetary Space Travel, Space Station Communication, Super Novas, Dark Stars, Astronauts, etc. You know, our "not so distant future". It's the absence of these space themes that make me feel like the album of "Okie Dokie", is no longer The Orb that they once were. Plus The Orb use to be able to make tracks flow together more smoothly. Unlike "Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld", all those tracks on "Okie Dokie" seem like they could just end as they end, and start a new track as they start. The otherworldly flow that they use to create so well is just not there anymore. And all those tracks on "Okie Dokie" are much shorter so the "trance" concept has diminished as well. It was the feeling of floating, recognizing no gravity, and just simple but beautiful cold dark terror, that was what "Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld" and "UFOrb" was all about. These first two Orb albums had a sound that was "larger than life". So much substance, vastness, and depth. Everything afterwards just seems like we've never left the ground. Never left the room. No otherworldly adventure to explore or fear.

I'd like to see Alex Paterson try to do another Orb album where he takes us back to outer space, and tries to revive the cold terror of the unknown worlds of outer space. He should try doing an album called "U.F.Orb II: Another Ultraworld Adventure!" Commercially, the album title alone would bring many of the earlier Orb fans back. Hell, it worked for Jean Michel Jarre with "Oxygene 7-13" and Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells II (and even III)".

Give that a try Alex, see what happens. Even Pink Floyd might pay attention. Selling out to your glorious past is the American way to stay alive. Take us back to the future, Alex!

Fans of early Orb should already be aware of artists like Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Tomita, and Jean Michel Jarre. My latest favorite "ambient dub" artists are Phutureprimitive, The Higher Intelligence Agency, and Electric Skychurch.

If you are into "glitch" and IDM, you can't go wrong with Autechre, Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, Gescom, and Photek.

To me, IDM (which means "Intelligent Dance Music"), should be called ADM (meaning "Addictive Music"), because believe me, once you become conditioned to listening to this kind of music, it's very hard to return to regular music. Today's IDM make Kraftwerk sound like "old hat", but I will always respect that Kraftwerk continues to prove to be the innovators of everything you here as "electronica" today.

I find a sense of comfort in the lunacy that is Autechre's music. It's like "Machinery Gone Wrong", and it's very motivational music if you like to listen to music while you work. The Orb's "Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld", and "UFOrb", are excellent "cool down" albums when the work is done.

Excellent Reissue.......2006-08-13

To celebrate the 15-year anniversary, The Orb rereleased their first album. It's also been packaged with some odds and ends from the time period. For starters, the album itself is excellent. It's been remastered, and while nothing revelatory is found, it's very much a cleaner sound, and the volume's been turned up a bit, which is nice. The bonus disc is the main reason to get this, and the tracks here also sounds like they've been cleaned up. It starts off with the 20-minute version of A Huge Ever-Growing.... from the John Peel session, which is probably even better than the original, throwing in chanting, and some Pink Floyd. Next is the Ultrabass II mix of Perpetual Dawn. True, this was already on the 2-disc U.F.Off, but it's here in its entirety. The last 5 tracks were taken from the Aubrey mixes album, which has become a rarity since it was deleted on the day of release. The Castles in Goa mix of Spanish Castles is not here, but since we still have the Youth Extended mix (which is essentially the same mix only longer), that is no real loss. The January Mix 3 of Perpetual Dawn is also missing, and was probably the mix chosen to be left off simply because it's not that good. It's ok, but not great. the 5 mixes that are here are excellent, however. The Cumulonimbus mix of Little Fluffy Clouds floats along similar to the original, with some new synth sounds added. It is mixed into the Under Water Deep Space just as it was on the original album. This mix adds some guitar, and some beats not entirely diiferent from those on Supernova.... It even actually keeps the mix into the beginning of the Castles in Goa mix, but then fades out. The Fountains of Elisha mix of Outlands gets points for bizarre originality. It sounds like Outlands mixed in with "Puttin' on the Ritz" if that makes any sense. It also keeps the original mix into the remix of A Huge Ever-Growing..., which is a good mix, and shows that Alex and Jimmy did have some good ideas together. This is is then mixed into the Extended Youth mix (this mix-in has been created just for this release as these two tracks didn't use to be next to each other). This is a very good mix, adding some great basslines and beats. I would highly recommend this for any Orb fan, and a newbie is better off getting this version for the clearer sound and bonus stuff.

Average customer rating:

The Chopped-up Single-disc Version

The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld
The Orb
Manufacturer: Polygram Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ambient | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

IDM | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Perpetual Dawn (US 5" maxi-CD single REMIX EP)
Vol. 1 - Auntie Aubrey's Excursions Beyond the Call of Duty
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ASIN: B00000E5EW
Release Date: 1991-08-20

Tracks:

Little Fluffy Clouds
Earth (Gaia)
Super Nova at the End of the Universe
Perpetual Dawn (Solar Youth Mix)
Into the Fourth Dimension
Outlands
Star 6 & 7 8 9 (Phase II)
Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain that Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld: Live Mix mk 10

Customer Reviews:

The Chopped-up Single-disc Version.......2005-06-16

For some weird reason, record companies have just assumed that British and American audiences are so different, that even the way music is packaged must be differently. This is why Beatles' albums were first released in the US with single tracks replacing album tracks, etc. It continued in the 70's with the first Clash album. And in 1991, it happened with the Orb. The two-disc version that you now find everywhere wasn't released in the US until 1994. Polygram released the one-disc, Island the 2-disc. So why is this version so terrible? For starters, Side B (Back Side of the Moon and Spanish Castles in Space) are gone, mostly because as Dr. Alex pointed out, how do you edit them down? The whole point was the lying back and just listening. This isn't even the worst thing done to the album. Apparently deciding that Perpetual Dawn wasn't already accessible enough, they switched it out for the Solar Youth mix (also found on U.F.Off), a 4-minute long version with really stupid lyrics thrown on. Usually Youth did better when working with the Orb, but this was just terrible. Then, they switched out the original Star 6 & 7 8 9 for the "phase II" mix (on a side note, both the Solar Youth and Phase II were found on the Perpetual Dawn single. Why not just leave them there?) that is nowhere near the sweetness of the original, and while very Orb-like, was a switch for the worse. Of course, this version has now become a collector's item, mainly because when American could get the real version, they did so, and this version disappeared. Your best bet is to get the 2-disc version and if you liked these versions, to get the Perpetual Dawn single. It's a fairly common occurence on Ebay, and has the very nice Ultrabass mixes of Perpetual Dawn on it.

Average customer rating:

A "trip" indeed!
The Orb's Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld
Though uneven and definitely not for everyone, "Adventures" is an influential album that ambient fans will love
The start of something new......
A "Trip" Through the Universe