Zero 7 – Record [Special Edition] 2CD
The first disc of Record might be the most instantly forgettable “greatest hits” compilation I’ve ever heard. Even for the world of downtempo, that’s saying something. Because hell, I once owned a copy of The Very Best of Morcheeba, but even that was enlivened for a few seconds by a brief appearance from an elderly Big Daddy Kane. No such luck here. Even hip-hop’s senior citizens would be too energetic to fit comfortably on a Zero 7 album.
After all, downtempo’s whole point was to facilitate relaxation. You bought a downtempo record because you thought you wanted the trappings of pop (rhythm, melody, voice) but really you just wanted something unobtrusively chill. Portishead albums? Those were full of all that icky human emoting. For downtempo buyers, it didn’t much matter what the vocalists were actually singing or that every rhythm was the same stagnant five-minute lounge muzak loop or that the melodies were of the my-first-guitar-lesson sort. They wanted formulaic, nap-inducing gunk that sounded great.
Di House 