Stereolab - Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by WalterDigsTunes, Apr 10, 2018.

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  1. raphph

    raphph Taking a trip on an ocean liner…

    Location:
    London
    I haven't listened to this - but love the band and have met Laetitia - and this description makes me wanna listen!!
     
  2. Halfwit

    Halfwit Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dublin
    I regard Sound Dust and Margerine Eclipse highly too. Probably not on a par with Dots & Loops, but well worth grabbing if you get the chance. The original Duophonic of Sound Dust sounds particularly nice.
     
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  3. danomar

    danomar My spoon is too big.

    Location:
    Atlanta, GA
    My first Stereolab album was Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements, so I can pretentiously show off that I was listening to them before they were popular. Call me a hipster. :p

    Cobra and Phases always seemed a bit over the top in comparison to Stereolab's other albums. Emperor Tomato Ketchup is probably my go-to Stereolab album: It is as quirky and discursive as any other while also remaining very musical. Mars Audiac Quintet is probably second for me, but trying to rank Stereolab albums is a task similar to lining up and ranking puppies: It never stays still and a good one always gets left out.

    I was fortunate to see Stereolab play live. I think it was either the Cobra and Phases or the Sound-Dust era tour. I was surprised to find them highly engaging and completely charming and unpretentious. Lætetia was by no means the central focus: In fact, Mary Hansen seemed to be one of the strongest members along with Tim Gane.

    Stereolab was lumped into many categories and consistently failed to fully align with any one particular genre. They were truly genre independent for most of their output. My impression is that members had musical ideas that they wanted to explore. Period. When Stereolab come up in music discussions, I suggest sampling a bit from their earlier, middle, and late works to find some albums that the individual listener likes. There should be something in there for everyone.
     
  4. rancher

    rancher Unmade Bed

    Location:
    Ohio
    Genre independent indeed! I love a lot of the early motorik sound but the later Cobra and Margerine Eclipse material hits me equally, just in a different way. Big fan of almost all Stereolab material here, though I can obviously find some tunes that miss the mark
     
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  5. Neonbeam

    Neonbeam All Art Was Once Contemporary

    Location:
    Planet Earth
    Apparently the 1972 vinyl reissue doesn't have the 17 minute "Blue Milk" version. Makes sense since it wasn't taken from Tim Gane's original masters. Really can't wait to spin this....
     
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  6. Jet Age Eric

    Jet Age Eric Forum Resident

    Location:
    SIlver Spring, MD
    I remember hearing Peng! in Vinyl Ink, then-home to Slumberland Records. Mind. BLOWN. :) -E

     
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  7. Dolemite

    Dolemite Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago
    Me too. I've been obsessed with this song. This LP and Dot and Loops are really the peak for me.
     
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  8. rancher

    rancher Unmade Bed

    Location:
    Ohio
    Love that final song, Come and Play ...
     
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  9. Neonbeam

    Neonbeam All Art Was Once Contemporary

    Location:
    Planet Earth
  10. Neonbeam

    Neonbeam All Art Was Once Contemporary

    Location:
    Planet Earth
    Listened to this album for the first time since 1999 and the first time ever from vinyl and it's surprisingly good. Even the 17 minutes of "Blue Milk":evil:

    In a way it reminds me of Sonic Youth's "Washing Machine", coming after some more accessible albums suddenly a record where the band simply sounds like themselves honing their sound instead of dramatically evolving it. That said "Cobra & Phases" doesn't seem uninspired or like a retreat at all, maybe it's a cross between "Mars Audiac Quintet" and "Dots & Loops". It's certainly no lazy rehash. But the changes are definitely more subtle. And it's easily their longest album - at least up to that point - with the vinyl version clocking in at 80+ minutes.

    I'm definitely interested in hearing more late period Stereolab albums but.... what's up with "Margerine Eclipse"? How is that such an expensive album now? But I'm in no hurry, I'll pick these up as I find them. Like "Cobra & Phases":righton:
     
  11. rancher

    rancher Unmade Bed

    Location:
    Ohio
    Yes - I agree with Cobra being in the vein of Washing Machine, I love both!
    You should hear Margerine Eclipse, one of my favorites. Some of the cost might be due to its uniqueness, each song is recorded twice, one version on the left and one on the right. I may be oversimplifying, and I'm sure others here could explain in better detail. Anyway, it contains two brilliant tracks "... sudden stars" ans "Cosmic Country Noir" plus many other fine ones like "Margerine Melodie".
     
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  12. GordonM

    GordonM Forum Resident

    Location:
    N.Ireland
    You should also seek out The First of the Microbe Hunters. I personally enjoy this one and rate it fairly high in the Stereolab catalogue. It has a fun vibe and has no fluff or otherwise sub par tracks IMO. It was also available as a double 12" 45rpm.

    I have no explanation as to the cost of Margerine Eclipse these days other than relative rarity if you are referring to vinyl issues. I also enjoy this one which pairs nicely with Fab Four Suture (double 10" 33.3rpm).

    A very late highlight for me is a kraut/metonomic Silver Sands on Not Music which I enjoy in the same way I do the epic Les Yper Yper Sound from the Cybele's Reverie EP.

    I have not heard it described as this before. I read that it is recorded dual mono with everything panned left or right which I don't think is what you describe. However, I agree it is a enjoyable listen.
     
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  13. GordonM

    GordonM Forum Resident

    Location:
    N.Ireland
    I hadn't noticed but Margerine Eclipse in dual mono is being discussed here: Dual-Mono

    I should also have underlined above that I'm no expert in the terminology.
     
  14. Neonbeam

    Neonbeam All Art Was Once Contemporary

    Location:
    Planet Earth
    Thanks for all the recommendations! I'll see what comes my way, I won't buy at Discogs (etc) even though I'd love to proceed chronologically. For these later albums I'd also be okay with (Gane sanctioned) vinyl reissues.
     
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  15. rancher

    rancher Unmade Bed

    Location:
    Ohio
    I don't know the correct description for ME, really, but on listening you can hear distinct drum tracks, distinct vocals etc., one set coming from left one coming from right
     
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  16. beccabear67

    beccabear67 Musical omnivore.

    Location:
    Victoria, Canada
    I think 'Dots & Loops' was the groop's high point for me, but I was not at all disappointed in 'Cobra And Phases Group Play' either, especially if you add the four tracks on their own UHF label 'The Free Design'. There are some absolute top-drawer works on these! I can't imagine being without them. It helps if you are into esoteric past pop music and vintage syths I suppose though... I've learned so much from following Stereolab, they are wonderful artists!

    On 'Cobra And Phases Group Play' every other track is real genius for the first half: People Do It All the Time, Blips, Drips and Strips, Infinity Girl, and Op Hop Detonation are 10/10 for me. And so is Strobo Acceleration! From the UHF 4 track companion Escape Pod (From The World Of Medical Observations), With Friends Like These, and Les Aimies Des Memes are also 10/10, so that's eight must-have pieces of Lab.

    [​IMG]
     
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  17. rancher

    rancher Unmade Bed

    Location:
    Ohio
    I love Infinty Girl and Op Hop, but also Come and Play ... prob my top 3 on this release
     
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  18. ostrichfarm

    ostrichfarm Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    That's one heck of a lineup, let alone for £100!

    That's more or less where I'm at too. Dots and Loops is one of my all-time favorite albums, and one I loved from the moment I got it. I ordered Cobra as soon as it came out and was very disappointed by it at the time.

    Nowadays it doesn't seem like quite as much of a step down. And I'm glad to have an album with so much Mary on it, especially in light of her untimely death. But other than "Op Hop Detonation", which is pretty good, most of the songs just don't resonate with me, nor do they seem nearly as inspired and carefully crafted as those on Dots and Loops. As a friend of mine once said, Dots and Loops is above all a fun album (Marxist sermons notwithstanding), and that spirit just seems absent from Cobra.
     
  19. rancher

    rancher Unmade Bed

    Location:
    Ohio
    I would suggest beyond Op Hop, which I love, listen to the last track plus also Puncture In The Radax Permutation and Infinity Girl
     
  20. jason202

    jason202 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Washington, D.C.
    It’s funny seeing this thread pop up just as I’m looking for a vinyl copy of the album. If any band is overdue for a quality, comprehensive vinyl reissue campaign, it’s Stereolab.
     
  21. rancher

    rancher Unmade Bed

    Location:
    Ohio
    Yes for sure, and am glad to see the flame carrying on here. In my opinion not Stereolab’s absolute top album, but that is for another thread :cool:
     
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  22. *Zod*

    *Zod* Forum Resident

    Location:
    New England
    how about right now? I have Sound-Dust at #1 and Dots and Loops at #2. Aluminum Tunes is an amazing collection as well.
     
  23. Halfwit

    Halfwit Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dublin
    'Band members have resisted attempts to link the group and its music to Marxism. In a 1999 interview, Gane stated that "none of us are Marxists ... I've never even read Marx." Gane said that although Sadier's lyrics touch on political topics, they do not cross the line into "sloganeering". Sadier also said that she had read very little Marx.'
     
  24. Neonbeam

    Neonbeam All Art Was Once Contemporary

    Location:
    Planet Earth
    Very good description! I guess the reason for that is that "Dots & Loops" marks the point where Stereolab had pretty much fully evolved. Now.... where do you go from there? You either change your sound completely or you work on making it more subtle. And since a drum and bass or triphop album wasn't on the cards are certain routine set in.


    I guess I need to check out some contemporary interviews to see what the band said about "Cobra" in 1999. But I remember that they suddenly weren't top drawer in the German music press anymore.
     
  25. GordonM

    GordonM Forum Resident

    Location:
    N.Ireland
    With a band with such an extensive, quality and varied catalogue and which probably divides opinions - why does that thread not already exist?
     
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