Track Listing

1. The Sea
2. Shoulder Holster
3. Part Of The Process
4. Blindfold
5. Let Me See
6. Bullet Proof
7. Over And Over
8. Friction
9. Diggin' A Watery Grave
10. Fear And Love
11. Big Calm
12. The Music That We Hear (Bonus Track)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24107 in Music
• Released on: 1998-03-17
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
Blame Tricky and Portishead. They started this whole Bristol sound thing, with sleepy techno beats overshadowed by the chirrupy vocals of some slumberland chanteuse. And--just when you think the approach has lost all its steam, all its relevance--along comes a new outfit to make the music a few degrees sleepier, the singing a tad more dreamy. And singers don't come any dreamier than Skye Edwards, whose lissome trill infuses every track on this sophomore outing with a tranquil ennui. You don't jump around to Morcheeba numbers like "The Sea." You sit back and let them creep up on you, as steady as the tides. --Tom Lanham

Spin
Always a hippie groove band at heart, Morcheeba have responded impressively to trip-hop's AOR-ization with Big Calm--possibly the most seamless mix of VH1 pop and DJ culture so far, and a joint that recalls the Mamas and the Papas as much as Portishead ... nearly every tune lingers in the memory, from the Delta-flavored sing-along "Part of the Process" to the Brit-reggae swagger of "Friction."

Entertainment Weekly
The gauzy production and languorous, soft-focus funk is once again in evidence, but this time the band mixes it up with deep-dish dub grooves, snatches of rap, sumptuous string arrangements, and the kind of canny songcraft that's frequently absent from other trip-hop- pop collectives.

Customer Reviews

The first few songs are worth the price of the album.
I first heard this CD in 1999, and I have to get it out and listen to it every few months. I have yet to hear any of Morcheeba's other albums, but this one is one of my all-time favorites. I will have to listen to see if their other work is comparable.

Addictive and mellow
One of a kind cd with an amazing lyrical talent, Skye has a voice unlike any other, soft and sensual and oddly hypnotic. A must own for fans of just about any genre.

Exemplary trip-hop classic
This disc works as a party trip-hop disc; as cruising music; as cool pop music for a date, and on plenty of other levels. It's extremely accessible and consistent, more so than anything else Morcheeba produced. Great grooves, very listenable, good for cleaning the house, partying, driving, whatever.

But: I have to make a note of this. Sky the vocalist(I DO love her, I'm so sad she's gone from Morcheeba now) does start to get a little heavy on the loud breaths during song phrases ("seagulls scavenge... hooaaaggghh... steal ice cream... waarrrggghh... worries vanish within my dream... waaagghhhh... left my soul there, down by the sea-ee... hoaghhhh... lost control yeah... haaaggghhh...). It gets a little bit distracting. Now that I've helpfully pointed this out, I'm sure you'll immediately download the MP3s to check it out. It's definitely there. It's not present on their earlier work, such as Who Can You Trust. Shame really. The only thing that mars this otherwise fine disc.