Parts of the Process [Bonus DVD]

1	The Sea
2	Tape Loop
3	Otherwise
4	Blindfold
5	Be Yourself
6	Part Of The Process
7	Let Me See
8	Undress Me Now
9	What's Your Name / Big Daddy Kane
10	Trigger Hippie
11	Rome Wasn't Built In A Day
12	Over & Over
13	What New York Couples Fight About
14	World Looking In
15	Moog Island
16	Way Beyond
17	Never An Easy Way
18	Can't Stand It

Barnes & Noble

Following Portishead's trip-hop breakthrough in '94, a rash of like-minded British bands followed in their stylistic wake, joining burbling beats and smoky grooves with female vocals, to varying degrees of success. One of the best of the crop was Morcheeba, who trumped the competition with the elastic rhythm beds and live instrumentation provided by brothers Paul and Ross Godfrey and the honeyed vocals of Skye Edwards. After releasing four studio albums, Morcheeba take a gander back on the career-spanning Parts of the Process and cast an eye toward the future with two new tracks. The disc isn't sequenced chronologically, placing the trio's ensnaring debut single "Trigger Hippy" -- on which Edwards, in a sultry coo, invites you to "Tune in / Drop out / And love / Pull the trigger" -- not at the beginning but smack in the middle, where its slithery beats and psychedelic touches cast a glow all around. Elsewhere, Edwards's measured soul and the Godfreys' use of live instruments heat up the already heady grooves, spiking "The Sea" with psychedelic guitar touches, lending "Parts of the Process" a country twang via pedal steel and fiddles, and intertwining guitars, harpsichord, and pedal steel on the melancholy "What Do New York Couples Fight About," a duet with Lambchop's Kurt Wagner. In place of Morcheeba's oft-misinterpreted single "Women Lose Weight," a funky collaboration with Slick Rick, is the new, disco-fied "What's Your Name," featuring a cameo from another old-school rapper, Big Daddy Kane. The disc concludes with the other new offering, "Can't Stand It," an acoustic-based ballad with empathetic strings -- its meditative mood fits the disc's retrospective nature and bodes well for Morcheeba's future explorations. Lydia Vanderloo

All Music Guide

Parts of the Process reflects on five albums and seven years for the London trip-hop act Morcheeba. This stunning 18-track set isn't chronologically arranged, but all the hits and staples are here. Morcheeba loyalists may be slightly disappointed by the exclusion of "Who Can You Trust?" but overall, Parts of the Process captures the beauty of Morcheeba. Big Calm seems to be the major album represented with "The Sea," "Over and Over," "Let Me See," and the song for which this album is named, "Parts of the Process." Other amazing tracks from the band's first release, Who Can You Trust? -- "Tape Loop" and the brooding chill of "Trigger Hippie" -- make this album more complete. But other select cuts are equal in style and still appeal. Cuts from the less popular Charango album add a bit of flair to Morcheeba's sophisticated catalog, especially "What New York Couples Fight About." Even the stormy narrative "Rome Wasn't Built in a Day," from Fragments of Freedom, is chalked in. Those who found Morcheeba's 2001 Back to Mine collection crucial to the band's body of work shouldn't distress; that album doesn't really fit with the direction of this collection. Instead, the trio treats listeners to two brand-new tracks. Big Daddy Kane joins Morcheeba for the funkadelic, hip-hop groove "What's Your Name," while "Can't Stand It" is the band's attempt at chamber pop. While Morcheeba isn't one of the more exclusive acts of British electronic music, they've assessed their power as artists. Parts of the Process is well-suited for those unfamiliar with the band, while still tailored for those faithful followers, too. [A limited edition release of Parts of the Process includes a limited-edition bonus DVD of live material from Morcheeba's brilliant performance at London's Brixton Academy in 2002.] MacKenzie Wilson