DELETED - Aluminum Tunes

CDIf you are a fan of Stereolab, regardless of which phase of their career, you will want to own this. This 2-disc set includes the "Amorphous Body Study Centre" EP in addition to almost 20 other non-album tracks. Oddities, remixes, and guest appearances by the beautiful flute of Herbie Mann on "One Note Samba". Stereolab blends their influences into their own unique sound better than any band I've ever heard. I have only been into them a few years, and I've never fallen in love with a band this quickly. Beautiful, groovy, thoughtful, complex, and never boring.

This is a very, very strong two cd collection and I'm always surprised that it doesn't rank higher with a lot of Stereo Lab fans. I was also surprised not to find it as an mp3 download. But, It sounds as modern today as it did way back in the 90's when it was made - a lot of pushing the edges but playful and very beautifully melodic too. This is one of my favorites from Stereo Lab, along with Cobras... and Chemical Chords - someone stole my original Aluminum Tunes years ago and am glad to have it back.

Finally, I have procured this album. And it was worth the wait. With almost three hours of music on this double CD, you will have all the Stereolab you can handle, and that ever pressing addiction will be quailed for some time. If you are already a fan, then I highly suggest that you invest in Aluminum Tunes, becase it is well worth the money. Pop quiz, on the second disc made me feel like I was deep in the throws of a black tar heroine binge. The whole first disc, starting with one note samba/surboard, and leading into cardiopo his simply Stereolab Bliss. Please, indulge.

I waited years to buy this. I should have waited longer. It would have been better as one disk, collecting every odd and end leaves a lot of filler. There's no consistency, except for the tendency to repetitive synth drones and jams. Unlike the first Switched On (which was from their more rocking period and has a concise set of mostly stellar tracks) or the second, Refried Ectoplasm (which was uneven but captured the energy of their live concerts and unpredictable set lists somewhat), this is mostly from their late 90s period, when they were branching out and adopting a variety of styles and collaborators. Some of which were much more fruitful avenues of exploration than others.There are some gems, but a coherent album they do not create:Tracks 1-6 are from the Amorphous Body Study Center project, and alone are worth the whole set unless you can find the original OOP CD. They're some of the most beautiful 'lab music, in the Brigitte/Cybele's Reverie mold. But they're better heard on the original.The rest of CD one is mostly single-length tracks of varying quality, with New Orthophony the melodic standout. Disc 2 has an extended One Note Samba (from Red Hot & Rio, and better heard in that context), the dub nightmare of Metronomic Underground (worse the longer it goes on), and the annoying jingles Cadriopo and Klang Tone. Munich Madness, Check and Double Check, and the Incredible He Woman are the best of the somewhat more focused latter tracks....... blah blah blah, well, I was in a snit, wasn't I? [2016 update follows]Apparently I had to wait even longer, for the band to end, to realize what a treasure this was. I've been listening to it a lot lately, and I may finally get it. Each Switched On collection is like a cross-section of that era of the band, with the youthful energy of Vol. 1, the groovy moods of Vol. 2, and the multiple genre experimentation of the perhaps overlong vol. 3. This is the post Dots and Loops 'Lab, the one you put on for mostly background grooves, with the occasional distinct song rising above the ambience. I'm still more into disc one, but disc two has some long form experiments like dubby Metronomic Underground mix and the quite competent cover of One Note Samba that make it a fun diversion into 'Lab esoterica.

This is yet another consistent release from one of my very favourite bands- Stereolab. The sheer amount of material they have out is astounding, and even more astounding is that it is all, for the most part, very good. Being prolific and consistent is quite a feat. And they've done it again with the third collection of rarities and b-sides, Aluminum Tunes. I loved this album at first sight, with the weird blue cardboard packaging. It's great, even if the cd's don't stay in too well. Kicking off the album is the collection of six songs for the Amorphous Body Study Center. It is very well done, and I wish I could have seen the art exhibit. My favorite is How To Play Your Internal Organs Overnight, a string-drenched Stereolab classic. The second half of the disk is nice as well, containing an even more beautiful, longer version of New Orthophony. Other favorites are One Small Step and You Used To Call Me Sadness(although inferior to the horn-driven version on Flourescences). The second disk starts off with a cover of Jobim's One Note Samba, which is wonderful, revealing the light-hearted side of Stereolab. In the same track is another cover, Surfboard. It was great on Esquivel's "Space Age Bachelor Pad Music," but Stereolab somehow makes it even better. For me, the highlight of this collection is the last half of the second cd. You have the melancholy Seeperbold, the upbeat numbers, Check and Double Check and Munich Madness, and the masterful Metronomic Underground remix by Luke Vibert (aka Wagon Christ). And finally is the catchy (and very lyrically interesting) The Incredible He Woman. This compilation is a good sampler for the different, but all similar, styles of Stereolab, from droning Krautrock to jazzy space pop. This variety is good, but as a previous reviewer said, there are some jarring song transitions. There are a few clunckers sprinkled throughout, of which Klang Tone is the worst. It's really quite painful to listen to, with a loud irritating lack of melody. But the few bad eggs are far outnumbered by usual Stereolab genius. By the way, the samples on the track listing at the top of the page are really screwed up. I think someone switched the disks accidentally. And the track listing for disk one in the actual cd case is a little hard to follow as well. After the Amorphous Body Center songs, the list moves to the right and then back to the left for the final four tracks. At first glance, you want to read all down the left and then move over to the right. For the longest time I had the wrong titles with songs. I was surprised that there was a song called Speedy Car, but on a later track that I thought was Iron Man, the words "a speedy car out of nowhere" were repeated over and over. Then I noticed You Used To Call Me Sadness was on Flourescences, so when I first listened to that record, I heard what I thought was Ulan Bator. I was very confused, but after consulting the case again, I solved the mystery. I still hear people who have those songs mixed up. I hope I could help. Anyway, it's a great starter and a must for any 'lab fan.

The music is excellent as expected but the item was not as advertised - sold as the Duophonic UHF label cardboard issue, but I received the standard Drag City US issue. I wouldn't have bought this if I'd known. Not a slur on Stereolab but this was not worth the outlay. But they have my cash so too late. Buy with caution.

Definitely one of their most solid collections and up there with ETK and DOTS AND LOOPS representing for me the most musically satisfying stage of their career.