Bicycles & Tricycles

Infobox Album |
Name = Bicycles & Tricycles
Type = Album
Artist = The Orb


Released = UK: May 2004
US: July 13, 2004
Recorded =
Genre = Ambient house, Dub
Length = UK: 63:55
US: 58:26
Label = UK: Cooking Vinyl
US: Sanctuary Records
Producer = Alex Paterson, Thomas Fehlmann, John Roome
Reviews =
* About.com Rating|3.5|5 [http://dancemusic.about.com/od/reviews/fr/TheOrbBicyRev.htm link]
* Allmusic Rating|3|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:3h867ur030jj link]
* "The Guardian" Rating|3|5 [http://arts.guardian.co.uk/reviews/story/0,,1206052,00.html link]
* "JIVE" Rating|5|5 [http://www.jivemagazine.com/review.php?rid=671&rtid=2 link]
* Pitchfork Media (6.5/10) [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/20612-bicycles-tricycles linl]
* Resident Advisor Rating|4|5 [http://www.residentadvisor.net/review_view.asp?ID=2210 link]
* "Rolling Stone" Rating|3|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/theorb/albums/album/6072619/review/6294686/bicycles_and_tricycles link]
* "Slant Magazine" Rating|3.5|5 [http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/music_review.asp?ID=467 link]

Last album = "Cydonia"
(2001)
This album = "Bicycles & Tricycles"
(2004)
Next album = "Okie Dokie It's The Orb on Kompakt"
(2004)

"Bicycles & Tricycles" is a 2004 album from The Orb. It brought together The Orb's style of the early 1990s with current electronic music to mixed reactions.cite-web|last=Theakston |first= Rob |title=Bicycles & Tricycles Review |url=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:1csyxdgb4ols |accessdate=2006-10-10 |publisher=Allmusic] "The Daily Telegraph" praised "Bicycles & Tricycles" as being "inclusive, exploratory, and an enjoyable journey";cite news|work=The Daily Telegraph |last=Perry |first=Andrew |date=2004-05-01 |page=12 |title=Staying in CDs] however, many other publications dismissed it as "stoner dub" and largely irrelevant to current electronic music culture.cite news|last=Verrico |first = Lisa |date=2004-05-14 |page=19 |work=The Times |title=The Orb] cite news|last=Miller |first=Phil |date=2004-05-08 |title=CDs |work=The Herald |page=2] In addition to Paterson, Roome, Phillips, and Fehlmann, The Corpral contributed with vocoder affected singing and MC Soom-T provided lyrics and rapped. Though most critics found the rapping to be out of place, "Jive Magazine" described it as "the best track on [the album] " and "an amazing hip hop trip".cite news|work=Jive Magazine |date=2004-07-23 |last=Bradley |first=Ryan |title=The Orb: Bicycles and Tricycles |url=http://www.jivemagazine.com/review.php?rid=671&rtid=2] Orb co-founder Jimmy Cauty, too, made a guest appearance as co-writer on "Bicycles & Tricycles"' "From a Distance". After departing from Island Records, The Orb released "Bicycles & Tricycles" in 2004 on Cooking Vinyl in the United Kingdom and Sanctuary Records in the United States. To promote the album, The Orb began a UK tour with dub reggae artist Mad Professor, who had remixed The Orb in the past. Though The Orb still pulled in large crowds, "The Guardian" described one London performance as "joyless" and that stated that "few of the new tracks... really go anywhere".cite web|last=O'Grady |first = Carrie |title=The Orb Concert Review: Coronet, London |work=The Guardian |date=2004-05-18 |url =http://arts.guardian.co.uk/reviews/story/0,,1219006,00.html] She also noted that Paterson seemed to be far more comfortable and happier to play material from "Bicycles & Tricycles" rather than older tracks. Paterson's biggest influences for the album were drum and bass and trip hop music.cite news|title=Ambient gurus refuse to lie down |work=Birmingham Post |date=1998-10-21 |page=15 |last=Cowen |first=Andrew]

Track listing

; UK version

#"Orb Is (Shopping Version)" – 4:49
#"Aftermath" – 4:40
#"The Land of Green Ginger" – 4:01
#"Hell's Kitchen" – 5:23
#"Gee Strings" – 6:41
#"Prime Evil" – 5:14
#"Abstractions (Trance Pennine Express)" – 6:49
#"L.U.C.A." – 5:23
#"From a Distance (Blast Master v The Corp ral)" – 3:55
#"Tower Twenty Three (Spud v Kreature Mix)" – 6:33
#"Kompania (Grooved Ware Mix)" – 6:19
#"Dilmun" – 4:02

; US version

: Identical to UK version, minus track 8 "L.U.C.A."

; Japan version

: Pre-released in June 2003, had a different track listing order with different versions (some radical) of "From a Distance" - 5:32, "Orb Is" - 3:28, "Abstractions" - 6:56, "Compania - 1:54" & "Tower Twenty Three" - 7:50, plus "Now Here" exclusive track - 5:20, minus "Aftermath".

References

External links

*Discogs release|id=308368|name= UK version of "Bicycles & Tricycles"
*Discogs release|id=480356|name= US version of "Bicycles & Tricycles"
*Discogs release|id=237085|name= JP version of "Bicycles & Tricycles"