ABC Music: The Radio 1 Sessions

Rate It! Avg: 4.5 (131 ratings)
Sample Album
ABC Music: The Radio 1 Sessions album cover
Album Information
EDITOR'S PICK // LIVE

Total Tracks: 32   Total Length: 137:30

eMusic Review 0

Avatar Image
Michelangelo Matos

eMusic Contributor

04.22.11
A live album that finally unleashes the onstage drive that their sometimes fussy "real" albums barely hint at.
Label: KOCH Records / Entertainment One Distribution

If ever a band deserved a chronologically ordered best-of, it's Stereolab, whose sea of albums are just different enough to thrill die-hards and just similar enough to confound beginners. And if ever a band renowned for its studio work deserved a live compilation, it's Stereolab, whose sometimes fussy "real" albums barely hint at their onstage drive. ABC Music is the best of both worlds — we get to hear their songwriting expand organically, and the soft glow of songs like "Metronomic Underground" gains traction in the brighter, harsher light of these versions.

Write a Review 9 Member Reviews

Please register before you review a release. Register

user avatar

John Cage Bubblegum

mcmrogers

All I know is that I've been looking for a copy of JCB for ages. Had it on the Slumberland double LP version of Why Popstars Can't Dance and then I went digital and have had the song in the back of my mind. And it wasn't on the 3cd box of a few years ago so I was beginning to lose hope. And here it is.

user avatar

Best Live Album Ever

rosselfline

OK, granted I'm a really huge fan of Stereolab, but in all honesty, this is the best live album I have ever heard. The term "live album" is a bit of a misnomer here actually, as everything has been delicately and precisely laid out for the Radio One sessions. At the same time, however, these recordings do manage to capture the spirit of seeing Stereolab perform live. And it was my first live show of this band that made me an obsessive in the first place. Please download ASAP.

user avatar

bic - Australia

bic

Previous comments say it all. It is getting rather tedious the number of tracks/albums not available. As I have said before this fact should be clearly advertised in the join up hype.

user avatar

really annoying

norolemodel

I can only second the previous comment. This has apparently only recently become "unavailable in my country", as I'd already downloaded a couple of really good tracks (like them more than the album versions), and had saved the rest "for later", only to return in the meantime to find the rest now unavailable in Germany.

user avatar

yet again

bobbyknuckles

Another disappointment. Unavailable in your country (UK). This is becoming a recurring theme on emusic.

user avatar

Tremendous!

comma8

A really tremendous intro to Stereolab -- and right now the only way on this site to get a full sampling of the band at the height of its powers, during the early years post-Too Pure after the jump to Elektra. Transient Random tracks, Mars Audiac, Dots and Loops... Back when the band was going wild with limited singles and collectors were ga-ga for the group. As you might infer, I'm not a big fan of Stereolab's early drone stuff and honestly didn't get the first switched on when it hit on Slumberland years ago. Space aged bachelor pad and Peng felt unrealized to me as well -- and the most recent stuff seems way too "eclectic." This collection does represent parts of both, but hits firmly in the mid-to-late-90's sweet spot.

user avatar

Different

markgrif

Great music. I love it even if I don't understand why I like it. I recommend 'Changer'.

user avatar

Stereo Oh!

APE

Even if you should have every tune on these discs in thier previous forms this is an album worth getting.

user avatar

download all

ryanlehn

I've owned this album for a while now and it is one of my favourites. I have almost all of these songs ripped onto my computer. Although I like most of the original versions of these songs better, it is still very necessary to have these alternate versions. Keep up the good work on all of your selection emusic!

Recommended Albums

eMusic Features

0

The 50 Greatest Summer Albums: 50-41

By The eMusic Community, eMusic Contributor

At the dawn of summer, we asked the eMusic community to come together to decide the best summer albums ever. What records are perfect for both easy livin 'and hard partying? When the mercury starts to climb, what is it that your ears ache to hear? People responded in a big way — subscribers, employees, writers, you name it — and, surprisingly, a very clear consensus emerged. The five albums that top this poll were… more »

0

Peel Sessions

By Michelangelo Matos, eMusic Contributor

For most of us, it's difficult to remember a time when radio didn't play recorded music, but when BBC Radio 1 started up in 1967, its DJs had strict rules about the amount of "needle time" they were allowed to program. Like many of his peers, John Peel, a hugely popular pirate radio personality who'd been hired onto the station at its inception (Radio 1 was an attempt by the national broadcaster to emulate the… more »

They Say All Music Guide

ABC Music, the two-disc, 32-track compilation of Stereolab’s BBC Radio 1 sessions from July 1991 to August 2001, is a surprisingly illuminating and listenable set. Although this may come as a shock to some casual listeners, Stereolab can be a ferocious live band, and their trademark blend of Krautrock, easy listening, and Brazilian influences (in different proportions throughout their career) usually has an added aggressiveness in a live setting. This is particularly apparent on the earliest tracks, including an outstanding version of their early signature tune “Super Electric” on which the Neu!-like motorik pulse is buttressed by some almost punky guitar work by co-leader Tim Gane. Several tracks appear in embryonic versions, with a very different early take of “Seeperbold” called “Working Title (The Pram Song)” of particular interest. The familiar songs tend to sound more stripped-down here; “International Colouring Contest” loses its samba-like beat but gains a more heartfelt vocal from Laetitia Sadier, who also steps away from her usual deadpan on glorious revisions of the rarity “Brigitte” and the 1996 single “Cybele’s Reverie,” which sounds just as catchy and propulsive without the studio version’s full orchestral setting. ABC Music is probably not the place to start for the complete Stereolab novice, but any fan will be impressed. – Stewart Mason

more »