After over a year without an official release since their 1997 fourth studio album Orblivion, the pioneering and influential ambient electronic powerhouse from England, The Orb, finally broke their silence in November 1998 with U.F.Off – The Best of the Orb, a greatest hits album. A surprise to most Orb listeners, U.F.Off was a calculated release from Island Records, whose intention seemingly was to generate interest in the band before their next album and U.S. tour.

Many rumors about Alex Patterson, the brains behind the Orb circulated around the release time. Usenet posts claimed he was broke and angry at Island Records for controlling his creativity and forcing a release out of him when he wasn’t ready – hence the title, U.F.Off. A subtle message to Island Record Executives, perhaps?

It’s difficult to classify this release, considering it was a mixed bag of many old remixes and only one real new track. Many die-hard Orb collectors were disappointed to find most of these tracks already existed on previous compilations and some rare bootlegs, but for newcomers, the album served as good lubrication to the band’s diversity of sound and colorful musical interpretations.

The album was released in two versions. A limited edition of only 15,000 copies including a bonus full-length disc of additional mixes which Orb aficionados gobbled up quickly for good reason, the normal release sadly lacked the same depth and flow as the bonus CD.

The first disc begins with the classic, “A huge ever-growing pulsating brain that rules from the center of the ultraworld”, from their first release back in 1989, The Orb’s Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld. A notable difference with this track is the clear and lengthy “loving you” Minnie Ripperton sample which introduces the song. In the old version, we hear her voice as a quiet embedded trickle in the whole sea of sound, but here, we can hear the sample as it was originally stolen, almost as if Alex is giving away a prized secret from his archives. As raindrops subside, the song quickly ushers itself into its rhythm – dancy and much less ambient than in its earlier forms, suitable for a club or raging party.

Still, Alex’s experimentation and playfulness are evident in the small beeps and whizzes scratching along the surface. Dance seems to be the theme as the tracks on the first disc continue. We’re treated to a familiar version of “Little Fluffy Clouds”, the most well known Orb track ever composed. It’s titled Dance Mix 2, for its immediate plunge into driving, shuffling rhythm. As always, the music wavers around Rickie Lee Jones‘ eyes to the sky musings originally dubbed from a Reading Rainbow interview with Levar Burton about her childhood. The driving rhythms continue into “Perpetual Dawn (Solar Youth Mix)”,  a version laced with gentle vocals – an extremely rare occurrence in Orb music, yet they retain typical Orb playfulness as they slice apart and echo at the ends. The voices seem to come from a gospel backup, or the leathery support of a hip hop ensemble.

Other tracks on the first disc heard before, with minimal restructuring – “Pomme Fritz”, “Toxygene”, “Outlands”, and a much blurrier version “DJ Asylum”, as if the original were dunked in a bathtub and recorded from a microphone held against the porcelain. The first disc rounds out with “Towers of Dub (Original Mix)”, named for its simpler build than when it first appeared on U.F. Orb. A different introduction takes slower to peak, and it lacks some shifts and interplay, although there are minimalistic twinklings and changes in resonance we haven’t heard before. The harmonica sample floating above the song in the U.F.Orb version is absent, creating a sense of sparseness, for it defined the bluesy, reggae tempo of that version with exquisiteness.

The only new track, “Mickey Mars”, is superb, a classic in the traditional Orb sense, appealing to emotion and spirit in the sophisticated depthful fashion only Orb can create. The overwhelming power in the vocal samples, blended with the fruity whoops and blips, is tied to a complex cascade of rhythms which tiptoe around deep and gassy balls of bass. The whole song travels through several stages of increasing intensity and distortion until it reaches an explosive climax and refers back to its beginning, riding a gradually dissolving plateau towards completion. There are those moments when a room grows silent and respectful to the organic wall of sound the Orb oftentimes becomes. Mickey Mars is a song of those moments – it shatters you with its power and passion, sending you reeling backwards into a world of handcrafted imagery, yet all the while shiningly electronic. When the song finally withdraws from your ears, you are left breathless, inspired – it’s a classic critics’ will use to define the Orb’s best.

The second disc is similar in construction to the first, being older tracks with both major and minor restructuring, woven together with clean mixing. It begins with “Little Fluffy Clouds (Live in Washington DC 97)“, though you won’t notice any distortion. This enduring Orb classic begins with the sombreness of church bells – a satisfyingly sad introduction, which lingers for some time and eventually grows into a hard-core rhythm. Orb veterans will be amused by the “we’re happy to be with you” sample from Pomme Fritz being used. The unforgettable sound of a finger being blubbered over lips responds to a tinny laughing cackle, as in every version of this song. This piece has a neat and clean structure, using recognizably “Orb” beat movements – buildup and then a drop-off, a sudden readjustment stance, then re-layering back to full intensity. The second disc’s version of Pomme Fritz walks its recognizable rivets and divots, but the song is much slower and calmer, marinating in its bizarre mechanical construction – where the original version was a shot of vodka, this is a tall screwdriver with time to spare.

The rest of the second disc rounds out with perennial Orb Favorites – “Blue Room“, another “Mickey Mars (Red X Mix), and a blindingly loud and distorted version of “Montange D’Or” which will blow your speakers, your ears, and the lid off your roommate all at once. Overall, this is a satisfying disc for anyone interested in the Orb and hoping to beef up their collection. Orb addicts in need of fresh tracks may be disappointed, but then, there can never be too much of The Orb. Yakka

U.F.Off: The Best of The Orb

CD One
“A Huge Evergrowing Pulsating Brain That Rules From The Centre Of The Ultraworld (Orbital Dance Mix)” – 8:10
“Little Fluffy Clouds (Dance Mix 2)” (mixed by Youth) – 4:10
“Perpetual Dawn (Solar Youth Mix)” (mixed by Youth) – 3:35
“Blue Room (7″ Mix)” – 4:01
“Assassin (7″ Mix)” – 3:41
“Pomme Fritz (Meat ‘N Veg)” – 7:12
“Toxygene (7″ Edit)” – 3:31
“Outlands (LP Version)” – 6:10
“DJ Asylum (7″ Edit)” – 3:56
“Mickey Mars (7″ Edit)”, previously unreleased – 3:51
“Towers Of Dub (Original Mix)” – 10:23
“Pi (Part 1) (LP Version)” – 13:26

CD Two
“Little Fluffy Clouds (Live from Washington DC ’97)” – 7:43
“Perpetual Dawn (Ultrabass II)” – 6:14
“Pomme Fritz (Orb Remix)” – 6:25
“Toxygene (Ganja Kru Remix)” – 6:27
“DJ Asylum (The Soulcatchers Mix)” – 7:12
“Assassin (Chocolate Hills of Bohol Mix)” – 1:15
“O.O.B.E. (Pool Mix)” – 6:02
“A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld (Radio Version)” – 0:58
“Blue Room (Ambient Mix)” – 10:00
“Mickey Mars (Red X Mix)” – 9:16
“Pi (Part 2) (Orb Remix)” – 0:27
“Montagne D’Or (Der Gute Berg) (Vestax Mix)” – 6:26