Reviews 26 Jan 2016

Underworld / Second Toughest in the Infants / 2CD deluxe edition

By Paul Sinclair

Guest SDE reviewer Nico Pleimling says the two-CD deluxe edition of Underworld’s classic album Second Toughest in the Infants has much to recommend it, but will it completely satisfy the hardcore fan?

Following the re-release of their groundbreaking album dubnobasswithmyheadman in different formats back in October 2014 and prior to unleashing their newest outing Barbara Barbara, we face a shining future this March, Underworld issued the remastered version of Second Toughest in the Infants at the end of last year in various formats (CD/double vinyl/2CD deluxe/4CD super deluxe) through Universal Music Catalogue.

Along with The Prodigy’s Music for the Jilted Generation, Orbital’s In Sides, Leftfield’s Leftism and The Chemical Brothers’ Dig Your Own Hole, this second outing of Underworld Mk2 is one of the best electronic music albums of the mid-Nineties. Listening to it almost 20 years later, Second Toughest in the Infants still sounds as fresh as in 1996 when it was first commercially released. The multi-layered tracks retain the same magic and reveal different facets upon every listen. The perfect pairing of man and machine earns the listener’s rapt attention by allowing as much space to hard dance beats as to melodic elements and delightfully nagging sounds, all glued together by Karl Hyde’s vocals and well-constructed arrangements.

The curious name of the disc derives from a comment made by Rick Smith’s then six-year-old nephew, when asked on his progress at infant school. Most impressive is the album opener Juanita: Kiteless: To Dream of Love, a three-part track stretching over 16 minutes, which sets the tone for an album that is noticeably darker than dubnobasswithmyheadman. The eight tracks offer an undulating emotional journey matching dance-floor-oriented tunes with more mellow, introspective compositions.

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Whereas the super deluxe version of its predecessor featured five discs for £35, Second Toughest in the Infants has only four CDs for £60. On the band’s website they cite the extra cost of producing the accompanying book with this reissue as the reason for the significantly higher price point. Die-hard fans and/or music lovers with a bulging wallet may not hesitate to pay the premium for an album that was a critical success as well as a commercial hit in 1996 and reached the Top Ten in the UK following its release. For those with a more limited budget, though, the two-CD deluxe edition will have to suffice.

Besides the eight carefully remastered tracks featured on the original album – seven of which exceed six-and-a-half minutes – offering a clearer sound and punchier bass than the original release, the two-CD version offers ten extra tracks on disc two. These include selected B-sides, alternate versions and previously unreleased material from the super deluxe edition, with Underworld’s trademark party classic Born Slippy (Nuxx) – featured in Danny Boyle’s massively successful film adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting – providing the grand finale.

Second Toughest in the Infants 2CD packaging (click to enlarge)

The second disc kicks off with the original instrumental version of this track, before lining up a few fine B-sides, starting with Cherry Pie, an early, rather spaced-out version of the album’s fierce and biting Rowla. Oich Oich uses a lot of dub elements and some eerie sounds on top of a chilled groove. The following tracks Puppies and Mosaic take on a hypnotic, minimalist approach, whereas Deep Arch builds up to yet another of those archetypical multilayered Underworld beasts. Alternate versions of album tracks with Confusion the Waitress (She Said), Rowla A1806 and Pearls V2 are also included.

Overall, this two-disc edition of Second Toughest in the Infants certainly gives a deeper insight into the most creatively fruitful phase to date of the (then) trio, consisting of Karl Hyde, Rick Smith and Darren Emerson. However, because it mostly includes previously released bonus material that basically offers only the additional benefit of remastering, hardcore fans who bought the original CD or vinyl releases in the 1990s may still be left hungry for more. And it’s fair to say that the true pearls of the reissue are to be found on the super deluxe version, with the final disc exhaustively retracing the evolution of Underworld’s epic dance hit Born Slippy via seven studio and live versions.

A must-have for completists, then, but casual listeners must decide whether to content themselves with the single or double-CD editions of this classic album or sit tight in the hope that the price of the super deluxe one day drops to a less prohibitive level.

Second Toughest in the Infants is out now.

Review by Nico Pleimling for SDE.

4CD super deluxe edition

2CD deluxe edition

2LP Vinyl

4CD Super Deluxe Edition

CD1:

1. Juanita: Kiteless: To Dream Of Love
2. Banstyle / Sappys Curry
3. Confusion the Waitress
4. Rowla
5. Pearl’s Girl
6. Air Towel
7. Blueski
8. Stagger

CD2: singles, B sides, remixes

1. Cherry Pie
2. Oich Oich
3. Puppies
4. Mosaic
5. Deep Arch
6. Pearl’s Girl (Tin There)
7. Pearl’s Girl (14996 Version)
8. Born Slippy (Original Instrumental Version)
9. Born Slippy.Nuxx (Deep Pan)

CD3: previously unreleased material

1. Bug
2. Confusion The Waitress (She Said)
3. D+B Thing
4. D’Arbly St
5. 4 Crowns
6. Rowla A1806
7. Bing Here
8. Techno Thang
9. Pearls Ver2
10. Bloody 1

CD4: Born Slippy (Nuxx) – previously unreleased demos, live recordings, mixes

1. Nuxx A1796
2. Nuxx A2221 UW live (2 sets) Leicester M Dog 94
3. Nuxx A4712 Live @ Zap club Brighton Feb94
4. Nuxx A4733 UW live Amsterdam Apr94
5. Nuxx Liquid Room 94 A2254 UW Live Liquid Room 2 Tokyo
6. Nuxx from A1825
7. Born Slippy (Nuxx)

2CD Deluxe

CD1:

1. Juanita: Kiteless: To Dream Of Love
2. Banstyle / Sappys Curry
3. Confusion the Waitress
4. Rowla
5. Pearl’s Girl
6. Air Towel
7. Blueski
8. Stagger

CD2:

1. Born Slippy (Original Instrumental Version)
2. Cherry Pie
3. Oich Oich
4. Puppies
5. Mosaic
6. Deep Arch
7. Confusion The Waitress (She Said)
8. Rowla A1806
9. Pearls Ver2
10. Born Slippy (Nuxx)

2LP Vinyl

1. Juanita: Kiteless: To Dream Of Love
2. Banstyle / Sappys Curry
3. Confusion the Waitress
4. Rowla
5. Pearl’s Girl
6. Air Towel
7. Blueski
8. Stagger

4CD super deluxe edition

2CD deluxe edition

2LP Vinyl

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