Tally Ho

After listening to "Rendleshack" (best song on the album) on an Astralwerks sampler from 1998, I decided to check out this album. I typically listen to an entire album on Spotify before I decide if I really want to buy the CD. But since "Tally Ho" isn't available on Spotify, I had to buy the CD to listen through it. My first time listening to this CD, it didn't quite hit me well enough. I mean I liked it. I think it's good. Different drum beats on each song. The screaming on Track 4 cracks me up. On Track 8, the "Work it, WORK IT!!!" is funny as well. But I have listened to this album a few more times and fortunately, it has grown on me. I like it a lot better now than I did the first time listening to it. B+

Great album!

HEY WAGON PIONEERS, IT'S THE BEGINNING TO WHAT WE LATER APPRECIATE BY LUKE VIBERT. RAW NOT COMPLETELY REFINED BUT MAGICAL. IF YOU ARE A WAGON CHRIST FAN, THEN YOU MUST HAVE THIS IN YOUR COLLECTION!

"Feeling the essence and the rhythm of experimentally-infused hip-hop electronica is one thing, listening to Wagon Christ or Luke Vibert is another. Tally Ho! is the first widespread album he realised so far under this moniker and, like Musipal (which is the first album I have heard from him), does surprise and uplift spirit. Within this album lies the same kind of kooky, tinkering, and ethereal sounds, samples, and beats found in his other work but more evidently is how he executes it with such gusto, funkiness, and even beauty in songs like Shimmering Haze, Tally Ho!, Lovely, and the off-the-wall Juicy Luke Vibert. Much of Mr. Scruff's work sounds like this too but Wagon Christ holds a more darker, inconsistent, and subversive silhouette here that, whether the mood and tone of the album goes, it follows without regret and ease. This is not a bad thing but something excellent because in the end, Vibert has created him something, short-lived on the Virgin label, that is daring, excellent, melodic, and cheerful than many electronic musicians could come up with."

The gentle jazz piano and strings of "Fly Swat" kicks off TALLY HO!, Wagon Christ's continued exploration of cheeky fun -- only this time on a major label. "Crazy Disco Party" doesn't quite develop, though, and the start of "Memory Towel" seems messy even by Vibert's standards, but the shininess of the title track and the dreamy scratching of "Shimmering Haze" help disguise those shortcomings. And how could you not love the ridiculously obscene of "Juicy Luke Vibert" (and though "My Organ in Your Face" sounds just as kinky, it's somewhat more literal than that)? Or the bouncy fun of "Piano Playa Hata"? "Rendleshack" throws in everything, including the kitchen sink, and it works, while the perky "Lovely" is like a private swinger's party in your ears. "Musical Box" takes a darker, acid turn. An album that definitely gets stronger as it goes on.

Hailing from Cornwall, England, Luke Vibert started his career early by releasing a debut album with Jeremy Simmonds on Richard D. James' Rephlex Records in 1993. He then moved on to Rising High Records releasing an ambient album Phat Lab Nightmare under an alias Wagon Christ. In 1996, Luke tried his hand at drill'n'bass with an alias Plug releasing Drum 'n' Bass for Papa on Blue Planet. Luke finally landed on Astralwerks - a Virgin Records owned New York label known for main stream electronic acts such as Basement Jaxx, The Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim, Future Sound of London and the likes. Tally Ho! is Vibert's sixth full length album (third under Wagon Christ moniker) to come out on Astralwerks in 1998. Luke's sound fits in nicely alongside the friends and artists that defined the late 90's electronica, such as Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, µ-ziq and Cylob. "Together they assimilated such diverse elements as hip hop beats and drum & bass into the more eccentric take on electronica they tweaked, and kick-started a virtual insurrection in sound around the world," notes journalist Andrez Bergen. Tally Ho! is a perfect example of more stylistic exploration under the electronica umbrella, where jungle meets trip-hop, and new genres emerge. The sound is upbeat, confident and playful at the same time. Luke's other notable aliases among the many are Kerrier District, Amen Andrews and Ace of Clubs with a deep discography on defining labels such as Warp, Ninja Tune and Planet-µ. In 2007 Luke collaborated with Jean-Jacques Perrey on Moog Acid project for Lo Recordings. I think I did more name-dropping in this review than talk about the music, but I trust you get the idea. Five stars for this one.

Luke Vibert (deranged genius trading as Wagon Christ) is THE only bearded Cornishman you should allow to whisper sweet nothings in your ear. The reason for this is simple - the sweet nothings, accompanied by fairground ride-style organ music and stuttering beats make up "Juicy Luke Vibert", just one of the playful, bouncy tracks Vibert has created for Tally Ho! The overall feel of the album is happy and warm, so the occasional scream jarrs badly, and there is a strange vein of sexual perversion running through it, too. Maybe I was a little hasty in trusting Vibert...

Luke Vibert uses samples to great effect on Tally Ho! especially in songs like Tally Ho! and Fly Swat. The beats are infectious, but sometimes the songs go a little long for my tastes. The songs are always very interesting and creative, using clever sound effects sometimes quite subtly sometimes right in your face to add depth to otherwise plain songs. A good CD if you like "acid jazz", might want to check this out if you are interested in trip-hop type stuff with a silly element too.

Interesting and fresh.

TALLY HO c'est BEAU. Electro, planant, pêchu : tout à la fois ! Album particulièrement réussi et très varié : trip-hop, break beat, drum & bass, acid... Certaines lignes de basse sont particulièrement redoutables de perfection. Et toujours les petits sons dans tous les sens et quelques bons vieux sampling qui font chaud au coeur, à l'esprit et aux oreilles. Excellent. A posséder.