Singles 93-03

1	Song to the Siren
2	Chemical Beats
3	Leave Home
4	Setting Sun
5	Block Rockin' Beats
6	The Private Psychedelic Reel
7	Hey Boy Hey Girl
8	Let Forever Be
9	Out of Control
10	Star Guitar
11	The Test
12	Get Yourself High
13	The Golden Path

Barnes & Noble

One of the most dynamic -- and most popular -- dance groups of the past decade, the Chemical Brothers, along with their buddy Fatboy Slim, brought the sound that would become known as "big beat" to an international audience. Where they went from there is catalogued on the career-spanning collection Singles 93-03. With the sound typified by their infectious single "Block Rockin' Beats," marked by its siren-laden, hip-hop-inspired rhythm track (featuring a Schoolly D sample), Tom and Ed (Mr. Rowlands and Mr. Simons to their bank manager) went on to bridge the gap between rock and dance audiences, luring the former onto the dance floor through innovative collaborations with vocalists. Whereas their predecessors had either sampled vocalists (the Chems been there, done that with Liz Fraser's wails on "Song to the Siren") or employed divas on house cuts, the Brothers welcomed the singers into the creative process, so that the adrenaline-pumped "Setting Sun," featuring Noel Gallagher of Oasis, nods to the woozy psychedelia of the Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows," and "Out of Control," featuring New Order's Bernard Sumner applies an appropriately melancholy tone and chiming guitars to its frenetic house beats. Though not exactly a definitive survey -- absent are any tracks featuring Beth Orton, whose wispy vocals have helped shape all four of the Chems' albums -- Singles 93-03 does offer a peak into the future with two new tracks: "Ger Yourself High," featuring up-and-coming rapper K-Os, and "The Golden Path," an airy track that gives the Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne and Steven Drozd plenty of space to sprawl. Even a decade on, the Brothers are still working it out -- and blazing trails while they're at it. Lydia Vanderloo

All Music Guide

Ed and Tom's ten-year anniversary was an excellent time to gift the faithful with a compilation, and Singles 93-03 illustrates nearly every distinct phase of the duo's career -- from their early Bomb Squad fixation to their flirtation with Beatlesque Brit-pop and later reincarnation as psychedelic beatmasters. Still, this straight-up chronological look at the Chemical Brothers as a singles act certainly isn't the best that could've been done. It doesn't even include all of their singles ("Music:Response" and the non-LP "Loops of Fury" would've been excellent additions) and over half of the contents comes from the period after their first two (and best two) LPs. It does begin in brilliant fashion, with early singles "Song to the Siren" and "Chemical Beats" displaying the band's weighty influence from Public Enemy and My Bloody Valentine but also their fresh ideas about making dance music as fun as it had been during the rave era. Unfortunately, Singles 93-03 quickly cuts to weaker latter-day singles ("Hey Boy Hey Girl," "Star Guitar") as well as the Brothers' set of half-baked rock collaborations (including both Noel Gallagher guest-spots, "Setting Sun" and "Let Forever Be"). Two new tracks, "Get Yourself High" and "The Golden Path," are also collaborations. After a feature for fellow Astralwerks artist and rapper K-Os, the second delivers on most of its promise as a soundclash for two of neo-psychedelia's most interesting acts, the Chemical Brothers and the Flaming Lips. "The Golden Path" is a cool, crisp song with two surprises: it's clearly reminiscent of Echo & the Bunnymen and features the solo vocal debut from the Lips' Steven Drozd. (Wayne Coyne, the band's usual mouthpiece, is heard near the end.) John Bush

Rolling Stone

1/2 There's rarely a dull moment with the Chemical Brothers. Joe Caramanica