This is the first in a new series that the mods are going to try and run throughout 2023. Each month the four of us will start a thread on an album that we feel is worth having a discussion around, we'll try to explain a little bit about why we love it and we'll provide the youtube and spotify playlists etc so that people can take a listen to it. Between us we feel that we will naturally cover off a variety of different eras and genres from the 20th century so we hope it will act as a way of introducing anyone who is interested to a range of albums to explore.

 

If you think this sounds like a nice idea then it would be really cool if you could take a listen to the album at some point during the month and let people know your thoughts about it... has it aged well? Can you see an influence on later music? Which tracks were your favourites and which could you not stand? etc

 

 

I've opted to go first and I've gone with an album that I grew to love during the 90s and now remains a regular on my turntable, the debut album from dance act Leftfield...

 

 

 

Leftfield - Leftism

 

Year of Release: 1995

Genre: Electronic/Dance

Country: UK

 

Leftism is often hailed as the best and most influential dance album of all time so I thought it would be an ideal starting point for my journey through some of my favourite albums. I'd be lying if I said that I immediately loved this in 1995, it took some getting used to as more often than not the dance albums I'd heard before this point were a collection of singles and a load of inferior versions of those same singles... this on the other hand was something very different. It has a huge range of tempos and styles but manages to blend them all coherently into one sound that would characterise the band. We open with the dancehall and dub influences of Release the Pressure, journey through the African influences of Afro-Left and later make our way through trip hop, ambient, techno and punk(ish) before ending with a conceptual poem. I think it holds up really well today and I'm hoping that fans of some of the more recent alt dance music may see the influence this album had on what came after it.

 

My absolute favourite track is Song of Life, a track so special that Sasha & Digweed decided to open their legendary first mix collection under the 'Renaissance' banner with not one but THREE versions of the track. It was edited down for the album but you can still get the full version from the singles released at the time, frustratingly they don't appear to be on YouTube so I'm linking you to a live version that is as close as you can get on there. It's a song that builds, it comes in with a dub style intro like a few of the proceeding tracks on the album and you could easily be listening at some beach bar before it gradually transforms and then a huge techno beat explodes for the second half and it all really steps up a gear or ten. Regularly regarded as one of the finest progressive dance songs ever released, it's an essential round mine.

 

 

Another highlight of mine at the time was Original, a collaboration with Toni Halliday who was the lead singer of alt band Curve. This was released at a similar time to Portishead's early singles and the Protection era from Massive Attack and I thought that Original was often overlooked as the equal of those other acts. I loved how they collaborated with someone who you wouldn't expect to find on a dance album, a path that the likes of The Chemical Brothers and The Prodigy would later take in the latter half of the 90s... and talking of collaborating with a Sex Pistol for their classic 'Open Up' single - both linked below.

 

 

As I said before, the album really grew on me during the 90s and is definitely in my top 10 of the decade, hopefully it won't be so much of a grower that it's too difficult to digest in a play - but, if you are interested in taking a listen, you can do so on Spotify. The version below is an extended re-issue so technically the album stops at the end of the first disc. Hope you enjoy it!

 

 

 

 

So there ends the first one... let us know if you like the idea of the concept or whether there's anything more you'd like from it that would help you take part ^_^

 

D*

 

Good idea! Not sure if I've ever listened to this album in full but will give it a listen later

I remember Original and really liked it back then mostly cos I was a big Curve fan <3

Ok - I am definitely going to listen to this album again tonight. I've always found it to be interesting but not compelling. Your opening statement about it being often hailed as the best and most influential dance album of all time is a high bar to set.

Glad to hear it! Will be interesting to see what you think and I hope you enjoy it ^_^

 

I know you're a big fan of In Sides (as am I) and I'm not convinced you'll rank it anywhere near as highly as that... although I do find myself coming back to Leftism as a whole more often than I do the Orbital album

I absolutely love “Song Of Life” - it was No.93 in my Top 100 singles of the 1990s that I broadcast on New Year's Day.

 

I uploaded my CD single cut online as I can't find it anywhere:

I have the extended version (8:45) and two other versions called 'Fanfare of Life' and 'Release The Dub'. Spotify need to get them up !

 

 

Peaked at 59 in December 1992.

 

<3

 

This sounds like a great idea to me, good to rediscover some classics or even highlight some undiscovered/forgotten albums. I will make time to give it a listen in full over the next week.

I def charted Original top 10, at least, and Leftfield Lydon was one I liked too, though I havent sorted 1995 charts yet to be able to compile info (I'm about 75% done) so my memory isnt as clear as I'd like for other stuff they did pre-1999. I always liked the trip-hop acts like Portishead and Massive Attack though, so I expect to enjoy this...!

I only really know the fabulous Open Up from this album.

I don't know if I think you would like it or not Suedey... Open Up is certainly one of the more mainstream moments, many of the tracks are instrumental and quite techno/dub inspired so I'm not sure if that's your thing?

 

 

Also PCF, it's only really Original that is akin to the trip hop vibe so don't expect everything else to be like that!

Fantastic album. It rather passed me by at the time, although the four Top 40 singles from it aren't my favourite tracks and it was from word of mouth / reviews that I eventually bought it in 2000, but then it quickly became one of my staple listening choices while studying at uni. It's an album that I think it best played as a whole - the range of styles and slow builds within most of these tracks makes for an epic listen. However as individual tracks my favourites are:

 

Release The Pressure: my favourite of the aforementioned Top 40 hits, a mission statement for where the music's about to take you, and the world in general.

Melt: an instrumental that seems to rise from the ground as the ice gently dissipates around it. As one of the shorter tracks, this was the first one I added to my iPod.

Song Of Life: the progressive dance textbook could have been written here, with the many the shifts through the gears. The techno beat in the last section hits so hard, it feels more like the end of a 3 minute song than a 7 minute one.

Space Shanty: the pulsing beat and thrown-about chaos lives up to its title.

Inspection (Check One): whatever genre this gets boxed into (some dance / hip hop crossover), it keeps popping out of it to keep the listener on their toes.

 

I will also give it a listen in full over the next week. Great idea Dandy!

It's quite dubby.

Glad to see there’s already another fan Jim! I’m going to listen on my way to work and back tomorrow but definitely agree it’s an album experience.

 

 

And yes Colm it is definitely dubby… which is unusual for me but I just think this one works. I ought to try some other sun based albums, I only really have this and the massive attack /mad professor remix albums that I can think of right now.

I absolutely love “Song Of Life” - it was No.93 in my Top 100 singles of the 1990s that I broadcast on New Year's Day.

 

I uploaded my CD single cut online as I can't find it anywhere:

I have the extended version (8:45) and two other versions called 'Fanfare of Life' and 'Release The Dub'. Spotify need to get them up !

 

 

Peaked at 59 in December 1992.

 

 

This sounds like a great idea to me, good to rediscover some classics or even highlight some undiscovered/forgotten albums. I will make time to give it a listen in full over the next week.

 

DB could you upload the extended version? :o

 

I have that too but it’s on 12” so it isn’t the easiest to share.

 

 

 

Interestingly the vinyl version of the album only has ‘cut for life’ which I also love. I’m assuming they felt a more dance heavy version would strike more of a chord with vinyl buyers… it’s on the second disc of the playlist if you’ve never heard it

maybe dandy* you could organise a listening session so that people can experience it all together and comment etc

like those album #1s sessions

Oh that’s an idea - I hadn’t thought of that… would others be up for that?

Yep. I would be up for that.

 

We actually could start an 'album club' a bit like a book club.

Sounds like a good idea to me - I've always been awful at going back to listen to older music but that sounds like a good way to incentivise me to do it more :lol:

Yeah I’d be happy to join that - I did give the album a listen on the move yesterday but it’s unfamiliar to me so I think I’d get more out of it listening again with company.

I listened to the first part of the album this morning and I really liked it

thought I only knew Original but I actually know already a bunch of tracks

In particular, the opening track Release the Pressure, I know it cos I think I had it in some chill out album

and it's an amazing start of the album

 

 

This is a great idea! I am hoping to discover lots of new music in 2023 so this is a good place to start. I will be checking it out soon and reporting back! ^_^ (remind me if I don't x)

DB could you upload the extended version? :o

 

I have that too but it’s on 12” so it isn’t the easiest to share.

Interestingly the vinyl version of the album only has ‘cut for life’ which I also love. I’m assuming they felt a more dance heavy version would strike more of a chord with vinyl buyers… it’s on the second disc of the playlist if you’ve never heard it

 

As it's you...

Of course.

 

 

A monthly album club with a joint listening sesh sounds like a fantastic idea, similar to the listening thing that Tim Burgess did during the pandemic.

 

Here's how it was made as well.