Product Description

808 State holds a position of royalty among early house andtechno pioneers. Endlessly inventive, while never losing sight of their break-fuelled modus operandi, 808 State was successful both artistically and within the club culture (they reportedly performed live before 14,000 people in Manchesterin 1988). Evidence of their innovations is packed into thissuperb 16-track retrospective. Elements of ambient, hip-hop, rock, soul, and jazz are woven through the relentless dance beats contained herein.
"Pacific", the set's opener, glides along with a super-smooth electro vibe, as does the charming "Olympic" (with its simulated pitch-bending flute sound). The music often has an aggressive edge, as on the pounding "Cubik", and the hip-hop showcase "The Only Rhyme That Bites" (featuring rapper MC Tunes). 808 State were big on guest vocalists; Bjork (well before her solo career took off) graces the spooky and elegant "Ooops;" James Dean Bradfield (from Manic Street Preachers) takes a turn on "Lopez;" and UB40 gives a reggae feel to "One In Ten". Each of these cameos lends colour and variety to the already genre-popping creations spun out of 808 State's techno-acid sensibility. For allbut completists, 808:88:98 will be a definitive look at thework of this landmark electronica act.

Track Listing

1. Pacific 707
2. Cubik
3. CobraBora
4. In Yer Face
5. Only Rhyme That Bites
6. Olympic
7. Ooops
8. Lift
9. One In Ten
10. Plan 9
11. 10 x 10
12. Bombadin
13. Bond
14. Azura
15. Lopez
16. Crash
17. Pacific 808:98

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18857 in Music
• Released on: 1998-05-18
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import

From Amazon.com
Not so much a greatest-hits package as it is an overview of contemporary British club music, 808:88:98 recaps a decade's worth of electronica milestones and trends as filtered through the 808 State time machine. The Manchester group's eclectic mix of soulful grooves, grinding rhythms, and imaginative vocal performances reveals why they have managed to stay relevant in such a typically fickle genre after all this time. Granted, certain selections stand the test of time better than others, like the silky "Pacific 707" and Björk's early entrée into dance music on "Ooops," which still manages to tingle the spine. The bloated techno bombast of "In Your Face" and the terrifying cockney rap-laced "The Only Rhyme That Bites," however, sound like they passed their sell-by dates a long time ago. --Aidin Vaziri

Customer Reviews

The band that changed my life
Growing up in the mid-90s, i was always into dance. The big chart chart acts of the day (Faithless, Fatboy Slim, Chemicals etc) were cool to me, but something was always missing....
That changed one day in 1998 when, late at night, "Pacific 707" came on the radio. The epitome of warm, smooth chillout. Immedately seduced, i slung a tape into the deck and pressed 'record'. Discovering what it was, i bought this compilation, and the rest is history.
The diverse and fascinating sounds of 808 state are squeezed beautifully into the 77 minutes on this album. On hearing the second track "Cubik" (a techno-rock slammer), i knew that the band were far more diverse that what my exposure to Pacific had led me to assume, though this is a good thing. Ahead of so many of their contemporaries, they could sound hard or soft, sweet or sour, dark or light, and do it all effortlessly. Several of the bands tracks (Pacific/Cubik/In Yer Face) featured on a couple of Old Skool compilations a few years back. Almost all the other tracks on these compilations were cheesy old-skool pieces by 1-hit wonders with no innovation (save Derrick May's "Strings Of Life"), and 808 state are too good to have been grouped in with such material, with their 15+ years of experience and string of classic, fascinating albums. Just worth mentioning.
The combination of guest vocalists and classic instrumentals makes for a very entertaining listen which cannot be matched. Never did they sound out of date either. Their sound evolved as the years did, though strangely most people lost time for them after 1991.
I think everything on here stands the test of time, just because it was so innovative and new on release. You can tell some of it is 15 years old, but it is such well-thought-out, serious music that you dont care. The first band to create "real" dance music that is still being drooled over today (by some!). Who else had FOUR top 10 singles by mid-1991? The KLF had 3, but they were a joke. 808 is the epitome of early british techno.

The sleeve notes state that "the next 10 years (ie. 98-2008) will show you that the plan was and is no plan", implying that the album is merely an intermediate point of their career. Sadly, this hasnt really happened. Nowhere near enough has been seen of the band since this album, from a superfan's point of view. BUT even so, their best material is all covered here. No point in analysing every track, but its diverse, its deep, its interesting, and its an essential starting point to an essential band in electronic music. 5 stars.

For 808 State Fans everywhere
If you enjoyed such songs as "In yer face" and "Cubik" from the early 90's then this is a must buy. It contains all their best loved hits and i was surprised to find that "The only rhyme that bites" to be among them which featured MC Tunes.

Unusal for them to make a rap tune i still think it rocks even today! I believe them to be one of the pioneers of electronic dance along with LFO and Kraftwerk. In my opinion, Out of the 17 tracks on the cd there are only two or three weak ones. Also bjork features on one of the tracks to which was originally on the EX:CEL Lp.

808 state
A fab album, a must have for chillin. Good tunes - whole cd is excellent.