Remedy (Basement Jaxx album)

Remedy
Studio album by Basement Jaxx
Released May 10, 1999 (1999-05-10)
Recorded 1998
Genre House[1]
Length 57:03
Label XL
Producer
  • Felix Buxton
  • Simon Ratcliffe
Basement Jaxx chronology
Remedy
(1999)		 Rooty
(2001)
Singles from Remedy
  1. "Red Alert"
    Released: April 19, 1999
  2. "Rendez-Vu"
    Released: August 2, 1999
  3. "Jump n' Shout"
    Released: October 25, 1999
  4. "Bingo Bango"
    Released: April 3, 2000

Remedy is the debut studio album by English electronic music duo Basement Jaxx, released in May 1999 by record label XL.

The album was very well-received critically, and reached number 4 in the UK albums chart. Four singles were released from the album: "Red Alert", "Rendez-Vu", "Jump n' Shout" and "Bingo Bango".

Background

Concept

When Basement Jaxx first rose to stardom, the duo was unsatisfied with the state of dance music, describing it as "linear" and "close-minded". "Most dance music is very shiny and so robotic," Ratcliffe told Rolling Stone. "There's just not much feeling. If we made a record like that, we'd be just like everybody else."[2] Consequently, the title Remedy was chosen as "an antidote" to the "poisons" they saw within dance music. "A lot of it seems quite superficial," Ratcliffe said.[3]

"For me, Remedy was always about togetherness, which is the appeal of house music. You may be black; you may be white; you may be Jew; you may be gentile. It doesn’t matter in our house," Buxton said.[4]

Release

Remedy was released on 10 May 1999 in the UK and August 3, 1999 in the US, by record label XL. It reached number 4 in the UK Albums Chart.

Four singles were released from the album: "Red Alert" on 19 April, "Rendez-Vu" on 2 August, "Jump n' Shout" on 25 October and "Bingo Bango" on 3 April 2000. "Red Alert" was the first Basement Jaxx single to reach number 1 on the U.S. Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. "Rendez-Vu" also reached number 1 later in the year, and "Bingo Bango" became their third number 1 single the following year.

In 2014, Ratcliffe revealed that XL was planning to re-release the album with a documentary about that period of their career.[5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic88/100[6]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Alternative Press5/5[8]
Entertainment WeeklyA[9]
Melody Maker[10]
NME9/10[11]
Pitchfork Media3.5/10[12]
Q[6]
Rolling Stone[1]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[13]
USA Today[14]

Remedy holds a rating of 88 out of 100 on review aggregator website Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim".[6] AllMusic's John Bush called the album "one of the most assured, propulsive full lengths the dance world has seen since Daft Punk's Homework."[7] Marc Weingarten of Entertainment Weekly described Remedy as a "blissful joy ride",[9] while Ted Kessler of NME called it "probably as good a dance album as anyone from these Isles has produced this decade."[11] The Austin Chronicle's Marc Savlov called the album "a top beat assemblage to rival any release this year".[15] Alternative Press wrote: "Somewhere on this album, Basement Jaxx have created a song that you're going to love, no matter what sort of music you listen to [...] the mere existence of Remedy shows hope for modern music's future."[8] Melody Maker wrote that the album "repeatedly, and durably, synthesises those notoriously unstable dance music elements; the dizzying dancefloor rush and the complex, long-lasting emotional hit", calling it "deft and obviously heartfelt" and "truly great."[10] Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk proclaimed the album as "better than [theirs]."[16]

The A.V. Club was less favourable, saying Remedy was "nowhere near as revolutionary as the hype would insinuate", though noting that it does "offer its distinct pleasures."[17] Robert Christgau of The Village Voice gave the album a two-star honourable mention rating, indicating a "likable effort consumers attuned to its overriding aesthetic or individual vision may well enjoy", and remarked: "Like so much good house, more fun than reading the newspaper and less fun than advertised."[18][19]

Remedy was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[20] In 2012, Rolling Stone placed Remedy at number 13 on its list of the 30 Greatest EDM Albums of All-Time.[21]

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Rendez-Vu"  
  • Felix Buxton
  • Simon Ratcliffe
 5:45
2. "Yo-Yo"  
  • Buxton
  • Ratcliffe
 4:29
3. "Jump n' Shout"  
  • Buxton
  • M. James
  • Ratcliffe
 4:42
4. "U Can't Stop Me"  
  • Buxton
  • Ratcliffe
 3:40
5. "Jaxxalude"    0:35
6. "Red Alert"  
  • Buxton
  • Ratcliffe
 4:17
7. "Jazzalude"    0:23
8. "Always Be There"  
  • Buxton
  • Ratcliffe
 6:24
9. "Sneakalude"    0:11
10. "Same Old Show"    5:55
11. "Bingo Bango"  
  • Buxton
  • Ratcliffe
 5:58
12. "Gemilude"    0:47
13. "Stop 4 Love"  
  • Buxton
  • Ratcliffe
 4:53
14. "Don't Give Up"  
  • Buxton
  • Ratcliffe
 5:15
15. "Being with U"  
  • Buxton
  • Ratcliffe
 3:49
Total length:
 57:03

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1999) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[22] 37
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[23] 56
French Albums (SNEP)[24] 71
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[25] 42
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[26] 2
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[27] 32
UK Albums (OCC)[28] 4

References

  1. 1 2 Walters, Barry (19 August 1999). "Basement Jaxx: Remedy". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 12 November 2007. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  2. ↑ Murray, Nick (August 22, 2014). "Basement Jaxx Turn Up on Energetic, Hopeful New 'Junto'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  3. ↑ McLean, Craig (June 25, 2001). "All right Jaxx". Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group Limited. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  4. ↑ Panisch, Alex (August 26, 2014). "Catching Up With Basement Jaxx". Out. Here Media Inc. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
  5. ↑ The Sun staff(s). ""Soon we'll be making music just by thinking it"". The Sun. News Group Newspapers Limited. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 "Reviews for Remedy by Basement Jaxx". Metacritic. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  7. 1 2 Bush, John. "Remedy – Basement Jaxx". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  8. 1 2 "Basement Jaxx: Remedy". Alternative Press (134): 92. September 1999.
  9. 1 2 Weingarten, Marc (20 August 1999). "Remedy". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  10. 1 2 "Basement Jaxx: Remedy". Melody Maker: 44. 5 August 1999.
  11. 1 2 Kessler, Ted (6 May 1999). "Basement Jaxx – Remedy". NME. Archived from the original on 4 October 2000. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  12. ↑ DiCrescenzo, Brent. "Basement Jaxx: Remedy EP". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on 16 March 2008. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  13. ↑ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. p. 46. ISBN 0-743-20169-8.
  14. ↑ Gundersen, Edna (31 August 1999). "Basement Jaxx, Remedy". USA Today. Retrieved 30 August 2013. (subscription required (help)).
  15. ↑ Savlov, Marc (10 September 1999). "Basement Jaxx: Remedy". The Austin Chronicle. Archived from the original on 27 December 2002. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  16. ↑ Aaron, Charles (September 1999). "Blue Light In The Basement". Spin. 15 (9): 63–64. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  17. ↑ Klein, Joshua (19 April 2002). "Basement Jaxx: Remedy". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  18. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Basement Jaxx: Remedy". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  19. ↑ Christgau, Robert (2000). Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-24560-2.
  20. ↑ Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (23 March 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
  21. ↑ "The 30 Greatest EDM Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. 2 August 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  22. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Basement Jaxx – Remedy" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  23. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Basement Jaxx – Remedy" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  24. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Basement Jaxx – Remedy". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  25. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Basement Jaxx – Remedy". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  26. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Basement Jaxx – Remedy". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  27. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Basement Jaxx – Remedy". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  28. ↑ "Basement Jaxx | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved 14 July 2016.
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