Track Listing

1. David Snell – international flight
2. Gimmicks – Ya Ma Le
3. Thunderball – Vai Vai
4. Troublemakers – Chez Roger Boite Funk
5. Crazy Penis – 3 Play it Cool
6. Block 16 – Slow Hot Wind
7. Boozoo Bajou – Under My Sensi (thievery corporation remix)
8. Thievery Corporation – Lagos Communique
9. Big Boss Man – Sea Groove
10. Beatfanatic – Cookin’ (version)
11. Breakestra – Cramp Your Style
12. Antonio Carlos Jocafi – Simbarere
13. Major Force – Re-return of the Original Artform
14. Karminsky Experience – Shall We Dance
15. Alan Lorber Orchestra – Within You Without You
16. Indian Vibes – Mathar (Discovery Of India mix)
17. Alan Moorhouse – Expo in Tokyo
18. Bobby Hughes Experience – My French Brother
19. Thievery Corporation – The Richest Man In Babylon (G. Corp remix)
20. Delroy Wilson – Better Must Come

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #42034 in Music
• Released on: 2008-07-28
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Although generally regarded as producers, Thievery Corporation have also got great ears for a tune and an extensive record collection. The Outernational Sound is best likened to a branded downbeat compilation such as Back to Mine or Late Night Tales. Beginning with David Snell's "International Flight", a jazzy bass-driven piece, the mix goes through all manner of styles, dips and troughs until it ends with the roots reggae of Delroy Wilson on "Better Must Come". Intelligent drum&bass is well represented well by Thunderball's "Vai Vai"; classic breaks come in the shape of Breakestra's "Cramp Your Style", introduced by the classic sax loop made famous by the 45 King's "900 Number"; and the big tune is Mathar's 1994 Acid Jazz reworking of "Indian Vibes" which features Paul Weller on electric sitar.

The Outernational Sound doesn't hold many surprises, it is what many would expect from a Thievery Corporation mix album, but this is no bad thing. The songs are well chosen, the mixing, although unadventurous, is solid and the song selection is diverse and well considered. A good stop-gap before their next artist album. --David Trueman

Customer Reviews

Cafe Lounge With an International Flavor
Rob Garza and Eric Hilton dig into their music collection (a rather eclectic one, apparently), and throw together 20 tracks for "The Outernational Sound," a gumbo pot of mellowed out grooves that will satisfy any set of tastebuds. The range of textures and moods runs all over the globe, from Indian influences ("Mathar" by Indian Vibes), old-school American funk (Major Force's "Re-return of the Original Artform"), Latin grooves ("Simbarere" by Antonio Carlos Jocafi), as well as chilled cafe lounge, African rhythms, and a dash of Asian influences. There's also an interesting cover of the Beatles' "Within You Without You" by the Alan Lorber Orchestra, the jazzy "Play it Cool," and Block 16's "Slow Hot Wind." TC wouldn't do a compilation of this nature without promoting their own material, so we have a reggae remix of "The Richest Man in Babylon," the title track of their must-have 2002 album. At times, however, the collection gets a bit too eclectic and some of the songs don't mesh well together on the same album, but this is overall a satisfying collection expertly compiled by the undisputed masters of cafe cool.

A Great Summer Soundtrack
Thievery Corporation are back with a fantastic mixed compilation! As always, Thievery have kept it well dubby with many Brazilian and Indian influences. Mainly beat-driven music, the Washington duo have mixed together funk, reggae, breaks and of course trip-hop. I dare to say that this mix is of equal calibre to their outstanding DJ Kicks mix!

Although there is not a single bad track, the tracks that I've distinguished are: Thunderball's drum & bassy "Vai Vai", the jazzy and atmospheric "3 Play It Cool" by Crazy Penis, Thievery's excellent remix of "Under My Sensi" and their own "Lagos Communique", the funky breaks of "Cramp Your Style", the timeless "Mathar" and the sexy "My French Brother".

Recently, I bought Quantic's "Mishaps Happening" and Blue States' "The Soundings", which are very solid albums (especially Quantic's), and, without attempting a comparison between a mixed compilation and an artist album, I am pretty sure that The Outernational Sound will spend more time in my cd player, because its music is suitable for any occasion!

Outernational Sound not quite all it's cracked up to be...
'Outernational Sound' is, to quote the album blurb, 'the latest chapter in the intriguing Thievery odyssey'. I have to say, however, it's really not that intriguing. Several of the tracks here are already on other Thievery mix albums, and the Thievery artist tracks ('Lagos Communique' and 'Richest Man in Babylon') are not the strongest Thievery has produced. It is tiresome to find them going over old material without adding much to the mix, especially when they're capable of toe-tapping moments of pure bliss. This is an average album which brings nothing new to their existing catalogue. Let's hope their next artist album is better.