Orbital (1991 album)

Orbital
Studio album by Orbital
Released	30 September 1991 (UK and Europe)[1] October 1992 (US)[2]
Genre	Techno Acid house Rave
Length	76:47 (UK version) 71:56 (US version)
Label	FFRR
Producer	Orbital
Orbital chronology
Orbital (1991) Orbital (1993)
Singles from Orbital
"Chime" Released: December 1989 "III (Orbital EP) - Belfast and Satan" Released: January 1991 "Midnight"/"Choice" Released: August 1991

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]
BBC	(Positive)[4]

Orbital is the first album from Orbital, released in 1991. It is often referred to as the "Green Album", to differentiate it from the band's second album, titled Orbital 2 (known as the "Brown Album"), which bears only the band's name on the cover.

Album

The original European release includes live versions of "Chime" and "Midnight". Orbital was released in 1992 with a significantly different cover and track listing in the United States, incorporating remixes and non-album singles.^[5] All tracks on the U.S. release had also been remastered using the Bedini Audio Spectral Enhancer (B.A.S.E.) to enhance their stereophonic effects. The album is mysteriously absent from Spotify.

Samples

• "Belfast" uses a sample of soprano Emily Van Evera performing "O Euchari" from the Gothic Voices album A Feather on the Breath of God. The same sample had appeared on The Beloved's hit "The Sun Rising" a year earlier, but had not been credited.
• "The Moebius" samples the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Time Squared". It also contains a sample of the song "Mad World", featured on Tears for Fears' album The Hurting.
• "Oolaa" samples the Martian cry from Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds musical.
• "Desert Storm" samples the "Blessing of the Bomb Almighty" from Beneath the Planet of the Apes.
• "Satan" samples Time Zone's "The Wildstyle" and Butthole Surfers song "Sweat Loaf" from the album Locust Abortion Technician.
• "Choice" samples the Crucifix song "Annihilation".
• "Choice" samples Jim Morrison's track, "Awake".

Track listing

All tracks written by Orbital.

United Kingdom and Europe

CD

1. "The Moebius" – 7:01
2. "Speed Freak" – 7:16
3. "Oolaa" – 6:21
4. "Desert Storm" – 12:05
5. "Fahrenheit 303" – 8:24
6. "Steel Cube Idolatry" – 6:34
7. "High Rise" – 8:24
8. "Chime" (Live) – 5:56
9. "Midnight" (Live) – 6:53
10. "Belfast" – 8:06
11. "I Think It's Disgusting" (Outro) – 0:51

Alternate track listings

Each format (LP, CD and cassette) included a track not included on the others. The unlisted outro track appeared on the CD version only.^[6] The double vinyl LP version included a track called "Macro Head" between "Speed Freak" and "Oolaa",^[7] while the cassette included a nine-minute track listed as "Untitled" between "High Rise" and "Chime (Live)".^[8] The cover design was modified to identify the format, with the red circle on the LP, CD, and cassette versions including the text LP, CD, and MC respectively. Vinyl pressings had the track listing on the front cover, rather than on the back.

United States

1. "Belfast" – 8:06
2. "The Moebius" – 7:01
3. "Speed Freak" (Moby Remix) – 5:40
4. "Fahrenheit 3D3" – 7:04
5. "Desert Storm" – 12:05
6. "Oolaa" – 6:21
7. "Chime" – 8:01
8. "Satan" – 6:44
9. "Choice" – 5:30
10. "Midnight" – 5:08
11. "Steel Cube Idolatry" - 6:34 (Cassette bonus not on CD)

Personnel

• Paul Hartnoll – Performer (Orbital)
• Phil Hartnoll – Performer (Orbital)
• Orbital – Producer
• Tim Hunt – Engineer
• Herbert Lesch – Assistant Engineer
• Fultano '91 – Sleeve Design

Use in other media

"Belfast" appears on the soundtrack to the film Human Traffic.

References

External links

• Orbital (Green Album) at Discogs (list of releases)
• Orbital at MusicBrainz