Decksandrumsandrockandroll

Decksandrumsandrockandroll

ASIN: B000006BZ5

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Since the Chemical Brothers explosion, new big-beat acts from the U.K. are greeted with skepticism, but Propellerheads are no copycats. Alex Gifford and Will White did the usual groundwork by releasing singles and EPs before giving up a full album. The groovy single "History Repeating," featuring '60s cabaret vocalist Shirley Bassey, plays slightly into the lounge revival of the late '90s but with a James Bond-esque style that grabs attention similar to Portishead's "Sour Times." The recurring spy film theme makes this a perfect soundtrack for Austin Powers's first rave--"On Her Majesty's Secret Service" is actually a Bond remake. Propellerheads also slip in full-on "rock" jams ("Bang On!") and slick urban cut-ups reminiscent of De La Soul, who appear on "360° (Oh Yeah?)." Shifting tempos from laidback to lightning-fast with exceptional ease, Decksandrumsandrockandroll is a solid collection of funky, jazzy, hip-hop-influenced dance music that has earned its mainstream acceptance by delivering the goods. --Liisa Ladouceur

Spin
Unveiling a smashing command of plugged-in beats, Propellerheads craft an ultra-concise crossover sound whose brute brilliance ensures it needn't apologize for its own populism. Utterly snappy and effortlessly inclusive, it zooms past crankier, knottier sources and antecedents ... erasing the memory of less slick stuff.... On Decksandrumsandrockandroll, Propellerheads' mighty fluff triumphs.

Decksandrumsandrockandroll

Tracks:

Take California
Velvet Pants
Better?
360 Degrees (Oh Yeah?)
History Repeating
Winning Style
Bang On!
A Number Of Microphones
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Bigger?
Cominagetcha
Spybreak!
You Want It Back

Amazon.com

Since the Chemical Brothers explosion, new big-beat acts from the U.K. are greeted with skepticism, but Propellerheads are no copycats. Alex Gifford and Will White did the usual groundwork by releasing singles and EPs before giving up a full album. The groovy single "History Repeating," featuring '60s cabaret vocalist Shirley Bassey, plays slightly into the lounge revival of the late '90s but with a James Bond-esque style that grabs attention similar to Portishead's "Sour Times." The recurring spy film theme makes this a perfect soundtrack for Austin Powers's first rave--"On Her Majesty's Secret Service" is actually a Bond remake. Propellerheads also slip in full-on "rock" jams ("Bang On!") and slick urban cut-ups reminiscent of De La Soul, who appear on "360° (Oh Yeah?)." Shifting tempos from laidback to lightning-fast with exceptional ease, Decksandrumsandrockandroll is a solid collection of funky, jazzy, hip-hop-influenced dance music that has earned its mainstream acceptance by delivering the goods. --Liisa Ladouceur

Customer Reviews:

a pleasant surprise.......2007-05-12

the propellerheads are a pleasant surprise on the lounge music scene. the beats they whip up into their tunes are faster than usual, peppy and zingy. they are a perfect accompaniment for retail environments and luxury car advertisments.

but as they make the heart race, they also listen pretty well. from the track 'black velvet pants' to the end, it's a great, jazz-infused ride featuring smaples from john barry and a vocal guest spot by 60s icon shirley bassey.

Great CD!.......2007-01-26

My brother owned this and he said I should give it a listen. Being skeptical, I did. I was blown away! There is not a bad track on this CD.

Frog Music.......2005-10-22

This is my 3-year-old son's favorite CD, and probably mine too. He likes the first track, "Take California", which he calls "Frog Music" because of how the bass sounds.

The whole album gets my whole family moving every time. This is groovy, intelligent, fun music. I highly recommend it.

And they played records.......2005-05-02

Big beats. Hip-hop. James Bond. That's the description of the Propellerheads' "Decksanddrumsandrockandroll," a wildly enticing album that mixes dance music with a James Bondian atmosphere. Its crossover appeal and originality are very good, but the raw energy is the icing on the cake.

A cheerful, sputtering radio sample opens the album, before leading into a gritty maze of electrobeats and percussion, interspersed with samples. It's heavy stuff, but still fun. Things reach their heaviest point near the end when jazz rhythms are mingled with deep vocal samples and some blisteringly raw electronic buzzes.

It gets more fun in the second song, "Velvet Pants," a vaguely jazzy song with the constant repetition, "He's got a nice body, he's wearing velvet pants... Send the first kid down, send the first kid down, and they played records."A more openly hip-hoppy sound enters with the pleasantly slackerish "360° (Oh Yeah?)", while "Winning Style" has a glitzier, faster tone.

The best songs of all are the ones with a distinctly James Bondian flair: "History Repeating" is a wonderfully overwrought lounge-dance song, with Shirley Bassey roaring that, "And I've seen it before/and I'll see it again/just little bits of history repeating!" Same with spy dance-track "Spybreak." But things reach their peak with "In Her Majesty's Secret Service," a ten minute opus that mingles majestic retro with big beat fun, complete with an orchestral brass climax.

If it sounds fun, that's because it is.

Kitschy electronica is one of the easiest kinds of music to mess up, especially if there's sampling going on. Give it a theme, and it's even harder. But the Propellerheads pull this incredibly engaging album with rare style and skill, pulling together spy flair with disparate musical styles -- who would pair funky dance beats with an epic brass section? Apparently they would -- and it works.

The Propellerheads veer wildly from one style to another, sometimes mingling styles. Rather than sounding messy and fragmented, they create densely-constructed, dancey songs. And they know just how often to repeat a sample, and where to place it, just to keep the beats and rhythms from seeming repetitive.

The Propellerheads have yet to create a follow-up to "Decksanddrumsandrockandroll" but this one is enough to keep fans raving. Wildly original, full of raw energy and lots of fun.

Everything is in the mix!.......2004-11-26

When I think of the Propellerheads, songs like "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" which was a bond movie remake and "History Repeating" featuring 60's jazz artist Shirley Bassey comes too mind. Those 2 songs are not what Propellerheads is all about though. Many of their songs are a mix of Hip Hop and dance music. With fast beats, hard bass and scratching. They never were afraid to mix the genres and even if they didn't make any other albums I can think of they stayed on to what they knew and never became too commerical like Fatboy Slim and Chemical Brothers. "Bang On" for example is a very fast song with rough beats. "A number of Microphones" is a a one of a kind hip hop influented song where they show what kind of sound you can do with the mic. "Bigger" introduces some scratching and awesome computer made sounds. "360 degree's" with De La Soul rapping. "Better" is jazzy while "Spybreak" is another Bond number. Many songs are also beat oriented, semi-drum and bass, or whatever you can call that. Overall a great album with many highlight. Propellerheads might not jabe been around for long but while they were they did some great work. Defenitely something for your dance collection.

Average customer rating:

groove
TechnoFunk Must Have!
Contaigous beats....
this rocks (and rolls)

Decksandrumsandrockandroll
Propellerheads
Manufacturer: Import [Generic]
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Big Beat | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Trip-Hop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Dance & DJ | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00000G6AF
Release Date: 1998-09-29

Tracks:

Take California
Echo and Bounce
Velvet Pants
Better?
Oh Yeah
History Repeating
Winning Style
Bang On!
Number of Microphones on Her Majesty's Secret Service
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Bigger?
Cominagetcha
Spybreak!

Tracks:

You Want It Back
360 Degrees (Oh Yeah)
Go Faster
Ron's Theory
Dive

Album Description

Japanese edition of the British duo's hit debut album featuring all of the tracks from the U.S. edition, plus 'Echo And Bounce' from the U.K. edition and a bonus disc with four tracks not on either pressing: '360 Degrees' (featuring De La Soul), 'Go Faster', 'Ron's Theory' and 'Dive!'. A total of 18 tracks. 1998 EMI release. The full title is 'DECKSANDRUMSANDROCKANDROLL'.

Album Details

Japanese Version featuring a Bonus Remix CD.

Customer Reviews:

groove.......2002-06-20

This import defines an entire genre of electronic music. It's not the generic thumping beats of house/dance, it's got clever beats and breaks, catchy rhythms that have me drumming on the steering wheel, and no annoying vocals to speak of (y'know, the operatic woman repeating the same thing over and over)
Their original use of real instruments like organs, flutes, all kindsa drums, is now often immitated, and that's great, but this is the album that started it all.
These songs are excellent for exciting background music for video games (pefect for games that let you use your own music) and for driving and general grooving.
I don't normally review, but this is my favorite discovery EVER.

TechnoFunk Must Have!.......2000-08-02

This CD has depth and range. And you add Shirley Bassey and De La Soul you've got something for everybody.

Hey P-Heads! Why don't you hook up with ACID 2.0 and drop down some serious technofunk'n .WAV file loops? If you lay out the tracks we will buy it!

Enjoy!

Contaigous beats...........2000-06-04

MUST BUY! Whether you're techno/electric, alternative, anything! If you love a good beat, pick this up. My friend introed this to me a couple of months ago, and I was hooked on HMSS! So I picked myself up a copy and fell in love with the whole cd. He'd gotten his copy at a club. Then I brought it to work and let a friend listen to it, he loved it! Got himself a copy, and now his roommates dig it too! Then I found out the 3 other people I worked with already had the cd, and love it too! We're all different kinds of music people too! "Velvet pants" is the theme song for a friend, and I've found out that the 'Heads have songs on a lot of soundtracks! Very catchy, I kid you not. This cd with extras is worth the $$$, because you can't get enough to these 2 rocking guys! Cheers!

this rocks (and rolls).......2000-02-28

best beats ever you have to own this on

Average customer rating:

Decksandrumsandrockandroll
Propellerheads
Manufacturer: Msi Music Corp
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B0000DEPZS
Release Date: 2002-08-27

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