The time had come for The Chemical Brothers to celebrate their largely successful Electronic Music career back in 2008 which had Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands beginning their musical ambitions from their early days as students. They pioneered a mixture of Acid House, House, Techno, Trance and other forms of EDM stylings into a unique and wonderful style of music from their debut single Song To The Siren onwards to this very day. Their artistry and creativity were well received, especially during the Britpop era which lasted around 1994-1997, mostly within the UK. This covers the first part of their music career, and arguably the most successful part of it all. Let’s take a listen to this album and hear what it sounds like.

Galvanise – Edit is a major hit by The Chemical Brothers featuring rapper Q-Tip. It begins with an electronic meltdown sound, followed by an extremely catchy Eastern string based melody and some awesome and sturdy EDM-styled beats. Q-Tip launches straight into the action musically, and he sounds cool, calm, collected and above all, really great for this tune. Nonetheless, this is an amazing and decent tune about having the confidence to show the world what you have got. All the same, this is a really great tune to listen to, and sounds just as good in retrospect as this did during the 2000s. All in all, an excellent and emotionally uplifting tune that will take you to the next level. The tune and rapping perfectly complement each other throughout. In the midsection is a glorious peak, and this evolves into a suspenseful and interesting build-up throughout. “My finger is on the button,” is sung repeatedly here, just before the track builds up in a fantastic way. A super fantastic and awesome listening experience, this shows the world the chemistry of The Chemical Brothers at their glorious best. The super long outro has some minimal beats and textures to boot, before wrapping up. Excellent to hear.

Hey Boy Hey Girl launches right into it with the phrase, “Hey girls, hey boys, superstar DJs, here we go!” and goes into The Chemical Brothers biggest hit to date. It’s a basic and simple House music tune with massive beats, Acid House textures, a real groove and futuristic textures about it. The build-ups and breakdowns throughout this awesome piece of music are stunningly good, just futuristic and perfectly EDM sounding, reminding one of Cyberpunk futurism. A really interesting and awesome set of music and musical characteristics are here. This tune is a mammoth, historically important and very trippy tune from the outset. The second half has enough 4/4 kick drum beats and glorious textures to get your mouth watering. In short, this is a really awesome tune, period. If you need a single song to introduce you to The Chemical Brothers, this is it. This also should be a DJ staple for a long night spinning records at the club, it is simply that good. The music throughout is fantastic. It eventually wraps up with some top-notch editing right at the end, and thunderous beats galore. Great, great tune, complete with DJ scratching to finish it off.

Block Rockin’ Beats is another big hit from The Chemical Brothers. It begins with some cut-up and interesting bass guitar riffing, beats galore and some awesome shouted lyrics to the tune. This is exactly what one needs to hear if one desires to go out clubbing, drink driving on their way there. A fantastic song with some truly awesome and loveable sounds throughout. After a while, some high-pitched melodies enter and this tune really gets going. If you are not moving to this tune, you clearly dislike EDM. Nonetheless, this does sound fine and awesome musically. A breakdown with the phrase, “You’re about ready to…Rock steady,” is here, followed by a solo-esque section with dramatic sounds and pounding drum beats. This does get much better musically speaking than this tune. A really awesome listen, this sounds super awesome and wonderful for this unique take on EDM of the mid-1990s. The Chemical Brothers proved that busting down musical boundaries works if you have the tunes. There is another breakdown towards the end before this tune continues on with the bass riff, breakbeats and intelligent textures. A great, great listen. This eventually wraps up with a pastiche of awesome sound.

Do It Again – Edit begins with some interesting cut-up sounds, launching into a decent tune to listen to. There are repeated vocals and other weird and wacky sounds. To be fair, this is not the greatest musical moment by The Chemical Brothers. It sounds like a good tune, but not really a great one. Fortunately, it is short enough to hear without a real issue per se. The vocal samples are a bit different, but overall, this tune could have been dropped from this compilation. Despite that, this sounds like a minimal and interesting listen simultaneously. A full-on powerful and tripped-out tune, the second half sounds really cool, lining up many different beats and textures that sound delicious. A thoroughly great tune to listen to, despite its flaws. It ends by winding down the elements, before finishing abruptly.

Believe begins with New Order-ish beats and gradually progresses along with some interesting sounds in the background. It sounds like something out of a science fiction movie, in actual fact. A really different, interesting and cool tune, this is not a million miles away from the content on The Chemical Brothers singles as B-Sides per se. Still, it is an interesting, energetic and different tune with some added lyrics here that aren’t that necessary. Also, the 1980s-sounding Fender Stratocaster licks aren’t the best. The tune eventually hits the dancefloor, and this gets driving along nicely. A thoroughly good listen, but it lacks some of the better magic that The Chemical Brothers used to have. Nonetheless, this tune does have its moments. In the midsection, this gets really awful and sadly, this should not be on this compilation. A really ordinary listening experience, you can probably skip this tune, nothing special here. The extended instrumental section in the second half is not welcome here, it just sounds like The Chemical Brothers flogging a dead horse. In any case, this could have been done better. After a while, you can easily skip this rather dull tune and hear some better music elsewhere. A layered patch plays alone in the second half, before gradually reaching the finish line. This is not good. A real bore to get through. It winds down right at the end, with the beats finishing and the repeated texture dragging on and on. Not good.

Star Guitar is a beautiful and wonderful listen from the start. It gradually builds up into a very sturdy, imaginative and dreamy Pop music piece, albeit with a great sense of EDM about it. Nonetheless, this is a truly amazing and heartfelt listen based on what technology can do. It sounds brilliant and has some stardust guitar-styled sounds throughout as well. All in all, this is a genius and futuristic listen that only The Chemical Brothers could ever achieve. It builds up slowly and gradually, which is super cool and definitely wonderful and interesting to hear. The textures on this tune are extremely unique, in their own way. It reaches a great climax where a multitracked voice is singing, “You should feel what I feel, you should take what I take,” which is super brilliant. Of course, it is a tune designed for tripping on LSD or other drugs but sounds really great sober as well. Eventually in the second half of this tune is a build-up back into the action which sounds like a fantastic, euphoric and above all, Psychedelic listen. In fact, this may be one of the most Psychedelic tunes ever made. It sounds really cool, clever and amazing. A really top listen. The music progresses along very well. A fun and fantastic tune to listen to. Hippies surely would dig this one today, a great and enjoyable tune to hear. It ends with beats and descending melodies galore, before ending with a whoosh.

Let Forever Be – Radio Edit is a version of one of the most depressing songs ever made. Fortunately, this depressing song sounds amazing, despite its negativity. It features Noel Gallagher of Oasis on vocals, and this sounds really deep. The lyrics are incredibly morbid with an anticlimax. Not denying the quality of this tune, but it is hugely depressing to listen to. A really good listen, but only worth it if you are down. Still, the multitracked beeps and bleeps sound great, although this is not a happy tune. Computerised sounds galore are in the midsection here, before Noel gets singing again. This was likely inspired by an LSD trip of sorts, but it is so depressing that it makes Kurt Cobain from Nirvana look like a jester. So, in many regards, this is only good to cry one’s eyes out to, if necessary. A great tune but a morbid one, quite like a death march. It ends with a bunch of multitracked computerised sounds and percussion, before concluding very quickly.

Leave Home begins with a ship horn sound, with a vocal sample that sounds really awesome, simply stating: “The brothers are gonna work it out”. This is followed by wah-wah guitar, an awesome real bass guitar and enters into a fantastic tune that should be heard more often. This incorporates real and original breakbeats, and progresses on with a load of Acid House styled sounds. This is a great listen, period. In fact, this is one of the best listens from The Chemical Brothers overall. A really cool and interesting listening experience, this is super swell and different. The guitar samples, beats, textures and various breakdowns make this an excellent listening point for discovering The Chemical Brothers. This also has a great rhythm to it, it sounds amazing and exceptionally good. All in all, a classic tune from The Chemical Brothers that is likely inspired by psychedelic drug use. Towards the end is an unusual sounding breakdown that, quite simply, works. A really cool and interesting tune to hear, this is a futuristic and awesome track. It does go on for a bit over five minutes, but that is okay. It ends with birds chirping being delayed and looped. Sweet.

Keep My Composure sounds fairly awful from the beginning. It has a load of watery Acid House sounds, some Rapping and launches into an ordinary sounding track. This doesn’t really sound like a great listen here, there are plenty of other better tracks by The Chemical Brothers. The tune sounds like Electronic garbage. The rapping is lacklustre, and the whole tune doesn’t sound great, or innovative. It just feels like a tune for the sake of filler, and nothing else. The beeps and bleeps do not add any excitement to this particular track, and the whole thing is a drag to go through. Also, it is far too long at over five minutes in length for its repetition. This is a bit like hitting snooze on the morning alarm, it has to be done. In any case, the music here is very upbeat and lively, despite its trashy nature. This eventually goes into a bit of an IDM/Chiptune listening experience, with some rap vocals over the top. An awful listen, and something one should avoid hearing, if possible. A real drag musically, this does no justice for the listener. It ends after what seems like forever, not good enough. Terrible.

Saturate begins with some weird, clunking electronic sounds. This has a horrible melody, and this also sounds like trash, once again. It’s not an impressive effort by The Chemical Brothers. Eventually, a lone melody leads into a good tune, but something that isn’t great. Drumrolls enter, and some awesome real drum beats are in this tune. This stops fairly quickly, launching into the next section within an instant. This music sounds very unimpressive, however, and should have been removed from this compilation. The drums re-enter and sound really good and amazing. It is difficult to know if those drum parts were real or not. Regardless, this track drags on far too long for its welcome. It just lacks energy, consistency and interest with it. This also has not aged at all well. A real shame, The Chemical Brothers knew how to make better tunes than this. Skip this one if you want, there is nothing special at all about it. It breaks down towards the end, splitting apart the sounds present, before gradually concluding. Not impressive. It ends with a drum roll.

Out Of Control is a vast improvement on what came before it. It begins with extensive Roland TB-303 styled bleeps, a Donna Summer I Feel Love styled patch groove, 4/4 kick drums and a great deal of exciting music to be heard. It gradually builds up nicely, to a very catchy and danceable tune to listen to and enjoy. Bernard Sumner from New Order sings here, and he does great justice to this sort of music. Again, this music sounds fresh, musically wonderful and futuristic. One should hear this song when on a vacation in Tokyo. This is one of the better cuts from this mixed-up compilation, and this sounds super cool, with awesome build-ups and breakdowns. The sounds, samples and various melodic pieces on this track are marvellous. This is a great tune that is a classic staple by the Chems, and it sounds uplifting and awesome. In the second half of the track, this breaks down into a really interesting section with clanging guitar chords present. This sounds very different. It quickly launches into a section of music that sounds fairly warm and uplifting. The tune eventually returns to the main verse/chorus section towards the end, and the track continues along very well. A fantastically enjoyable listen, this is one of the better tunes by The Chemical Brothers. The final section before this track ends sounds absolutely brilliant and marvellous. A fine and fantastic tune, it eventually wraps up with singing, minimal Donna Summer-isms and those 4/4 beats before quickly wrapping up. Awesome.

Midnight Madness launches into another rather throwaway tune that really should not be on this compilation. It sounds totally out of place here and is too repetitive and poor to warrant worth hearing. A really strange and odd-sounding tune, this is not what the average EDM fan, let alone music fan will enjoy. Still, it is okay, just not phenomenal at all. A warped listening experience, but not something you would consider good. It just sounds like more of the same and is really lacking as a result. One would wish that The Chemical Brothers re-thought their back catalogue and its appeal, rather than putting naff numbers onto a compilation. This is okay, but it feels formulaic. A good listen, but nothing too special here. It ends after three and a half minutes.

The Golden Path features The Flaming Lips. It is an awful tune from The Chemical Brothers, right from the start. Nothing wonderful or special about this tune, it is a good representation of what an artist musically should not do. It has singing about Biblical events, but this is a huge failure from The Chemical Brothers. It is a really junk tune and although it may appeal to Christian values, it is the wrong genre of music for it. It just sounds really pathetic. Sure, it may make sense if you have a spiritual side, but this tune is just forgettable. If you want real music by The Chemical Brothers, try the Exit Planet Dust or Dig Your Own Hole albums instead of this junk. A terrible listening experience, it doesn’t do justice to the listener. In any case, it’s okay but definitely skip this if you wish. The whiny pleading at the end is not necessary, either. A real joke, just skip this tune totally. It ends with looped vocals. You’ll thank yourself when this is over.

Setting Sun features Oasis singer/songwriter Noel Gallagher, who also played a version of this song on the Oasis world tour of 1997-1998. This is one of the better tunes from The Chemical Brothers and it looks back to The Beatles Tomorrow Never Knows. The music, singing and tape looping on this tune are really fantastic and marvellous. In any case, Noel Gallagher and The Chemical Brothers’s efforts here are not wasted. The whole tune sounds like a really awesome and loud listen throughout, with many innovative, groundbreaking and Psychedelic sounds throughout. The climax in the middle of the tune is fantastic and very unforgettable to hear. Soon enough, it launches back into the sonic divebomb territory and sounds cool as a result. All in all, this sounds futuristic and amazing. Proof that the 1990s had much to kick the proverbial. The outro is interesting and noisy, and it finishes up with cut-up beats. Great.

Chemical Beats is the last tune here. It begins with a load of Acid House based watery wah-wah scratching and sounds really excellent as a result. A cool tune, with science fiction styled Theremin sounds, beeps and other crazy meltdown styled sounds, this is a really thoroughly outstanding tune to hear. Drumrolls galore occur in the breakdowns here, and the whole thing is a Psychedelic trip. A really trippy and awesome tune to conclude this compilation. The only real flaw with this particular track is that it can get a bit repetitive, but that is easily forgivable at this stage. A classic tune by The Chemical Brothers that, quite simply, works. A really tuneful and interesting slice of EDM, it ends with a gradual melting down of the musical elements. Very cool.

This is a fairly average compilation that, despite having its moments, does not accurately reflect how good or decent The Chemical Brothers were at their 1990s peak. Therefore, this does seem rather disappointing to listen to. Even for EDM heads, this is not as good as the first two album offerings by The Chemical Brothers. Should you listen to this compilation? Only if you are desperate for some music by the duo, otherwise you may want to look elsewhere.

Rather disappointing.

6/10