Did the Shamen push forward 90's dance or were they naff?

[Vladimir Pukin]

I've always really liked the stuff the Shamen did in the 90s but have also found myself cringing a bit when I see the videos or listen to some of the lyrics.

Were they actually a bit of a naff novelty dance act and I've been kidding myself all these years?

In fact, if Alan Partridge was a dance act would it be the Shamen?

[Ultuous]

A similar legacy has been left as the Prodigy stuff from the same era IMHO... Some of it was ground-breaking or at least genre-mashing, some had pop sensibilities that got it high up in the charts but left it sounding dated and cheesey, but it's all pretty clever musically compared to lots of stuff that was going on at the same time!

[Jam Spavlin]

Well... Boss Drum is one of my all time favourit albums! Dont think they were naff but nor do I think they were ground braking still good music of the era though!

[djtex]

Not great looking back now to be honest, though Mr C has done wonders for the underground techno scene in the UK, mainly through the now sadly defunct "The End" in London.

[rhinochopig]

Good thread OP - must dust off my old vinyls.

Earlier stuff was better - in that respect they did push things forward by bringing Techno to the masses and yet not making it too commercial, and thus cheesy, sounding. One from my favoruite era http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WXeZwe-1Zk&fea... (Make it Mine)

Later Ebeneezer stuff was tired and derivative IMHO.

Edited by rhinochopig on Tuesday 23 February 13:53

[Mr Gearchange]

E's are good.

[Don1]

Loved them. Past tense, but thank you for bringing the memory of them back to me.

[DavesFlaps]

The most overrated pile of wk from the 90's

[ShadownINja]

I've got a cassette with 19 versions of MAM.

Edited by ShadownINja on Tuesday 23 February 15:58

[BarRefaeli]

In Gorbachev We Trust, Phrward and En-tact certainly, to my mind at least, made their mark on the dance/techno scene.
They kind of bridged the dance/techno/indie genres in their former years, a little like PWEI ended up doing IMO.

Then they lost their way.

Edited by BarRefaeli on Tuesday 23 February 18:41

[900T-R]

Ultuous said:

A similar legacy has been left as the Prodigy stuff from the same era IMHO... Some of it was ground-breaking or at least genre-mashing, some had pop sensibilities that got it high up in the charts but left it sounding dated and cheesey, but it's all pretty clever musically compared to lots of stuff that was going on at the same time!

That'd be pretty much my assessment too, although IMHO the early Prodigy output has stood the test of time somewhat better.

[Ultuous]

Very true... 'Experience' still gets a play in my car at least a couple of times a year for some b-road hooning (although it's worth noting that the mixes of the tracks released as singles are a lot more 'grown up' on the album!)... Whilst I've always had a soft spot for the likes of 'Make It Mine', I've not had a serious listen to anything by the Shamen for about 15 years - might give it a go in the morning!