Blow Your Headphones

Blow Your Headphones
Studio album by
The Herbaliser
Released11 March 1997 (1997-03-11)[1]
StudioTrain Trax Studios
GenreHip hop, trip hop[2]
Length71:52
LabelNinja Tune
ProducerJake Wherry, Ollie Teeba, Jonny Cuba, Kaidi Tatham, Malachi
The Herbaliser chronology
Remedies
(1995) 		Blow Your Headphones
(1997) 		Very Mercenary
(1999)
Singles from Blow Your Headphones
  1. "New + Improved / Theme from Control Centre"
    Released: 1997
  2. "The Blend"
    Released: 1997
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Christgau's Consumer Guide(neither)[3]
The Evening Post[4]
Muzik7/10[5]
NME6/10[6]
Spin8/10[7]

Blow Your Headphones is the second studio album by The Herbaliser. It was released on Ninja Tune in 1997. It peaked at number 24 on the UK R&B Albums Chart.[8]

Critical reception

In 1999, Ryan Schreiber, the founder and then-editor-in-chief of Pitchfork, wrote that "...Blow Your Headphones was pretty decent, but it was kinda crappy for a Ninja Tune record."[9] In 2015, Fact placed it at number 33 on the "50 Best Trip-Hop Albums of All Time" list.[2]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Opening Credits"1:29
2."The Blend" (featuring What What)4:46
3."Another Mother"6:47
4."Excuse Me"1:11
5."Ginger Jumps the Fence"5:01
6."Put It on Tape"3:42
7."New + Improved" (featuring What What)3:58
8."Mr. Chombee Has the Flaw"4:17
9."Intermission"1:01
10."Saturday Night" (featuring Fabian & Big Ted)5:06
11."Shocker Zulu"5:15
12."Hardcore"4:30
13."Shorty's Judgement"5:45
14."More Styles"1:40
15."A Mother (For Your Mind)"6:37
16."Bring It" (featuring What What)3:59
17."Theme from Control Centre (Reprise)"4:40
18."End Credits"2:15
Japanese edition bonus disc
No.TitleLength
1."Mr. D.J. (Vocal Radio Edit)"5:54
2."40 Winks (No Sleep Vadim! Mix)"5:36
3."New + Improved (Wiseguys Remix)"4:05

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.

  • Jake Wherry – production, mixing
  • Ollie Teeba – production, mixing, design concept
  • Jonny Cuba – production (3, 15)
  • Malachi – production (5, 6, 8)
  • Kaidi Tatham – production (11), synthesizer (11)
  • What What – vocals (2, 7, 16)
  • Fabian – vocals (10)
  • Big Ted – vocals (10)
  • Patrick Dawes – percussion (8)
  • Oliver Parfitt – synthesizer (17)
  • No Sleep Nigel – mixing (1–6, 9–11, 13, 14, 16, 18)
  • Justin Whillock – mixing (7, 8, 12, 15, 17)
  • Openmind – design
  • Strictly Kev – design concept
  • Nancy Brown – photography
  • Suzi Ninja – photography

Charts

Chart Peak
position
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[8] 24

References

  1. ^ a b Cooper, Sean. "Blow Your Headphones - The Herbaliser". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  2. ^ a b Twells, John; Fintoni, Laurent (30 July 2015). "The 50 best trip-hop albums of all time". Fact. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  3. ^ Christgau, Robert (15 October 2000). "The Herbaliser". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. Macmillan Publishing. ISBN 9780312245603.
  4. ^ Houlahan, Mike (13 March 1997). "Album takes the cake for quirky". The Evening Post.
  5. ^ Braddock, Kevin (May 1997). "The Herbalizer: Blow Your Headphones" (PDF). Muzik. No. 24. p. 112. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 April 2022. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  6. ^ Goldsmith, Mike (1998). "The Herbaliser: Blow Your Headphones (Ninja Tune)". NME. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  7. ^ Green, Tony (October 1997). "The Herbaliser: Blow Your Headphones (Ninja Tune)". Spin: 144–145.
  8. ^ a b "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40: 30 March 1997 - 05 April 1997". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  9. ^ Schreiber, Ryan (20 April 1999). "The Herbaliser: Very Mercenary Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 12 October 2018.