I completely missed out on the Orb the first time around and didn't catch up with them until 1995, when OT came out. 1991-1995 Orb blows me away just in terms of sheer depth sound design alone; how the hell did they manage to write that much music without having any of it repeat around in a perfect loop for so long? These weren't just songs, they were carefully constructed little worlds. That whole production ethic fell pretty much to one side with Orblivion and was all but gone by Cydonia (except that the songs on Cydonia were actually not half bad, at least fun to listen to, and you could sing along to some of them if you tried).
Wait a second here. I agree that the early orb is wonderful and I can still put it on and enjoy it, but you can't say that it's not repetitive. Sure it was incredibly innovative at the time, but I can't agree that it didn't loop much. Give towers of dub a listen. The beat remains essentially the same for the entire length of the song. Or Perpetual Dawn. I don't see much evolution in that song -- it essentially repeats the first minute over and over. Even tracks like majestic which involve various themes which change is still riddled with long two to three minute segments of unchanged rhythm. My biggest trouble in the early 90s when trying to expose people to the orb is that they'd complain the songs were too damn long and the segments went on far too long. People would get terribly bored when I put ultraworld on, or live 93, etc. The orb is much less ambient now, much denser and involved. I should have said it began with pomme fritz, rather than Obvus Terrarum. Fritz was the appetizer, Orbvus was the salad. I think we're still in the middle of the main course, frankly. Oddly, your statement "they were carefully constructed little worlds" is what I think current orb is now. A 5-6 minute composition that rolls along tightly, not dwelling on any aspect for more than a moment. Newer tracks as I said before are like engines with gears and cogs and the balance and interaction between samples is extremely intricate. Early orb, I hate to say it, sounds like the "layering different sounds" and not much else. I don't know about you but I'm really not into the old days of 15 minute songs that took 10 minutes to climax, with two beat patterns and perhaps 5-10 samples alternating. I think alex and co are on the right track. It would be a shame if the band regressed back to what they were producing 10 years ago. A band that doesn't evolve after a decade may as well not bother producing music. If you want the sounds of the early orb, just go to mp3.com and listen to any of the multitude of ambient house electronic wannabes using ACiD and Fruity Loops. Regardless, I respect your opinions, of course. Glad we can get some actual orb talk on this list, rather than the usual public masturbation that's been going on here. Regards, Mark Schieldrop