The Orb Album: “Little Fluffy Clouds [6 Track]”

When (like many British electronic bands) the Orb's stuff was first released in the US, the labels just assumed Americans wouldn't be able to handle it, so often times singles and albums were altered (indeed, Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld was only available in that horrid one-disc version in the US for about 4 years). So instead of getting the original Little Fluffy Clouds single (which was made up of the Orb's remixes of the track) available in the UK, the US got this one. Here's a breakdown:

1 Little Fluffy Clouds (Dance Mix MK 1 Edit) (3:59)

2 Little Fluffy Clouds (Inner Master Mix) (3:58)

Remix - Coldcut

3 Little Fluffy Clouds (Cumulo Nimbus Mix) (6:10)

Remix - Pal Joey

4 Little Fluffy Clouds (Dance MK 2) (8:25)

Remix - Thrash

5 Little Fluffy Clouds (Heavyweight Dub) (6:30)

Remix - Coldcut

6 Outlands (Fountain Of Elisha Mix) (8:00)

Remix - Thomas Fehlmann

Track 1 is the album version, minus a sample or two. Tracks 2 and 5 were remixes by Coldcut, who were big in the US after having remixed "Paid In Full", and yeah, did sorta start the idea of remixers radically altering originals (before then, remixes really did just alter the mix of tracks, maybe add some overdubs or something, but did little to the core of the song), but here, not much is added, and the results do sound pretty dated. Track 4 is mainly an extended version of the original. Tracks 3 and 6 both appeared on the Aubrey Ultraworld Excursions remix album, and are pleasant enough remixes. Should you get this? If you're a collector or have always wondered what a meeting of Coldcut and the Orb would be like, then yes. Otherwise, try and get the original UK single (which has 4 tracks) and the Aubrey mixes album.