Thievery Corporation Albums (8)
'Radio Retaliation'
Release Date 9/23/2008
Tracks 15
Label Eighteenth Street
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What The Critics Say
From the title alone, it's clear that Thievery Corporation has more on its mind than just the construction of breezy coffeehouse soundtracks and laid-back global chill. Radio Retaliation is a record of righteous fury (the targets are political, if that even needs to be said) and one that makes their previous efforts sound like Discreet Music in comparison. Thievery amps up their beats, quickens the pace, and unleashes a phalanx of vocal features to attack the D.C.-based Corporation's crosstown rivals on Capitol Hill and at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. (Granted, this is still a revolution mostly in the head.) The mélange of worldbeat influences finds all the usual traces (Jamaica, India, Brazil, Nigeria, Arabia), but virtually all of the locales are charted by natives (Sleepy Wonder, Anoushka Shankar, Seu Jorge, Femi Kuti). On the title track, narcoleptic chatter Sleepy Wonder details his list of grievances, speaking for the entire corporation: "50,000 watts of Thievery hit them like poison darts/And watch the whole system what them build up fall apart." The two most important features are Femi Kuti's and Seu Jorge's; first, Kuti uses the track "Vampires" to call out African genocide throughout history (from Kinshasa to Darfur to Lagos to Malabo, Guinea), then Jorge comes next with the yin to Femi's yang, a beatific ode to peace titled "Hare Krsna." Thievery producers Rob Garza and Eric Hilton haven't quite revolutionized their beat-making or production from the past decade, but they sound energized by the political and social events of the 2000s. Despite the politics, there are still a few more of the ethereal masterpieces Thievery Corporation have made a hallmark in the past, including the sublime "Beautiful Drug" (featuring Slovakian singer Jana Andevska) and "Mandala," a guest feature for Anoushka Shankar that's particularly refreshing as an alternative to the usual Indian atmosphere on downbeat records (sampled, not played). The liner notes are a huge 20" x 30" fold-out booklet, including not only the lyrics but numerous quotes from a variety of world figures -- from Einstein, Chomsky, and Edward Bernays to John Lee Hooker and Mos Def. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
'AOL Music DJ Sessions: Mixed by Thievery Corporation'
Release Date 1/1/2006
Tracks 12
Label INgrooves
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What The Critics Say
Given the opportunity to strut their stuff before the wired masses, Thievery Corporation made the most of it, showcasing not only their own music, but that of their ESL labelmate's on this live AOL session mix album. Needless to say, the duo included a clutch of choice numbers from their latest album, The Cosmic Game -- the fabulous, dancehall flavored grinder "Warning Shots," the dark and dangerous "Holographic," the propulsive "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" (here remixed by Louie Vega), and Govinda's floating-through-the-clouds remix of "Satyam Shivam Sundaram," as well as tossing in their earlier "Language Symbolique" for good measure. Playing before an international audience, the Corporation trot out their world credentials. "Satyam"s Indian influences are barely visible, but there's no doubting Thunderball's, whose "Road to Benares" travels deep into exotic climes. Federico Aubele's brings an equally strong Spanish flavor to the mix with his "Diaraio de Viaje" and "Postales," while Karminsky Experience lounge in the airport and dream of faraway lands watching the "Departures." There's a bit of time travel as well, as the set revisits the days of soul with "Can I Get a Witness," and slides back into the early '60 with Chris Joss' surfy "You've Been Spiked." All told it's an amazingly eclectic group of songs, but Thievery Corporation brilliantly pull it all together with aplomb, wisely paying more attention to the moods than the actual style, which creates the set's wonderful ebb and flow. An excellent performance from a top-notch DJ team. ~ Jo-Ann Greene, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The ingredients -- electronic beats, dub, soft Brazilian tones, sitars, and women singing in foreign languages -- are entirely the same, but Thievery Corporation have never sounded so genuine. Despite the same old sound and a busy release schedule leading up to it, The Cosmic Game comes across as fresh as a debut and surprisingly indifferent toward being the in thing. What it is is music for music's sake, all laid out with the utmost care, giving listeners a fully thought-out album that makes the "forward" button on your CD player purposeless. Effortlessly flowing from the indie-grooving "Marching the Hate Machines (Into the Sun)" with the Flaming Lips to reggae to samba to psychedelia and beyond, the album is trimmed of all fat. Instrumentals with clever grooves sometimes overstayed their welcome on previous Thievery albums, but here they're whittled down to interludes when need be and positioned as chillout segues between the more striking numbers. The druggy, Perry Farrell-inna-reggae-style "Revolution Solution" is one of these stunners, but the superstars don't own all the highlights. As dank, Jamaican-flavored horns echo into the distance, siren Sista Pat lures listeners into the deep world of "Wires and Watchtowers" while soulful crooner Notch takes things uptown on the cool "Amerimacka" before the Corp turn the tune into one of their stickiest dub outings yet. The pleasant "The Heart's a Lonely Hunter" deserves mention because David Byrne guests on vocals, and while it's very good, it's the most forgettable number on this outing. The track brings a very slight reminder of when Thievery Corporation have let ambition trump the meaningful and meaty, but the otherwise purposeful and certain Cosmic Game is so darkly delicious you have to admit it's their masterwork. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
'The Outernational Sound'
Release Date 6/29/2004
Tracks 20
Label ESL Music
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What The Critics Say
First off, The Outernational Sound is proof that Thievery Corporation are cool, know their stuff, and have great taste. The tracks they've selected for this mix are more organic than expected, filled with sitars, sambas, and analog dubs with very little you'd think was electronica. Hipsters call this slapping of old jazz, reggae, and R&B records on the turntable "rare groove," and you've got to do a lot of homework to not come off as a charlatan. The duo never come off as anything but smart lovers of groovy music, the quirkier the better. The problem is that the mix isn't seamless and some of the transitions are downright jarring. The Corp's own "Richest Man in Babylon" is a tripped-out highlight -- a high compliment considering it keeps company with killers from Boozoo Bajou and Beatfanatic -- but Delroy Wilson's excellent "Better Must Come" just stumbles out of it. Tracks mix better during the album's softer beginning, but as a whole this sounds more like a cool radio station than someone trying to tell a story with two turntables. Dig it for the great tunes, not the flow. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
'The Richest Man in Babylon'
Release Date 10/1/2002
Tracks 15
Label ESL
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What The Critics Say
Even more similar to its predecessor, The Mirror Conspiracy, than that one was to the first Thievery Corporation LP, The Richest Man in Babylon provides some beat-heavy, languorous excursions into territory long-favored by Thievery Corporation -- namely, the music of Brazil, India, and Jamaica -- but doesn't have the hooks or the production finesse to compete with The Mirror Conspiracy. On the opener, "Heaven's Gonna Burn Your Eyes," guest Emiliana Torrini treasures her vocals endearingly, but the backing could've been taken wholesale from any of a dozen Thievery productions (or perhaps Air's Moon Safari). "The Outernationalist," a bass-heavy trip into ambient-dub headspace, sounds great too, but it also occupies the same territory as a previous track (2000's "Treasure"). Vocalists LouLou and Pam Bricker both return for two features each, practically indistinguishable from their previous tracks. (Of course, it's difficult to resist a bland sound when the bassline for an entire song, "Un Simple Histoire (A Simple Story)," encompasses only four different notes and continues throughout.) Fortunately, a few tracks on the backside do plow new ground, thanks in part to new guests: "Meu Destino (My Destiny)," with the ephemeral falsetto of Patrick de Santos; "Exilio (Exile)," which introduces Afro-Cuban percussion into the Thievery template; and a great feature for Shinehead on "The State of the Union," while Garza and Hilton throw in a few extra beats (for once). Admittedly, a solid set of treading-water productions is vastly preferred to a bad album, especially on the dancefloor. Sure, it could've been worse, but it also could've been slightly different. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
'Sounds from the Verve Hi-Fi'
Release Date 1/29/2002
Tracks 15
Label Verve
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What The Critics Say
The D.C. production duo and easygoing lounge mix team Thievery Corporation received the high honor of compiling Sounds From the Verve Hi-Fi, a collection of their favorite cuts originally appearing on the trendsetter jazz label of the '60s. Jazz at the Philharmonic fans read no farther; Thievery Corporation's respect for the label begins in the early '60s -- Jazz Samba Encore! is a major touchstone -- and focuses mostly on breezy Brazilian pop (Jobim, the Gilbertos, Walter Wanderley, Sergio Mendes) as well as acid jazz precursors like Wes Montgomery or Jackie & Roy. Still, this is more than just another new-generation hipster's Talkin' Verve compilation. Thievery Corporation are veteran DJs and obsessive record collectors, so they know how to put together a mix album, balancing a bare few well-known classics with a raft of unreleased gems. And yes, there are a lot of rarities: almost half of the tracks are seeing CD release for the first time (in America, that is), and the track listing includes comparatively obscure names like Kenyon Hopkins, the Jazz Renegades, and Wynton Kelly. One for the collectors and archivists, then; a great mix for laid-back afternoon drinking sessions, definitely not The Greatest Hits of Verve. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Like their debut album, Thievery Corporation's second, The Mirror Conspiracy, is a pleasant album of sublime mid-tempo trip-hop, reminiscent of easy listening groove music, and continually referencing the breezier, atmospheric side of Brazilian, Jamaican, French, and Indian forms. The nocturnal dub-poetry of "Treasures" sets a tone for the bruising basslines and echoey keys throughout the album, and "Lebanese Blonde" is another early highlight, with the graceful vocalese of Pam Bricker framing live sitar by Rob Myers and a Jamaican-style horn section. Brazil represents with a triple-shot of "Air Batucada," "So Com Voce" (with vocals from Bebel Gilberto), and "Samba Tranquille." French chanteuse Lou Lou adds a bit of downtempo continental flair on "Le Monde" and "Shadows of Ourselves," and Thievery Corporation even samples Ella Fitzgerald on the ambient-jungle closer "Tomorrow." As on their first LP, Garza and Hilton occasionally appear satisfied to just push a few grooves and reference their favorite styles of music over the top -- at the expense of any new ideas -- but The Mirror Conspiracy is excellently produced and almost as stylish as the duo's swinging suits on the cover. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
'Sounds from the Thievery Hi-Fi'
Release Date 1/1/1997
Tracks 16
Label ESL Music
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What The Critics Say
Rare-groove duo Thievery Corporation may fall under the general classification of electronica, but their album Sounds from the Thievery Hi-Fi, like much of their music, is such a confluence of subgenres that techno fans might not find what they're looking for in it. This record is electronic in that nearly everything heard on it has been tweaked in the studio, but almost all of the actual synth sounds on Sounds from the Thievery Hi-Fi lie in the background. What carry each song are recordings of actual instruments, either live or sampled, mixed to create the arc of the specific track. Add a smattering of vocal samples, and the result is the love-child of Massive Attack and Mondo Grosso, a trip-hoppy, acid jazz mutant that will make you want to dance, have sex, or lounge by the pool (if you're not left walking in confused circles, trying to figure out which one). That seems to be the CD's only real weakness: the seams that bind the various influences involved in the music can be a bit ragged, leading to some songs that come off as awkward, rather than eclectic. The amalgamations throughout most of the disc are quite effective, however. The track "Scene at the Open Air Market," for instance, sounds like the melody is played on a xylophone, before switching to perhaps an accordion, eventually coming to sound like a mixture of lounge music, rhumba, and Eastern European folk -- but sexy. The samples of a man yelling reggae-style shout-outs during "2001 Spliff Odyssey," however, are mostly just distracting from the ultra-smooth groove, and can feel like interruptions. In the end, assuming that almost everyone who picks up Sounds from the Thievery Hi-Fi is a fan of trip-hop, acid jazz, club/dance, or electronica, then it is essentially a record for everybody. Its only real fault is that occasionally, it edges on being a record for nobody. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Music Guide
