Product Description

Follow-up album to 1998's 'Northern Star' from Andy Cato and Tom Findlay's Groove Armada. The London-based chill out kings' 'Vertigo' features the hit singles 'I See You Baby' and'If Everybody Looked The Same', the latter appearing on theMercedes TV advert.

Track Listing

1. Chicago
2. Whatever Whenever
3. Dusk You And Me
4. Pre 63
5. If Everybody Looked The Same
6. Serve Chilled
7. I See You Baby
8. Private Interlude
9. At The River
10. In My Bones
11. Your Song
12. Inside My Mind (Blue Skies)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14001 in Music
• Released on: 1999-05-24
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Though both Groove Armada's Tom Findlay and Andy Cato hail from London, the pair choose to kick back to Ambleside in Cumbria when recording. As with a great deal of dance music through the 1990s, though broadly still considered house, the sound of Vertigo takes as much from the jaded, trip-hop of Bristol as it does from the uplifting house of Studio 54. It is this collusion which defines the LP with the vocal of "In My Bones" ruffled by a techno low end while the chugging backbeats of "Chicago" act to set off a delicate Chic-esque guitar. With an ear for spine-tingling samples lending a gentle weight to what would otherwise be innocuous instrumentals, the crumpled breaks of "At The River" perhaps offer the best example of this, and even the more straightforward forays into the genre are enlivened and enriched by broad influences, the pair have created a modern day classic.--Kingsley Marshall

Customer Reviews

Stupidly good. Look at all the 5 star reviews then buy this
This album is stupidly good. The only CD that comes close to this album is Air's 'Moon Safari' that is legendary itself. If you are looking for a chill out album and you don't already own this you have been missing out for years. 'At the River' is of course the best thing about this album but every track has its merits and 'Your Song' will also grow on you.
All great songs can be overplayed but very few remain as good as the first time you hear them but 'At the River' is one of those select few. Recommended for someone looking to relieve stress.
This is surely the best album ever made.

Party Funk meets the kick back and Chill!
An album to shake ya arse to for some songs and kick back to for others. My fave is 'Chicago' a complete chillout track for a sunday morning. They say you know more Groove Armada tracks than you think, they'd be right!!! Buy it cos once you hear this, you'll be hooked....

Seminal, Ground Breaking Chill-Out
I first listened to this album in 1999 and it was this album that introduced to me to the then snow-balling phenomenon that is chill-out music. I was instantly converted.

All of the tracks on this album are original, different and individual.

So many artists have a song or songs that they create in a moment of inspiration, then every ensuing song seems to be a rehash or remix of that moment of brilliance, never quite managing to live up to the quality of the predecessor.

This is where Groove Armada breaks the mould. Each track has a different angle to it. Each track takes you down a different path. You meander through, at your leisure, a lovely summer's day of track like 'At The River' then are forced to tap your feet to the addictive 'If Everybody Looked The Same'.

I always feel that songs have achieved their goal if they make you feel something and each song manages to ‘do it’ for me.

For the connoisseurs of the genre among you, you could argue that the album is not a chill-out album and shouldn’t really fall into that category. 'I See You baby (Shakin' That Ass)', 'If Everybody Looked The Same','House Music (In my Bones)' and 'Whatever, Whenever' are not technically chill-out tunes. Both the first two tracks could be played in nightclubs, I’m sure of the reaction they would receive now, but at the time of the release, I remember them being quite popular with the mainstream crowd. The third is more of a laid back housey track that hints at the prospect of breaking into something racier, but never quite does and the fourth is very much a hip-hop effort with great MC-ing over the beats.

I've always wondered if, as an artist and wanting to remain 'chic' (I use the word tentatively), whether having your music in television adverts is a good thing. Yes the revenue is an undoubted bonus, but then the die-hard critics will surely label you as committing yourself to the commercial machine. Then does it not depend on what your song is advertising....well I wont bore you with the debate, but will happily let you know that at least 3 of the songs from the album (to my knowledge) have been used to sell products and used by American and British television programmes as background music.

Every so often I will listen to a song and I will feel uplifted. I will completely understand (or believe) I understand what the artist(s) were trying to convey when they wrote it. The song on the album that most people will quote as being their favourite or the song that particularly sticks out for them (by and large) will be 'At The River'. This song, in my humble opinion, is one of the best chill-out tracks of all time. Almost hypnotic in quality, it is ground breaking stuff. The song transports you to a place and time (wherever that may be for you) that is comfortable and beautiful.

The song trips in on a heavy yet welcoming beat, then slides into one of the best samples ever used in a song. The beat continues and the sample echoes, lulling you into a trance-like state. The song literally drags you under (in the most wonderful way) and just when you are at your most lucid the lyrics drift in, beautifully. And they are simple but have substance: 'If you're fond of sand dunes and salty air, quaint little villages here and there.'

Those lyrics will echo in my head for many years to come and if ever I find myself seeing red or wanting to inflict damage on someone or something I always remind myself how this song makes me feel.

So this song and this album, for me, means something and I hope it will to you too.

Best Track: ‘At The River’, Worst Track: (If I Have To) ‘Chicago’.

Enjoy.