October 20th, 2001 - the world was, more or less, ending. No one was getting out of this country except to go to war, and no one was getting in, either.
Except Orbital. I can remember my brother coming over to my place, where I’d been playing records and drinking a bit already, to find out how was I was going to be wasting my Friday night. I mentioned Orbital was playing up at the Madrid here in Kansas City, and within minutes we were racing the few blocks to the venue.
We arrived just as the brothers Hartnoll were taking the stage, threw our money at the ticket window and ran inside, past a few hundred well-dressed fashionistas (or the closest Kansas City has to them, at least), and proceeded to have what can only be called a cathartic experience . . . nailing the Belinda Carlisle and Bon Jovi samples right on time, dancing up a storm with a room full of people who, by and large, had never heard, much less heard of, these guys before. Headlights bobbing on stage, wobbling synths and drum patterns circling around in future-tribe synchronicity - the night has gone down as one of my all-time most memorable musical experiences.
Which brings us to what more or less amounts to Orbital’s second career retrospective collection, Orbital 20. 2002’s Work (1989-2002) features many of the same tracks as you’d expect to find here, from early genre-defining classics like “Chime” and “Belfast” to latter-day pieces “Style” and “Funny Break”. It is the 2-disc format of Orbital20, however, which really allows this new collection to shine.
Where Work concentrated mainly on 7″ edits and otherwise shortened versions, most of Orbital20’s (fittingly) twenty tracks are full-length, including the full “Lush 3″ suite, “Impact (The Earth is Burning”, and “Belfast”, not to mention a handful of longer live renditions. In fact, the only noticeably shortened versions on the current release is the up-for-it “Chime (Live Style mix)” and the quite beautiful second eight-minute half of “Are We Here”, with a bit of a tweaked vocal entry at that.
The expanded format allows for hidden album-cut gems to stretch their undervalued wings. Snivilisation’s “Sad but True”, which, like “Are We Here”, features Allison Goldfrapp’s devastatingly gorgeous vocals is a perfect example. “Girl with the Sun in her Head”, the lead-off track from 1996’s In-Sides, made entirely with electricity from a Greenpeace portable solar generator, is another.
The real allure of this collection comes in the form of Global Communications/Aphex Twin/Jedi Knight Tom Middleton getting the keys to “Halcyon” for an eight-plus minute workout. Middleton’s mix does get a little ravey at times, but stays within the original’s early-90’s context. Sadly, his mix isn’t given the time to fully pay off in the end - another four minutes or so might have given it the time it needed to finally capitalize on the tension points. All is forgiven given the original’s untouchable perfection, with Kirsty Hawkshaw’s obviously still-present vocal cooing leading to automatic goosebumps for generations of dancefloors.
While Middleton gives it a decent go and ultimately falls short, Herve’s ”Tree and Leaf Mix” of “Lush” is absolutely forgettable - it is, on second thought, an abominable travesty - and should have been left completely off the idea board. The mix is more of the hardhouse, saw-waved Hoover/post-”Azzido Da Bass” nonsense taking over mainstream clubs - a soulless, lowest-common-denominator approach to fitting in to banal, mundane “bloghouse” that I find it hard to believe (despite proof otherwise) would even satisfy the shiny-shirt Friday nighters. Possibly enough said already, but let me continue forward saying that this mix has no place in an otherwise classy, mature, intelligent collection.
Are there things missing? Of course - these economic times prohibit three or four disc compilations, and by that point, you might as well just buy the catalog in full, right? The dedicated fan probably already has the Peel Sessions and the various eps that litter Orbital’s extensive discography as it is.
Where Work served as a satisfying (albeit underwhelming) collection of vinyl-only versions and edits, Orbital20 gives a comprehensive introduction for the uninitiated as well as a much-needed refresher for those of us who will always be indebted to the Hartnoll brothers for their work in modern dance music.
Now, bring on the reunion tour!