Disco de Orbital: “Diversions”

Imagine you knew the world was going to end in 15 minutes and you wanted the Anthem to accompany the impending disater. Slide this disk in and punch up track two and you will hear what I think is the greatest techno track of all time. DO NOT listen to this music while driving as you are liable to attract vehicles with flashing lights. Euro tunnel disaster is an appropriate name for the track.

The rest of the disk is awesome. If you like solid pounding techno, and felt like "Insides" was a little soft, or that Orbital II was really good but want something a little more vicious then try this one out.

Chemical Bros., Underworld, Juno Reactor, etc.... these artists are all excelent, but I would have to say that Orbital tops them all. This album will complete my collection and these guys never fail! If it's their first CD or their last CD,it doesn't matter! Orbital is great and just keeps putting out the best electronica I've ever heard. Their number one in my book!

If you have yet to buy an Orbital CD, this may not be the BEST one to start with, although there would certainly be nothing wrong with making this your first Orbital purchase. It includes three "new" tracks by Orbital: Impact USA (The Earth Is Burning), a nice reworking of the Brown Album's Impact (""). The second part of this version is more intense than the first, and puts it as an equal to the original. There is also a reworking of the "Lush" series called Lush 3(Euro Tunnel Disaster 94/Walk About) which has some good moments. The third track, Semi-Detached, represents one of Orbital's more ambient and experimental tracks up to this point, and is a highlight of the album.The remaining three tracks are remixes of "Lush": The best of these by far is the Underworld remix "Lush 3-5." if you like Underworld, you will appreciate this blending of their styles (they even throw in some electric guitar!). Overall, I gave Diversions 3 stars; this is rating it as an ORBITAL CD, not as ANY CD, because I find Orbital difficult to compare to most other music. Because to me it sums up their pre-Snivilisation sound, I consider it a must-have.

Orbital's Diversions was released shortly after the Brown Album, and it is far superior. There's another version of Impact USA here, and the added synths and smart beats are gloriously programmed. The track runs over 11 minutes and I'm thankful for that. Underworld, Psychick Warriors of Gaia, and CJ Bolland are found in the mix, and Underworld's 'Lush 3-3' is a travel-techno genius of a track which builds slowly and fades equally effectively over it's 13 minute span. The quiet minimal percussion found on 'Semi-Detached' complements the slow progressing synthesizers well. It's a very chilled track that never becomes boring. There's only 6 tracks on Diversions, though all but one are in the range of 10 minutes long or more. There are very few releases that can have lengthy tracks like this, be heard in your armchair or on the dancefloor, and hold up so amazing well as Diversions does.

I can't say enough about Diversions. Thanks to the Saint theme song I decided to buy an Orbital CD and through pure serendipity chose Diversions. It was one of the best decisions I've made. Diversions, I think is Orbital's best work. Each track takes you through a little mini-journey, orchestrating it perfectly. It takes you up, takes you down. All smoothly, all with a perfect blending of electronic sounds. I don't make any claims about knowing all about the electronic scene (living in the Midwest makes that difficult), but I've been listening to all sorts of trance, techno, and electronica and Orbital is definitely one of the best, and Diversions is their best work.