The Orb: Alex Paterson, Andy Hughes, Thomas Fehlmann.

Additional personnel: Shola, Jeffrey Nelson (vocals).

Producers include: Dr. Alex Patterson, Jimmi Cauty, Youth, The Orb, Eddie Manasseh.

Engineers include: Andy Falconer, Greg Hunter, Thrash.

During the rave explosion of the early 1990s, U.K. act the Orb began mixing slower house tempos with ambient music inspired by '70s pioneers like Brian Eno and Steve Hillage. The trippy, often beatless music found favor with clubbers retreating from the loud, rhythmic techno typically played at raves, ostensibly kick-starting the ambient house genre and a whole new context for DJs, the chill-out room. Fronted by charismatic leader and musical omnivore Alex Paterson, the Orb experimented with mixing a diverse array of samples and musical motifs from a variety of disparate genres. Covering 10 years of the band's evolution, U.F.OFF: THE BEST OF THE ORB includes material culled from four studio albums, singles, and unreleased studio outtakes. Sequenced non-chronologically and stitched together like a DJ-mix, the album flows seamlessly from ambient breakbeat excursions to dub-inflected sound collages in the span of its 12 tracks. From the pulsating reggae shuffle of "Perpetual Dawn" to the leaden, heavy roots rhythms of "Towers of Dub," the music contains the distinct imprint of Jamaican music--albeit one marked by a decidedly futuristic, sci-fi sensibility. "A Huge Evergrowing Pulsating Brain That Rules From the Center of the Underworld," on the other hand, mixes far more eclectic sources, including a Minnie Riperton a cappella and some dark atmospheric synthesizers.

Entertainment Weekly (12/11/98, p.81) - "...The shimmering ambiance, woozy dub, stoner slapstick, and rubbery beats coalesce best on the trippy second CD; save the first (also available separately) for ambivalent aerobics."

- Rating: B+

CMJ (11/23/99, p.28) - "....Largely inspired by 60's and 70's psychedelic rock, the Orb blends ambient, dub and techno to create music that relates to listeners on physical, mental and spiritual levels..."