We start the second shelf of vinyl with another album by The Chemical Brothers. As I mentioned before, I bought the CD of "Surrender" on the back of hearing the single "Hey Boy Hey Girl". I'm not sure why this particular single drove me to buy its parent album when others hadn't, but I'm glad it did.
Here I will be playing the double vinyl which I acquired in 2019. Whilst this edition was released in 2013 as part of Virgin Records' 40th Anniversary celebration, there is no indication of this on the record itself. From what I can gather, you can still buy this vinyl relatively cheaply from a number of retailers, so I'm guessing that it is still being pressed occasionally or that there is a massive warehouse of them somewhere. Either way, it isn't hard to come by.
I presume that all The Chemical Brothers albums were primarily mastered and sequenced for CD which means the move to vinyl creates some compromises. The inevitable breaks created when flipping or changing a disc makes for a less than seamless experience, but what vinyl does give us is a depth of bass that isn't quite there on other sources. You pays your money, and you takes your choice.
As far as the music goes, this is a good album. Aside from the obvious "Hey Boy Hey Girl", my personal favourites are "Orange Wedge", "The Sunshine Underground" and "Under The Influence".
There are a few collaborations with vocalists and they meet with varying degrees of success. "Out Of Control", which was recorded with Bernard Sumner of New Order is awesome. Noel Gallagher features on the thinly veiled "Tomorrow Never Knows" pastiche "The Sunshine Underground". Whilst this track isn't one of my favourites it is an improvement on their previous collaboration "Setting Sun".
"Asleep From Day" with Hope Sandoval is a languid diversion that I
suspect is included merely to add variety to the running order. Closing track "Dream On" is a collaboration with Mercury Rev's Paul Donahue and it isn't entirely successful. I have to confess, I don't always hang around for this one. So, aside from the occasional vocalist induced misfire, this album comes highly recommended and proves the depth of the talent possessed by Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands. 3/5
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