The Orb Album: “Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld [Deluxe Edition]”

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.

As deluxed edition's go the Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld is the best I have come across. From the packaging to the bonus disc, giving a more complete experience and quaulity of sound. I already owned the album and decided to buy the deluxe edition after reading the previous "Excellent Reissue" review. Highly recommended and a must for anyone who's interested in this genre of music .

One of The Orb's better productions. I would have given it five stars except that it seems to lose some creative steam as it progresses. I love the references to the old Buck Rogers serials that are inserted into some of the pieces. Still it is a good toe-tapping musical romp across time and space. If you are an Orb fan you certainly should have this one in your collection.

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.