Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Signals - Brian Eno
2. I Hear A New World - Rod Freeman & The Blue Men
3. Kardamon - Oval
4. Die Liebe (R. Lippok: Schneekristall Mix) - Barbara Morgenstern
5. Hot on the Heels of Love - Throbbing Gristle
6. Marseille 2 - Christian Zanesi
7. Doctor Who (Original Theme) - BBC Radiophonic Workshop
8. Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass (Radio Edit) - I-F
9. Bufferin: "Memories" (Original) - Raymond Scott
10. The Light 3000 - Schneider TM Vs Kpt. Michi. Gan
11. Day Breaks, Night Heals - Thomas Leer & Robert Rental
12. Basscadet - Autechre
13. 586 - New Order
14. Freak 'n' You - Matmos
15. Between Kate and Naomi - Uusitalo
16. Atelier - Pierre Henry
17. Inkey $ - Aphex Twin
18. D.C. D.O.A. - Terre Thaemlitz
19. The Robots - Kraftwerk
20. Radio Music (Edit) - John Cage
21. Out Out Out - Non

Disc 2:

1. Just A Second (Starts Like That!) - Faust
2. Cars (Variant) - To Rococo Rot
3. I Want More - Can
4. Freestyle Dumping - Stereolab
5. Arvio - Pan Sonic
6. Tascel_7 - Arovane
7. Superbad - LB
8. Firspk - D
9. Being Boiled - Human League
10. Direct Drive (Edit) - Aux 88
11. Mean Old Devil - Bruce Haack
12. Peanuts - Kevin Blechdom
13. Turn On - Fischerspooner
14. Trixie - Thomas Brinkmann
15. Warm Leatherette - The Normal
16. Big Muff - Depeche Mode
17. Senderwahl - Dexter
18. 011 - Fennesz
19. At the golden circle Stockholm vol.1, 1965 - Farben
20. Ended - Elph Vs Coil

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #114806 in Music
• Released on: 2002-03-18
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: .27 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
London's Rough Trade store has occupied a central and important role in the arena of worldwide electronic exchange for more than two decades. Their compilations are generally well presented and exquisitely put together, and this latest offering is no exception. Spanning over 50 years of electronic enterprise, this collection positions modern producers such as Aphex Twin ("D.C.D.O.A"), Oval ("Kardamon"), Matmos ("Freak N You") and Schneider TM ("The Light 3000") with early pioneers such as John Cage ("Radio Music") and Pierre Henry ("Atelier"), Krautrockers Can ("I Want More"), 1980s industrialists Throbbing Gristle ("Hot on the Heels of Love"), electronic pop bands such as the Human League ("Being Boiled") and New Order ("586") and a host of other seminal electronicists such as Brian Eno, Raymond Scott, Kraftwerk, Non, Aux 88, To Rococo Rot and Fischerspooner. More than any other compilation, this shows the astonishing and near-impossible breadth and range of electronic music in the 20th-century. A must-have for music and technology enthusiasts alike.--Paul Sullivan

Customer Reviews

Reverberate To The Flux And Drone Of Unadulterated Electric
With this immaculate double Cd offering, those old pro's at Rough Trade map the route of blips and burps and looped and filtered noise that has led to artists such as Aphex Twin, New Order, Autechre. They landmark the ambient and dirty schism that emerged in electronica, a schism like the junction of flesh and bone between Siamese Twins - Brian Eno here, non there and Pierre henry inbetween. The future was always going to be electric, ask Rod Freeman & The Blue Men, whose 'I hear a new world' from 1960 is testament to the fact. And how many knob tweedling boffins were inspired by the whalloping, whining vibro of the Dr Who (Original Theme). Theres all the alienation and futurism and porno-synth sleaze you could ask for herein, plum signposts to where we are - and where next?

A brilliant collection of electronica: screaming-good-value!
This is as good as the previous Rough Trade compilation & as vital as recent electroclash/electronic compilations like 'American Gigolo' & 'Futurism'. This is where a lot of NOW came from- & despite the mixture of time periods, this all comes together cohesively. This is closer to the future than the retro of Hives,Strokes etc. The best singles of late have used the industrial-electronic sound (the NERD produced 'I'm a Slave 4 U', the Gary Numan sampling 'Freak Like Me',the Kraftwerk/Moroder sound of 'Can't Get You Out of my Head',the
depechemode 'something to do' soundalike 'Get UR Freak On' or Timbalands electronic gurgles & bleeps on Aaliyah's 'More Than a Woman'); not to forget the best albums this year ('Geogaddi' & 'Original Pirate Material') are electronic based.

Here we get 41 tracks that prove electronic music has always been the way forward & is a million times more real than dross like Stereophonics.

Disc One opens with Eno's 'Signals'- a previously uncharted gem for me; this is followed by the amusing 'I Hear a New World'-from 1960!!! Oval & Barbara Morgenstern fuse well- then we get the great Throbbing Gristle: a much overlooked band...'Marseille 2' is soundFX-heavy- sort of John McEntire meets Gonzales. The 'Dr?' theme is reason alone to buy this and works well next to i-f's seminal 'Space Invaders are smoking grass' which is one of the most influential songs ever (already) & model for Human League's excellent 'All I Ever Wanted'.The Raymond Scott track makes me think of early Orb,'THX1138' or '2001'. 'The Light 3000' is an electronic cover of The Smiths 'There is a Light that Never Goes Out'- really this is perfect! Thomas Leer is very under-rated-nice to see him represented,prior to autechre's 'basscadet' from the timeless 'incunnubla' album. We get the 'Blue Monday'-precursor '5-8-6' from 'Power,Corruption&Lies' which is quite important (though I think 'Everything's Gone Green' or 'Hurt' would have been better choices. Or 'the Kraftwerk One': 'Your Silent Face'...Bjork-collaborator Matmos is next & proves why 'Vespertine' is one of the best albums of all time (already). Uusitalo is somewhere between Kid 606 & Squarepusher, while 'atelier' is what Daft Punk should sound like (from 1984!). we get a brief analogue bubblebath sounding AFX-twin; the terre thaemlitz track is something i'm glad to have discovered!...Next up is the great 'Robots'- pity we don't have any Moroder next to it! 'Radio Music' by John Cage is fantastic & fuses well with the non track- who my memory of involves a record that you couldn't play without it flying off the deck!...Disc Two opens with the great Faust- whose spacerock was a vital progression, the great to rococo rot bridge the gap between Faust & Can. 'I Want More' was Can's suprise UK hit- there is a TOTP-performance- imagine a fusion of Chic & 'Ege Bamyasi'. The Stereolab track is great, as ever; the pan sonic piece is more sinister ambience in the 'ventolin'-mode...'Tascel 7' is as moving as Boards of Canada or Polygon Window's 'If it Really is Me'. 'Superbad' is a great vocoderinhell track- very early Cabs meets NOW; 'Firspk' is whitenoise- imagine Leaf meets Rephlex. We get the classic Fast-version of 'Being Boiled'- an absolute classic that Midge Ure ripped off for 'Fade to Grey'. And it has the word 'sericulture' in it!!...'Direct Drive' sounds like Kraftwerk should have, if they'd released any records.'Mean Old Devil' is creepy vocoder mess that has a great sense of humour & sadly exhibits a Kingsley Amis reference. Best comedy track since 'Runaround'...'Peanuts' is strange percussive noise in the 'afxremixed'mode; fischerspooner are very 'Neon Lights'. Which is nice!...'Trixie' is strange electrofunk that precedes the great JG Ballard tribute, 'Warm Leatherette'- which leads logically to Daniel Miller's protege's, Depeche Mode (though 'Photographic' (some bizarre) or 'Shout' would have been better choices than,er, 'big muff'). 'Senderwahl' is more Kid 606 meets ATR meets Rephlex dance/noise; the fennesz track is rather forgettable- a poor man's 'dazzleships'...The Farben track is a great history lesson that bookends the final track, 'Ended'- a nice collaboration between elph & coil.

This is a great must-have cd- that is immense value & always intrigueing. Hope we get 'Vol 2' & it includes 'Nag Nag Nag', 'Shadazz', 'State of Independence', 'I don't depend on you', 'White Car in Germany', 'Situation', 'P-machinery', 'Radiochio', 'Quoth', 'Montblanc','Memorabilia'&
loads of tracks I've never heard of before. Proof that looking backwards & forwards at the same time pays dividends!

Patchy!
I've read the glowing reviews of a number of these rough trade compilations and bought Electonic, Rock and Roll and Post Punk. After having a few sessions listening to them, all I can say is that they are patchy. Most of the tracks are below average with a couple of gems in each.

This comes from someone who loves compilations and appreciates that not every track will be to my tastes. However after reading the reviews on this page and ones relating to the other titles I purchased each has been surprisingly dissappointing, for me at least. There are far better compilations out there. As for the choice of track from Aphex Twin on this compilation I'm amazed at their selection. An average tune, from a great artist.

Still waiting for the country one to be delivered. Maybe I'll be happier with that one, but if I go by the first three I've recieved! I won't be purchasing any more. Sorry.