Search - Chemical Brothers :: Star Guitar / Base 6

You should hear what I hear...

Devin DiMattia | North Carolina, USA | 02/26/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"While other people will search for hidden drug references and just talk about the Chemical Brothers in general, here's a review that focuses on the actual single. "Star Guitar" is the second single for the Chemical Brothers' "Come With Us" album, the first being "It Began in Afrika", another highly recommended single if you liked "Come With Us". Anyway, on with the review:1. Star Guitar (Edit) -- a quick little ditty similar to the "It Began in Afrika" edit. It's a nice little tune for those of you who don't like too much repetitiveness.2. Star Guitar -- the version you've heard off the album. A sweeping tune filled with ambience and trance moods all centering around a faint vocal proclaiming that "you should feel what I feel" and that "you should take what I take".3. Star Guitar (Pete Heller's Expanded Mix) -- I heard Pete Heller's Park Lane Vocal on Moby's "South Side" single and thought it was pretty boring. It's grown on me since then and so has this remix of "Star Guitar". Unfortunatley, Heller centers on the "you should feel" part of the vocal, so it gets pretty repetitive and at over eight minutes, you might wanna hit the "Skip" button for this one.4. Star Guitar (Pete Heller's 303 Dub) -- Ah, here we are, a much better attempt by Heller. The 303 Dub is a wild combination of melodies and harmonies from the song and, if I'm not mistaken, there are minimal, if no, amounts of vocals. But, it all pales in comparison to what you hear next...5. Base 6 -- The No. 1 reason that anyone who already owns "Come With Us" should buy this single. "Base 6", like its cousin "Hot Acid Rhythm 1" off the "Afrika" single, is an awesome dance mix, centering around a computerized voice counting up to six. With more than enough variation to make it interesting, it's a wonder why this didn't appear on the album. It's these little surprises that make buying singles worthwhile."

Great, Cool, Fantastic & Fresh... it's obvious!!!

Rafael Cova | Caracas, Venezuela | 02/13/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Back in the mid-`90s, a girl once famously interrupted an Ibizan Chemical Brothers DJ set to inform them their `dark, ugly music' had made her cry. If only they'd had the sunny, spangly, indeed balearic `Star Guitar' in their boxes back then to have kissed and made things better! Perhaps she'll accept this as a belated healing present from inside whatever crack den or white slave holding pen the poor, blighted girl currently resides.
After the rather obvious `It Started In Afrika' (what? Life? `Riddim'?) the Chemicals hit back with one of their periodic dancefloor stormers (think: `Song To The Siren', `Block Rockin' Beats' and `Hey Boy, Hey Girl'). And in stark contrast to the darkness-by-numbers of its predecessor, never before have the Chemicals sounded quite so straightforwardly blissed out. With its echoes of Stardust, `Blue Monday' and Frankie Knuckles' early house experiments, this is the sound of the Chemical Brothers dropping in on New York's last days of disco, fiddling with the flangers and filters and having the time of their lives. And as the hook (line and sinker), how's this for a gratuitous drug reference - a chorus that apparently goes "You should feel what I feel/You should take what I take"?
With its closest cousin probably Pete Heller's `Big Love', it's only right and proper they should get their old Heavenly Social mate and former label boss (at Junior Boy's Own) in on remix duties. He does a fine job, especially on the self-explanatory `303 Mix', though quite why the Chems have also included an almost self-parodic slice of big beat - complete with `White Lines' reference - in `Bass 6' on the flip is a mystery."

Get it for "Base 6".

losingsoul | south carolina | 02/24/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm more of a Chemical Brothers singles fan than a Chemical Brothers albums fan. I think they save the most interesting stuff for the non-album tracks and honestly, I think they've never quite topped "Exit Planet Dust". Imagine my surprise when I make my annual pilgrimage to get the new single and hear the b-side this time out "Base 6". WOW! This isn't self parody, kids. It's a stunning return to form. Not only is it the absolute best b-side they've ever done (yes, better than "Morning Lemon"), it's the first time they've returned to the totally rocked-out style that they mastered on "Exit Planet Dust". Why this track didn't make the album or better yet, why wasn't it released as its own headlining single, is mystifying. If you've been secretly hoping they'd eventually do another track with the stomp and energy of songs like "Leave Home" or "In Dust We Trust", your wait is over. It will blow your mind."