The Outernational Sound

This is an amazing album. There are 20 songs on it, so it's big. There is a lot of content. Thievery likes to bring in a lot of guest artists, so they are kind of more like a collective than a band. This is interesting because they don't really have one or more figurehead band members, but they have the ability to really play the broad field and make music that spans many genres with great success. Thievery has elements of jazz, reggae, international, electronic, new age, hip/hop, and probably some others that I'm not recognizing. I think that's amazing.This album is well named. The music has a very international feel to it, and there is singing in foreign languages and also English with heavy accents. Western and eastern instruments are both present. There is jazz, Latin, Indian, and other types of music that I can't readily identify.Some of the music on this album would be great for romantic formal dancing, and most of it would be well-suited for playing in your house on the hi-fi when you want to dim the lights and have some candles and wine with just you and your significant other. It would also work well in an expensive, quiet restaurant, or in the elevator of an expensive hotel, and in fact I've heard it played in restaurants.This album is also well-assembled. Many of the songs blend from one into the next, so if you're really an audiophile, set your iTunes to play it with no gaps between the songs. This blending is really well done, and demonstrates that the people mixing the album and Thievery Corporation themselves really cared about what they were doing.I'll try to outline some of my favorite songs on this album, but generally, I like all of them, and there really aren't any duds in the mix. Due to this, and the nice blending between songs, I would recommend that interested listeners try to purchase the whole album if possible, rather than just individual songs. Everyone on there is great, and it fits together and works together as an album.International Flight - A purely instrumental song, very classy, very relaxing, would be good elevator music in a very expensive hotel.Vai Vai - Electronic echoing sounds in the beginning, and small amounts of vocalizations, not very many lyrics, very smooth, laid back, and classy.Chez Roger Boite Funk - Funky and electronic, with some jazz flute3 Play It Cool - Also smooth and cool, but with some random creepy male lyricsUnder My Sensi (Thievery Corporation Mix) - Sophisticated electronic beats, also with some random creepy male lyricsLagos Communique - Nice trumpet work, backed with some sitar, if I'm not mistaken, and strong percussion beatWithin You Without You - Dreamy and meditative, with sitarExpo In Tokyo - Feels like it would be a good soundtrack to a movie featuring high stakes business deals with Japanese investors wearing expensive suits (yes, I seriously get all of this imagery) :-)My French Brother - I have no idea why they named this song this, but it's a really good song. Lots of strange and wonderful electronic sounds with some minimal female vocalizations that sound really sexy. Very chill.Better Must Come and the Richest Man in Babylon - it's a little lame that they included a remix of a song they already published on the Richest Man in Bablylon album that they previously did, but both of these songs are Reggae, and Thievery does really well with Reggae work.So in summary, I'm not sure if this is Thievery's *best of all* album, but it is certainly an excellent one, and deserving of 5 stars. Buy it and enjoy!!

Theivery Corp. have built their reputation as tastemakers over the years by releasing records so hypnotic and streamlined that, though most of the music is stolen -- i.e. thievery of sounds--, the brand name Thievery Corporation is another way of saying good taste.So by releasing a CD containing some of their favorite songs, did Thievery live up to its reputation? Yes, mostly.There's no fancy mixing here, and the songs do not always blend together in seemless fashion. But the brothers do dig some gems from their crates 'o wax.The music ranges from South American rhythems to North Atlantic drum and bass to Washington DC dub to the Beatles (off of Sgt. Peppers) to Funk to Asia (but not really) and ends with one of the best Jamaican rocksteady songs, by Delroy Wilson, I've ever heard.To top it all off, the CD is encased in layer after layer of shiny-psychedlic-Warholian-pop-art-packaging - which may be worth the price of admission if that's your thing.My overall impression is that, after spending a decade or so trying to be as effortlessly-cool as possible, Thievery is dying to get a little funky. They've amassed wealth through many heists, and this mix-tape album is their chance to just let the good times roll.If you're looking for high art, go elsewhere. But if you're looking for an intruiging mix of sounds that would probably do well at a party, check this out. Grade: B.

I was a teen in the '70's and too poor to buy albums just to try them out (no sampling back then). But since hi-fi home audio equipment (as well as studio mastering as source) was pretty much subpar, it wouldn't have mattered anyway because it would've sounded like crap without TC's remix mastering and use of modern digital equipment to make them danceable as well as listenable as heard on Outernational Sound.Just from this album alone I'm convinced studio mastering and sampling is truly an art form all its own.I've always been a big fan of similarly block party styled big beat funk on this TC album ever since I heard back in the '70's Kool and the Gang's Jungle Boogie (TC-"ReReturn Of The Original Artform"and "Cookin") and rockin' instrumentals like Mason William's "Classical Gas" (TC-David Snell's "International Flight"and "Slow Hot Wind"), that I've never stopped looking for more of the same all these years. And it's really been difficult finding similarly well crafted original "pop" especially since corporate media has pretty much taken over music radio and watered down originality that I've had to resort to finding really good, original sounding music on the internet and Outernational Sound fits the bill. It's the best out of all of TC's albums.All the sampled sources for the songs on this album I've never heard before and knowing they were pulled from old recordings makes it even more unbelievable that they can be made to sound so modern with beefed up audio dynamics and perfectly timed and tastefully pieced cut and paste sampling.

This recording by Thievery Corporation is outstanding compared to their predecessors as far as I'm concerned. It has a suave groove and oozes of style class and good taste. Excellent late night music to keep the party going long after the others go home it shows by listening to it that you too have mature good taste. So consider the compliment well- received when you enjoy this well- composed selection of songs in their entirety. If you are a kid ,especially with ADD you might shy away from what older hipsters enjoy in their hidden moments of escape from the noise you call music. Too smooth, too classy and too elegantly produced for Schizo Rockers....Happy Cocktail Upgrade you older folks! ( said tongue in cheek looking back over my lifetime of music maturing ) By, Jonathan Still

very good record, lost of variations, different vibes, music that will never get old, on of the best from Thievery

Wow... Stunning from start to finish. In my mind, a bit of a departure from other Thievery Corporation albums that I own. Great if you're in to amazing dub/jazz meets... I don't know what!... It's just damn good!

I lost the jacket to this CD, then it was stolen from my Car. I was really bummed because I couldn't remember the album details. I heard one track by chance and now I have the album again, I'm really happy to have it back.

これを初めて聴いたとき、たまたま入ったショップで流れていたのですが、あまりに カッコよく気持ちよかったので、店員さんに何のCDか思わず聞いてしまいました。ラウンジと一言で言っても様々ですが、テクノやチルアウト系よりもJAZZ寄りで割とテンポの良いラウンジが好みな人はたぶんハマると思います。dZihan & Kamien あたりが好きな人は一見の価値あり！！ゆる過ぎず冷たすぎず軽すぎず、バランス良くまとまった一枚になっています。最後のほうはHIPIHOPっぽい音も入ってくるのですが、それもクールにオシャレなサウンドに仕上がっていて、全体の雰囲気を壊していません。とにかく前半から深い良い音の連発です。カッコいい！！夜のドライブや体でリズムに浸りたいときに聴きたい。ホームパーティなんかにも良いかも。