This week I'm featuring The Orb. I had only heard their name in the past, but their latest album Metallic Spheres, released in October 2010, paired them with Floyd guitarist David Gilmour, and I was anxious to hear it.
From Wikipedia:
"The Orb are an English electronic music group known for spawning the genre of ambient house. Founded in 1988 by Alex Paterson and KLF member Jimmy Cauty, The Orb began as ambient and dub DJs in London. Its early performances were inspired by ambient and electronic artists of the 1970s and 1980s, most notably Brian Eno and Kraftwerk. Because of its trippy sound, the Orb developed a cult following among clubbers "coming down" from drug-induced highs. The Orb [were known for] colourful light shows and psychedelic imagery in concert. These visually intensive performances prompted critics to compare the group to Pink Floyd. The Orb's critical and commercial success in the United Kingdom peaked in the early 1990s with the albums The Orb's Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld and U.F.Orb, the latter of which reached #1 on the British album charts in 1992. The group experimented with vocalists on its next two albums, which critics generally described as bland and uninspired. The Orb then shifted gears to a minimal techno style spearheaded by member Thomas Fehlmann."
Regarding the latest album from All Music:
"In 2009, David Gilmour recorded a version of the Graham Nash single "Chicago" with help from producer Youth, an occasional member of the Orb going back to the early '90s. It was a charity single to aid accused hacker Gary McKinnon, but it became the springboard for further collaboration one year later, after Orb main man Dr. Alex Paterson, became involved. Metallic Spheres is the result, a 49-minute odyssey that is very intentionally split up into only two tracks. The Orb fans and Pink Floyd fans should have no trouble with this album. In fact, Orb fans will find more resemblance to their classic early-'90s sound than ever; that is, less dense soundworlds and more skeletal groove-riding over a lazy 4/4 beat. Meanwhile, Pink Floyd fans looking for the imprint of the master will find them everywhere: Gilmour's guitar or lap steel, and rarely, his vocals (sampled from "Chicago") feature all over this record, mostly reminiscent of either the countrified haze originally heard on Meddle or the, well, spacy haze on The Dark Side of the Moon. Boasting few landmarks, the record simply rolls along with all the sublime calm of The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld or the "Echoes" portion of Meddle; each artist sounds averse to taking any chances, which prevents anything truly exciting from occurring."
So...Metallic Spheres...for me, it's one of those albums that you have high hopes for and give it many listens once you get it, only to shelve it due to lack of interest. Maybe I'm just not an ambient house guy, but I was really hoping that the combination of Gilmour and The Orb would produce something epic. Sadly, I feel it meanders around a lot, and rarely reaches any points that make your ears perk up. Gilmour's guitar playing and (sparse) vocals don't shine through, and considering we may never get another go around with him in Pink Floyd or even another solo project, I can't help but feel like this was a lost opportunity.
My Rating__5 out of 10 Headphones__ 6 out of 10
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