Underworld - Beaucoup Fish

I totally see why Underworld chose the singles off this album as they did. This album comprises quality house / tech house / techno tunes, with subtly-infused pop sensibilities. When it came out in the market, I remembered that epic house was the new frontier and Underworld's 12 minutes "Cups" (which subsequently yielded another 9 minutes' worth of remix by Salt City Orchestra) wowed the world over.

The singles off this album have been remixed by big names such as Adam Beyer, Darren Price, Roger Sanchez, Rob Rives, Francois K, Future Shock, Micronauts (incredibly creative remix of Bruce Lee), Buffalo Daughter, Dave Clarke, Ashley Beedle, Slam, Fatboy Slim, and of course, Underworld themselves. The remixes are quality tracks, each and every of them, which rivals the hard-to-beat originals. The B sides off this album are a little more questionable, but they're not the highlights anyway.

That was a wonderful era for Underworld. Darren Emerson was still part of the group, BT was a rising star, and Pete Tong was releasing his Essential Mixes compilations. I remember those glorious days.

For some strange reason, the first and last tracks on this full-length are the best offerings. However formulaic Underworld are and similar all their albums are, every album sounds refreshing and energetic. Moaner is the reason I bought this, but overall everything is enjoyable. I have never liked the picks that Underworld make for their singles. Push upstairs and bruce lee are singles in numerous forms of media, but I have never touched a single one, regardless of who remixed the track. This is one of the few bands whose remixes are never matched by the original song.

This is my favourite Underworld album and it's also their most popular/accessible one. What I like about it is that it contains crazy thoughtless headbanging tracks like "King Of Snake" and "Push Upstairs" along with deep, beautiful and atmospheric stuff like "Cups", "Something Like A Mama" and "Jumbo". Absolutely essential for EVERY collection, regardless of what you're usually listening to.

Brilliant. Contrived as almost a concept album with singles spliced inbetween -- "Push Upstairs," "Push Downstairs" and the unbelievably, gloriously bitter and furiously intense "Moaner" relating a story about a dark long-distance relationship. "Jumbo" is simply one of the most beautiful and wonderful techno tracks ever recorded. "Kittens" is a raucously frenetic beat with meandering fuzz synth backing, crazy and endearing like the little balls o'fur themselves. The only misstep is "Something Like a Mama," which deserves skipping en route to "Moaner."