Where Super Numeri's previous record was all spacey ambiance, The Welcome Table comprises seven sprawling, vaguely funky jams played by a large cast of instrumentalists. Can is the obvious point of reference here, with "The Sea Wolves" sounding like something that group might've produced if they'd replaced Damo Suzuki with a saxophonist and harpist.

The songs are only loosely structured and rely on group improvisation to drive them forward. It's explorative, but never pretentious or wanky. A weird and enjoyable listen.

"Gantz Graf" blows out of the gate with the duo's most angular and disjointed piece ever. It doesn't sound composed so much as sculpted out of pure noise. It's hard to describe, but imagine a grinding waterfall of static intercut with horrifically timestretched drums that sound like an electric shock. That may not sound appealing, but this track has a frenetic rhythm and melody that puts it among Autechre's best.

"Dial" is a set of ascending arpeggios backed by (relatively) straightforward drums and weird processed talking. Unfortunately there is some crackling in the high frequencies of this track that hurt my ears.

"Cap.IV" is a reinterpretation of Confield's "Lentic Catachresis", a carefully-constructed piece of sound that gradually comes apart at the seams until nothing but chaos remains. Unlike its predecessor, however, it never really reaches a peak before beginning to disintegrate, so the whole thing sounds aimless to these ears.

Bottom line? I've given up trying to understand what's going on in the heads of Sean and Rob, but they're still one of the most entertaining and original electronic acts out there.

I've heard that Eno's original pieces had their timing partially determined by the whims of tape loops, but hearing them fleshed out with more instruments really makes you appreciate the strength of the compositions.
"2/1" and "2/2" are the most successful tracks: the live instrumentation really sparkles here. The cello and guitar are great additions.

Probably the most vulgar, offensive, insane and British record ever recorded, the amount of time and effort put into this monstrosity is staggering. "The Parker Tapes" features hundreds upon hundreds of samples pilfered from radio, record, and TV, and puréed into a libelous brew of celebrity soundbytes and musical interludes.
If the appeal of an album like this isn't immediately obvious, I offer you this: Who could say no to Tony Blair declaring that "We are launching THE biggest assault on poor, 11-year-old Emma O'Brien from Ellesmere Port"? Or a newscaster intoning that "people can be carried for miles by bees"? Or "What about the leopard? -- There's an argument for them living on council estates"? A work of genius.

Shadow picked some sub-par Ninja Tune tracks they had the distribution rights to and tried to make a quick buck from 'em. This may not be what really happened, but it sure feels like it. While the artists on this CD have released good material, you won't find much of it here.

While this release has many good bits, I found it extremely difficult to get into, and I don't consider it their best work. One of the most interesting things about Autechre is their exploration of sonic contrast, so it's no surprise that the best tracks here ("Pir", "Netlon Sentinel", "Maphive 6.1") make liberal use of it. Where this contrast is not present, the music is choked by dry static and uninspired textures.
"Rpeg" and "Ccec" are great, and reveal the extent to which Ae's music is inspired by rap and hiphop. "Maphive 6.1" is the centrepiece of the record, and features skittering insect drums layered over massive timpanis and interspersed with DSP-mangled piano, reminiscent of the Peel Session 2 EP. "Pir" is a pretty melody undercut by strange percussion that sounds like it's been run through a bad MPEG-1 compressor.
I'd recommend the "classic" Autechre releases before EP7, but it's still a worthwhile purchase.

Completists will want to pick up this double digipack for the hard-edged "Carp Dreams" remix of "Pearl's Girl". It employs the same jungle beat as the original, but layers it under a dissonant synthesizer and Underworld's standard 808/909 magic.
Since all the other tracks, plus more, are available on the US version of "Pearl's Girl", this release is not really worth it.

"Most 'Ospitable" is a pleasant, short ambient tune that incorporates some elements from Dark Train. "215 Miles" goes the opposite direction, stretching out Dark Train to 20 minutes. While it eventually reaches an excellent conclusion, it could be much improved by cutting out some of the dull middle section.

In short, this release is strictly for completists.

This disc gives you three great tracks from Dubnobasswithmyheadman, along with some so-so remixes.

The two retakes of "Dirty Epic" strike an awkward balance between bouncy techno and the conflicted lyrics of the album version. They're decent, but don't stack up.
Similarly, the "Cowgirl" mixes lack the original's claustrophobic energy. "Irish Pub" is nice enough, but rather directionless. "Winjer mix" doesn't distinguish itself, and could almost be a different song entirely.

Despite the flaws, this release still worth picking up if you can get it for a bargain. It may be sub-par Underworld, but it's still better than most of the cheesy electronica out there.

Their earlier releases are the most interesting -- almost everything from Incunabula up to LP5.
Confield is where things start to get iffy. It's a good album, but much more austere, and difficult to enjoy in the same way as their previous work. Most of the melody now seems to be in the rhythm section.
Draft 7.30 is probably their weakest to date: all the repetition of the early stuff, but with little of the evolution.
Untilted seems like an improvement so far, but I'll have to listen more.

Interestingly, I saw them live recently, and was blown away. Their set was not at all similar to their recorded work. So if they ever release a live album, I'm in. :)