..the next best thing to being there..

Three years after their split, Orbital return with a ghost, an echo, a reminder of what they were and what they had. Renowned for their legendary live shows, Orbital never released an 'official' live album in their career : this then, corrects that oversight with an enormous, 2 and a half hour epic compilation made of highlights form their 5 Glastonbury performances over a decade.

A Virtual Greatest Hits, the set doesn't sound as if it is anything but one coherent performance of an act at the height of their powers. Musically, Orbitals template may have dated slightly : the beats and sounds are largely reminiscent of the early 90's rave act that Orbital undoubtedly were, and who then evolved into a epic, pseudo-classical act that created vast soundscapes that resembled minimalist symphonies.

Still with us? Great. Because "Live At Glastonbury" is probably the definitive Orbital compilation. Without the meddling hands of greedhead record companies, Orbital choose the material that they feel best reflects their ethos. Over the course of 138 minutes, the collection takes in many of their best known tracks ("The Box", "Style", "Impact", Chime"), some LP highlights, and the always thrilling moment in the middle of "Halycon" where everything suddenly stops and Orbital go hair-metal. Which isn't as unlikely as it sounds. A medley of Bon Jovi and Belinda Carlisle over a thundering rhythm was always a fantastic - and funny - moment to experience in person and it has, at last, been captured on vinyl.

There are minor quirks : the set has at least 21 minutes space left on it, and no material from the final, and under-rated "Blue Album", which surely should have been rectified. However, with material of the standard that it is, the absence is barely noticeable.

Musically, Orbital reflect in some ways, the geometry and mathematics of music. Their work forms intricate helix loops of rotating riffs and arpeggeation, ascending and descending around central motifs to create enormous exercises in thoroughly danceable semi-minimalist variation.

Visually, the accompanying DVD is.. somewhat boring, as you see two men playing with technology whilst a screen shows stock footage behind them. Somehow, it manages to convey the sense of full of hysteria, abandon, and ecstatic meditation-through-dancing that was often achieved at Orbital shows, when senses were overloaded by a barrage of sound and colour and communal abandon to reach a state of elevated surrender to the music.

"One day I shall come back. Yes, one day, I shall come back. Until then there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs, and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mind "., says Dr Who, just before the penultimate song, a variation on the Dr Who theme. This collection is the next best thing to being there, until such time the band may return. And by the sets finale, the final and vast "Chime", the compelling, hypnotic music has reached such great heights that it's almost possible to think Orbital could change the world. And in a small way, they did.

Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register.

Powered by AkoComment 1.0 beta 2!