Leftism

Artist: Leftfield
Label: Sony
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio Cassette

UPC: 074646723142
EAN: 0074646723142
ASIN: B000002B7J

Release Date: 1995-10-03

Related Categories:

General

| Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General

| Pop | Styles | Music

Electronica

| Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

House

| Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Release the Pressure
Afro-Left
Melt
Song of Life
Original
Black Flute
Space Shanty
Inspection (Check One)
Storm 3000
Open Up
21st Century Poem

Similar Items:

Rhythm and Stealth
Risotto
1992-2002
Beaucoup Fish
Orbital 2

Customer Reviews:

Out of Leftfield.......2007-02-09

Leftfield has long since disbanded, but their sound is still around. Most of their songs are still fresh and classy enough to warrant re-sampling, re-using, and re-appropriation. Sasha and Digweed have dug them out of the bin more than once, and just before the duo of Daley and Barnes parted ways, one of their tunes ("Song of Life") was used on the movie "Tomb Raider."

And no wonder. This album may be old, but even for the most modern of house heads, it has a lot to offer. Leftfield (once refered to by Kirkland of The Crystal Method as "the best electronic band period") doesn't break new ground, per se, but they do have a thumpin' good time on the ground they're on.

Consider "Release the Pressure," an ethnic, jungle beat number with high pipe whistles and progressive, organic rhythms. Consider "Open Up," an acid house track whipped into a fantastic frenzy by the clear and incriminating voice of John Lydon (formerly of the Sex Pistols). Consider "Original," a deceptively sweet and itchy song, half-trance/half-deep house, burning with buzzing tracers of synth pop shadows. "Black Flute" and "Space Shanty" are hard-hitting dance numbers, unapologetically grinding out thruster loops against an ever-expanding, ever-accelerating energy. These are songs that don't just encourage dancing -- they almost force it.

Even when they're not trying to tear the walls down with their infectious beats, Leftfield displays the kind of virtuoso that's hard to find these days, at least in such a consistent but versatile way. "Melt" plays like a deep swamp anthem, weaving with toneless beats, muted trumpets, and high electro-chords an unsloughably melancholy ambience. "Afro-Left" takes a tribally techno turn, checkerboarding artful silences with robotic wheezes. And "Inspection (Check One)" is an iron-and-wire industrial/reggae jig that sounds lifted straight out of a Chemical Brothers album.

Even the spots on this album that could be called weak are better than much of the electronica that's being produced these days. For this house fan, it's a wonderful surprise to find an album that is so accomplished and so incredibly fun, and even more of a surprise to find that it's over a decade old. Just when I'd thought I'd heard it all, something worth noting comes flying in out of Leftfield.

a real classic.......2006-08-06

When this came out it was a real revelation. OK I had the single with John Lydon (Open UP) that had come out a while earlier. However the rest is also very very strong such as the track Original with the singer from Curve. Excellent!

Might have been good then.... pretty average today.......2005-06-06

I bought this CD completely on the back of these rave reviews without previewing it, and while I don't regret the purchase, I cannot see what the fuss about it. Back in the early 90s, this stuff may have been quite amazing, but in 2004, it sounds plain dated. It has the production, but no energy. 1st track is great, but the rest of the album pretty much washes over me.... I am big fan of this genre of music, and really gave this album a try, but to my dissapointment, it just bores me.

just.....Melt.......2005-03-15

This album is almost a neccessity for people who have...firstly a head..and secondly two ears on the side....oooook jokes apart..lets get serious...THIS IS SOME GOOD MUSIC(but u will need a head and two ears to praise this great album anyway;-)).

This is an album for everyone...sounds commercial..but theres also some good news for ppl like us who dont want music to b scaled in terms of commercial success.For me,music is something what u feel....and two songs on this album make u feel music....'Song of life' and 'Melt'.Song of life starts with some ambient music(which is just incredible)and then grows into some hard hitting techno..first i thought that it was the ambient part of the song which made me love this song but then i realised that it was the combination of the ambient and the techno which makes this song so appealing to me even after a decade.The other song 'melt' just amazes me...coz it is still growing on me....and sometimes i imagine that im 80...sitting on a sofa with my eyes closed and still tranced into the beauty of this song.Listen to it to believe it.Rest of the album is also as good with some more great songs like 'Inspection(check one)','Afro-left' n 'Original'.

Not many albums produced have such an eclectic range of music(and that too great music) in just one album.And just for the sake of facts...there are two kinds of people in this world...first who own Leftism n second who dont own Leftism.And its for u to decide,after listening to this album,which is the luckier(....or better) half.

I hope this review was helpful.Njoy.

Perfect.......2004-12-12

This album combines exceptional, interesting, stylistically disparate tunes, luscious electronic orchestration, unrelenting drive and an uncanny sense of artistic unity. It is a "dance album" pretty much in a class by itself. Leftfield, before disbanding, also created a formidable body of EP releases and remixes. Their second album, Rhythm and Stealth, is also full of shimmeringly beautiful cuts - though without the unifying "comet ride" impulse of this album and the easy acceptance that often greets the familiar - in the case of Leftism, it's comfortable place in the dance bin.

To repeat: if you like hard-driving dance music and glorious electronica, this is a truly distinguished disk.

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