Maxi Jazz, the maestro behind Faithless, is well titled as "the grand oral disseminator." The tales he spins make this album a manifesto, religious experience, sexual escapade, and 24-hour rave all rolled up into one tightly constructed package. As Jazz explored hip-hop through the 1980s and his path converged with dub superstar Jah Wobble, the ultra funky Jamiroquai, and the Soul II Soul amalgamation (among others), the foundation was laid for the delicious blend of genres and sounds that would break through in the mid-'90s. Reverence is the culmination of all those experiences, as Jazz unleashes a fat packet worth of songs that are really an acid house tapestry in disguise. This album is best heard in one sitting, where all its styles work together to tell the story. But break it apart, peel the layers back, and the songs stand alone as well. The hypnotic title track serves nicely as an introduction, before it's waylaid by the downtempo soul ballad "Don't Leave," which is replete with needle, pops, and skips throughout. "Salva Mea," "Insomnia," and "Dirty Ol' Man," three very different songs, tangle themselves together and pick up the thread from "Reverence." "Angeline," meanwhile, emerges as a perfectly impassioned love song. The U.S. release includes the bonus "Monster Mix Radio Edit" of "Insomnia." Maxi Jazz hits a deep chord with this album. It's clubby enough for the kiddies, but is incredibly complex beyond the dancefloor. The songs are great, the beats are compelling, and it's almost impossible to not bounce around the room while listening. But this album is also a collection of shadows, of mirror images, where songs mimic one another before spinning off to do their own thing. Moments are caught and lost, tangled, and straightened out. Really, it's brilliant. [The 2007 BMG Germany edition included bonus tracks.]
Expanded reissue of this 2004 album by the Electronic/House/Dance outfit Faithless features three bonus tracks: 'Salva Mea' (Way Out West Mix), 'Don't Leave' (Floating Remix) and '...
Not that it was a valid argument before, but with the release of No Roots you can't say "every Faithless album sounds the same" any longer. The 15 tracks are broken into two suites -- seven tracks each -- with a remix of "Mass Destruction" tacked onto the end. Both suites focus on love: love of people, love of humanity, love of peace. There's plenty of conviction, plenty of message, and very little for the club. Headphone-friendly, the album is the best showcase yet for Rollo and Sister Bliss (the musical half of Faithless), as the music (all in the key of C by the way) is stunning. Polished and purposeful, the tunes glide one to the next effortlessly, making this the most thought-out Faithless album yet. Mood is the thing and as a result only a few tracks -- "Mass Destruction," "I Want You More, Pt. 2," "Miss U Less, See U More" -- stand out on their own. But if the album isn't as powerful as one would have hoped, it's very personal. It's a good move since everybody knows the band can churn out a fluffy banger like "Insomnia" anytime they want; now the band's zealous fans finally make sense to an outsider. The album is for the fans, and maybe newcomers with patience and a penchant for wandering introspection. New vocalist LSK's cool reggae toasting mixes well with Maxi Jazz's conversational style, and "You ain't going to nirvana -- or far-vana" is the only lyric that'll cause cringes. More than a placeholder, No Roots is a satisfying album that's like the kid on the cover. It's lovable but requires attention and commitment. [A Japanese version included bonus tracks.]
Enhanced pressing of this 2004 album by the Electronic/House/Dance outfit Faithless features two versions of 'Mass Destruction' as bonus tracks: P-Nut & Sister Bliss Mix and Enhanc...
Having been making music for over ten years (their first single, "Salva Mea," hit British airwaves in 1995), English club superstars Faithless celebrated their longevity by issuing Forever Faithless, a greatest-hits compilation that contains nearly all of their singles ("Take the Long Way Home," "Crazy English Summer," and "If Lovin' You Is Wrong" are missing) as well as one brand new track, "Reasons (Saturday Night)" (the U.K. version has two more that aren't on here). And while most of the songs fall easily into the house realm, there are a few -- "Don't Leave," "Mass Destruction" -- that venture into pop and trip-hop (or perhaps trip-pop) and show off the band's versatility, or at least ability to appeal to a wider swatch of people. There aren't really any surprises on Forever Faithless, and the selections are pretty much spread out between all four of the group's full-length releases -- meaning that if you already own them there's not much of a reason to get this album except for the new track, which is good but not exceptional -- but it makes for a very successful overview of the band nonetheless.
Back to the topForever Faithless: The Greatest Hits (Germany)
Review by Marisa Brown, All Music Guide
Released:
May 03, 2005
Label:
Ariola
Rating:
Styles:
Dance-Pop
Club/Dance
Downbeat
Progressive House
Progressive Trance
Having been making music for over ten years (their first single, "Salva Mea," hit British airwaves in 1995), English club superstars Faithless celebrated their longevity by issuing Forever Faithless, a greatest-hits compilation that contains nearly all of their singles ("Take the Long Way Home," "Crazy English Summer," and "If Lovin' You Is Wrong" are missing) as well as one brand new track, "Reasons (Saturday Night)" (the U.K. version has two more that aren't on here). And while most of the songs fall easily into the house realm, there are a few -- "Don't Leave," "Mass Destruction" -- that venture into pop and trip-hop (or perhaps trip-pop) and show off the band's versatility, or at least ability to appeal to a wider swatch of people. There aren't really any surprises on Forever Faithless, and the selections are pretty much spread out between all four of the group's full-length releases -- meaning that if you already own them there's not much of a reason to get this album except for the new track, which is good but not exceptional -- but it makes for a very successful overview of the band nonetheless.
Limited Edition Digi-pack pressing. Forever Faithless features the greatest hits of Faithless's 10-million-records-selling career, with tracks taken from all four previously releas...
Maxi Jazz, the maestro behind Faithless, is well titled as "the grand oral disseminator." The tales he spins make this album a manifesto, religious experience, sexual escapade, and 24-hour rave all rolled up into one tightly constructed package. As Jazz explored hip-hop through the 1980s and his path converged with dub superstar Jah Wobble, the ultra funky Jamiroquai, and the Soul II Soul amalgamation (among others), the foundation was laid for the delicious blend of genres and sounds that would break through in the mid-'90s. Reverence is the culmination of all those experiences, as Jazz unleashes a fat packet worth of songs that are really an acid house tapestry in disguise. This album is best heard in one sitting, where all its styles work together to tell the story. But break it apart, peel the layers back, and the songs stand alone as well. The hypnotic title track serves nicely as an introduction, before it's waylaid by the downtempo soul ballad "Don't Leave," which is replete with needle, pops, and skips throughout. "Salva Mea," "Insomnia," and "Dirty Ol' Man," three very different songs, tangle themselves together and pick up the thread from "Reverence." "Angeline," meanwhile, emerges as a perfectly impassioned love song. The U.S. release includes the bonus "Monster Mix Radio Edit" of "Insomnia." Maxi Jazz hits a deep chord with this album. It's clubby enough for the kiddies, but is incredibly complex beyond the dancefloor. The songs are great, the beats are compelling, and it's almost impossible to not bounce around the room while listening. But this album is also a collection of shadows, of mirror images, where songs mimic one another before spinning off to do their own thing. Moments are caught and lost, tangled, and straightened out. Really, it's brilliant. [The U.K. release cuts the radio edit of "Insomnia" but adds a new remix of that track and "Salva Mea"]
Maxi Jazz, the maestro behind Faithless, is well titled as "the grand oral disseminator." The tales he spins make this album a manifesto, religious experience, sexual escapade, and 24-hour rave all rolled up into one tightly constructed package. As Jazz explored hip-hop through the 1980s and his path converged with dub superstar Jah Wobble, the ultra funky Jamiroquai, and the Soul II Soul amalgamation (among others), the foundation was laid for the delicious blend of genres and sounds that would break through in the mid-'90s. Reverence is the culmination of all those experiences, as Jazz unleashes a fat packet worth of songs that are really an acid house tapestry in disguise. This album is best heard in one sitting, where all its styles work together to tell the story. But break it apart, peel the layers back, and the songs stand alone as well. The hypnotic title track serves nicely as an introduction, before it's waylaid by the downtempo soul ballad "Don't Leave," which is replete with needle, pops, and skips throughout. "Salva Mea," "Insomnia," and "Dirty Ol' Man," three very different songs, tangle themselves together and pick up the thread from "Reverence." "Angeline," meanwhile, emerges as a perfectly impassioned love song. The U.S. release includes the bonus "Monster Mix Radio Edit" of "Insomnia." Maxi Jazz hits a deep chord with this album. It's clubby enough for the kiddies, but is incredibly complex beyond the dancefloor. The songs are great, the beats are compelling, and it's almost impossible to not bounce around the room while listening. But this album is also a collection of shadows, of mirror images, where songs mimic one another before spinning off to do their own thing. Moments are caught and lost, tangled, and straightened out. Really, it's brilliant. [The Holland edition adds "Salva Mea" and "Dirty Ol' Man" before "Insomnia"]
Comedowns, it used to be any old reggae 12" or Françoise Hardy tune would do, presumably because when you were sledged out on drink and drugs there was little to compete with the calming aesthetics of your dishwasher filling up with water. But the teeth-chattering, plugged-in child of Mitsubishi post-excess demands more these days; for starters, he'd much rather have the likes of Faithless inviting him back to their place and putting on some Dido and Alex Gopher records. Which isn't as bad as it sounds. Avoiding the trip-hop-for-tourists stigma of their own albums, Rollo and Sister Bliss offer an unpredictable -- yet intensely selected -- collection of songs, ranging from the dour and deranged -- the Tindersticks, Mazzy Star, and Bent -- to undervalued sandcastle classics like Sub Sub's "Past" and Dusted's "Childhood," a brilliantly dubby successor to the Chemical Brothers' "The Sunshine Underground," giving you a cross-faded full hour that seeps into your bones so well that home appliance re-sales are likely to go through the roof. Fancy that. [DMC World's 2000 edition included bonus tracks.]
Maxi Jazz, the maestro behind Faithless, is well titled as "the grand oral disseminator." The tales he spins make this album a manifesto, religious experience, sexual escapade, and 24-hour rave all rolled up into one tightly constructed package. As Jazz explored hip-hop through the 1980s and his path converged with dub superstar Jah Wobble, the ultra funky Jamiroquai, and the Soul II Soul amalgamation (among others), the foundation was laid for the delicious blend of genres and sounds that would break through in the mid-'90s. Reverence is the culmination of all those experiences, as Jazz unleashes a fat packet worth of songs that are really an acid house tapestry in disguise. This album is best heard in one sitting, where all its styles work together to tell the story. But break it apart, peel the layers back, and the songs stand alone as well. The hypnotic title track serves nicely as an introduction, before it's waylaid by the downtempo soul ballad "Don't Leave," which is replete with needle, pops, and skips throughout. "Salva Mea," "Insomnia," and "Dirty Ol' Man," three very different songs, tangle themselves together and pick up the thread from "Reverence." "Angeline," meanwhile, emerges as a perfectly impassioned love song. The U.S. release includes the bonus "Monster Mix Radio Edit" of "Insomnia." Maxi Jazz hits a deep chord with this album. It's clubby enough for the kiddies, but is incredibly complex beyond the dancefloor. The songs are great, the beats are compelling, and it's almost impossible to not bounce around the room while listening. But this album is also a collection of shadows, of mirror images, where songs mimic one another before spinning off to do their own thing. Moments are caught and lost, tangled, and straightened out. Really, it's brilliant. [Cheeky issued a two-CD edition featuring the original album, as well as an additional CD of remixes.]
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