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Come with Us

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This article is about the Chemical Brothers album. For the Sophie Ellis-Bextor song, see Familia (Sophie Ellis-Bextor album).

Come with Us
Studio album by
the Chemical Brothers
Released28 January 2002 (2002-01-28)
Recorded2000–2001
GenreElectronica[1]
Length54:48
Label
ProducerThe Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers chronology
Surrender
(1999) 		Come with Us
(2002) 		Singles 93–03
(2003)
Singles from Come with Us
  1. "It Began in Afrika"
    Released: 10 September 2001
  2. "Star Guitar"
    Released: 14 January 2002
  3. "Come with Us/The Test"
    Released: 22 April 2002

Come with Us is the fourth studio album by English electronic music duo the Chemical Brothers, released in January 2002 by record labels Virgin and Freestyle Dust in the UK and Astralwerks and Ultra in the US. It features Richard Ashcroft (ex-the Verve) and Beth Orton as guest vocalists.

The album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart. It was certified Gold by the BPI on 1 February 2002.[2]

Background

[edit]

The Chemical Brothers' second and third albums, Dig Your Own Hole and Surrender, brought them international fame. The band had a worldwide tour for Surrender beginning in 1999, continuing until summer 2000, when they played festivals such as Glastonbury Festival and Creamfields.[citation needed]

Following this, the duo created a new track, premiered in December 2000, when they supported U2. Tom Rowlands seemed to initially have mixed feelings about the song, saying it had "quite a lot of percussion, big, sweeping sort of stuff. Live conga playing, quite spaced out. It's like Body & Soul, but really, really hard and twisted, it's like high-impact, full-on, but with more organic sounds, and quite intense, without the good vibe."[3] The track was popular with fans, however, and was eventually issued as the white label release "Electronic Battle Weapon 5", in June 2001.

Recording

[edit]

Work on a new album began in 2000, when it was initially titled Chemical Four.[citation needed] The record explores new gear, such as the Parker MIDI Fly guitar. When asked if it would be a "back-to-roots" album, following their change in style with Surrender, Ed Simons said, "The first three or four numbers do remind me of those days when we were so excited about putting together little grooves and beats – that whole cut-up era of hip hop. We had Grand Wizard Theodore DJing at our gigs then. Like that scratch segment in 'Afrika', those tiny segments where it sounds like a DJ cutting in, those sorts of things used to really excite us. But some of the music is totally removed from that. 'Hoops' is totally different than anything we – or anyone – have ever done".[4] The album took eighteen months to record.[5]

In making the record, the string arpeggios and the hard MIDI notes came first. "Then it was about finding the right sounds and building from that point", says Simons. The album's drum programming started with doing the snare sound, then a kick, and a bit of "high-end ssshhhhhh". The duo said they "took the actual individual drum sounds, then wrote the chords. We always sample tiny fragments of sound as a starting point. But there were more definite tunes and ideas and melodies from the start of this album than before". They also experimented with Emagic Logic Audio, which proved successful in the album's production as it never crashed, unlike Steinberg Cubase, which the band had used previously.[4]

Release

[edit]

During the month of release, the Chemical Brothers received retrospective respect from publications such as Muzik magazine.[6] Promotion for the album started in September 2001, and concluded in November 2002.[citation needed]

Come with Us was released on 28 January 2002 in the UK,[citation needed] following the single "It Began in Afrika", a variation of the band's "Electronic Battle Weapon 5", which was issued in September 2001 and appears on the album, as well as the release of the single "Star Guitar". The tracks proved successful, both reaching number 8 on the UK Singles Chart. The album itself entered at number 1, being the band's third consecutive number 1 album.[7] As well as these two singles, the track "Galaxy Bounce", popularized on the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider soundtrack in the summer of 2001, also appears on the album,

In its opening week on the Billboard chart, the record sold 30,000 copies.[8]

Singles and EPs

[edit]

"It Began in Afrika" was released in June 2001 as "Electronic Battle Weapon 5", exclusively for DJs to test in clubs. It was officially issued as the first single on 10 September 2001 and reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart.[9][10] The version on the album is a six-minute edit that segues into "Galaxy Bounce". "Star Guitar" was released on 14 January 2002 and reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart.[9][11] "Come with Us" and "The Test" were released as a double A-side single on 22 April 2002,[12] reaching number 14 on the UK Singles Chart.[9] In Japan, the names in the title of the single were reversed. "Hoops" was released on 1 June 2002 in remixed form as "Electronic Battle Weapon 6", exclusively for DJs to test in clubs.

At the time of their Japan tour, the tie-in extended play titled Come with Us/Japan Only EP was released exclusively in that country, on 17 July 2002. The AmericanEP was issued exclusively to in the United States on 19 November 2002, in promotion of the North Amerika tour.[13] "Come with Us" and "The Test" were also issued as separate promo singles in addition to the retail double A-side.

Reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic72/100[14]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[15]
Alternative Press7/10[16]
Entertainment WeeklyB[17]
Pitchfork6.2/10[18]
PopMatters8/10[19]
Q[20]
Rolling Stone[21]
Slant[22]
Spin9/10[23]
Uncut[24]

Initial critical response to Come with Us was generally positive. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 72, based on 23 reviews.[14] Kludge included it on their list of best albums of 2002.[25]

Andy Puleston of the BBC said that "years ago Tom and Ed assured us 'the brother's gonna work it out'. If you've ever felt that they had yet to make good on this promise then, as far as Come with Us is concerned there was never a truer word spoken."[26] His review also acknowledged the success of "It Began in Afrika", saying that by "removing shrubs, laying concrete and generally paving the way for this album, "Afrika" conquered Ibiza, Notting Hill Carnival and contrived a craving amongst those with an affinity for a big, bouncy kick drum."

AllMusic said that "After forgetting the key on 1999's Surrender amidst handling all of the celebrity guests, they got back to business with Come with Us", and that "from the vocal sample introducing the opener ("behold...they're coming back"), it's clear Rowlands and Simons know the importance of this fourth album, and it detonates like a bomb blast, as though the duo knew that Come with Us had to be bigger and badder than all the bombastic breaks they'd dropped in the past."[15]

Following the album's release, the band embarked on two tours, the Go with Them tour and the North Amerika tour.[27]

Track listing

[edit]
Come with Us track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Come with Us"
4:58
2."It Began in Afrika"
  • Rowlands
  • Simons
  • Jim Ingram
6:16
3."Galaxy Bounce"
  • Rowlands
  • Simons
3:28
4."Star Guitar"
  • Rowlands
  • Simons
6:27
5."Hoops"
  • Rowlands
  • Simons
6:32
6."My Elastic Eye"
  • Rowlands
  • Simons
  • Bernard Estardy
3:42
7."The State We're In" (featuring Beth Orton)
  • Rowlands
  • Simons
6:27
8."Denmark"
  • Rowlands
  • Simons
5:07
9."Pioneer Skies"
4:05
10."The Test" (featuring Richard Ashcroft)
7:46
Total length:54:48
  • As with all other albums by the Chemical Brothers, some of the tracks segue into the next. These are 2 into 3 and 7 into 8.

Personnel

[edit]
  • The Chemical Brothers – production

Additional musicians

[edit]
  • Jared Faber – drums ("Come with Us")
  • Steve Dub – engineering, additional guitar
  • Greg Fleming – assistance
  • Kate Gibb – artwork
  • Beverley Skeete – vocals on "Star Guitar"
  • Richard Ashcroft – vocals on "The Test"
  • Beth Orton – vocals on "The State We're In"
  • Shovell – percussion on "It Began in Afrika"

Charts

[edit]

Certifications

[edit]
Certifications for Come with Us
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[53] Gold 35,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[54] Gold 50,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[55] Gold 100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[56] Gold 7,500^
United Kingdom (BPI)[2] Gold 217,000[57]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

[edit]
Release history and formats for Come with Us
Region Release date Label Format Catalogue
Japan 21 January 2002 Virgin Japan CD VJCP-68367
United Kingdom 28 January 2002 Freestyle Dust CD XDUSTCD5
CD XDUSTCDX5
LP2×LP XDUSTLP5
MC XDUSTMC5
United States 29 January 2002 Astralwerks CD ASW11682-2
CD ASW11895-2
LP2×LP ASW11682-1
Japan 29 March 2002 Virgin Japan CD VJCP-68408

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Smith, Phil (28 January 2024). "'Come with Us': Behind the Chemical Brothers' Unbeatable Offer". UDiscoverMusic.
  2. ^ a b "British album certifications – The Chemical Brothers – Come With Us". British Phonographic Industry.
  3. ^ "planet-dust.laserjay.net/history.htm". planet-dust.laserjay.net. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  4. ^ a b "[unknown title]". Remix. January 2002. Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  5. ^ "Come with Us, Said The Chemical Brothers, and We Did". UDiscover. 9 February 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  6. ^ "Planet Dust – The Chemical Brothers – The Muzik Top 50 Dance Albums of All Time". planet-dust.laserjay.net. Archived from the original on 11 May 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  7. ^ "Chemical Brothers | Official Charts Company". Official Charts. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  8. ^ "Got Charts? Beans, Bleek & Beatles Synch up Soundtracks". MTV. Archived from the original on 4 November 2016.
  9. ^ a b c "Chart Log UK: Chris C. – CZR". zobbel.de. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  10. ^ "New Releases – For Week Starting September 10, 2001: Singles". Music Week. 8 September 2001. p. 37.
  11. ^ "New Releases – For Week Starting January 14, 2001: Singles". Music Week. 12 January 2002. p. 25.
  12. ^ "New Releases – For Week Starting 22 April 2002". Music Week. 20 April 2002. p. 35.
  13. ^ "[Unknown title]". Rolling Stone. 12 December 2002. p. 98.
  14. ^ a b "Reviews for Come with Us by Chemical Brothers – Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  15. ^ a b Bush, John. "Come with Us – The Chemical Brothers | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  16. ^ Alternative Press (2/02, p.67) - 7 out of 10 - "...A return to the early-'90s acid-house exuberance that first inspired them..."
  17. ^ Hermes, Will (28 January 2002). "Come With Us Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 8 January 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
  18. ^ Nathan Rooney (30 January 2002). "The Chemical Brothers: Come with Us". Pitchfork. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  19. ^ Bowden, Marshall (29 March 2002). "The Chemical Brothers: Come with Us". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 13 June 2002. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
  20. ^ Q (Jan/02, p.97) - 3 out of 5 stars - "...blend[s] the brutal efficiency of current dancefloor trends with...the music that prompted [them] to make records....good, clean, hedonistic fun..."
  21. ^ "Rolling Stone review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2 October 2007. Retrieved 4 February 2007.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  22. ^ Slant Magazine review
  23. ^ They've gone one step beyond the underrated Surrender by integrating their two sides: high-octane thrust and airy psychedelic dreaminess. [Feb 2002, p.105]
  24. ^ "[Come with Us review]". Uncut: 124. February 2002.
  25. ^ "The Best of 2002". Kludge. Archived from the original on 22 July 2004. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
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  40. ^ "Charts.nz – The Chemical Brothers – Come with Us". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
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  45. ^ "Swisscharts.com – The Chemical Brothers – Come with Us". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
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  50. ^ "Canada's Top 200 Alternative albums of 2002". Jam!. Archived from the original on 4 December 2003. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
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  55. ^ "Japanese album certifications – The Chemical Brothers – Come With Us" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Select 2002年3月 on the drop-down menu
  56. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – The Chemical Brothers – Come With Us". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  57. ^ "Iconic albums turning 20 in 2022". Official Charts. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
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