The Crystal Method – Vegas

The core reactor of big beat powered the vessel that is ‘Vegas’, the first album made by Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland in that city, boasting talent and excogitation in spades and released at the end of summer 97’ – just five days before a certain road accident in Paris plunged the UK into a state of shock. The 71-minute masterpiece became the default accompaniment to my late night jogs around the roads and streets, my ears tuned to big beat’s most primitive ingredients: frantic beats, oscillating synths, well-timed vocals.
As well as briefly scaling the walls of our Top 40 – in collaboration with the industrial rock band Filter – Jordan and Kirkland stamped their presence on numerous films and computer games of the late 1990s, most notably contributing four tracks – singles ‘Keep Hope Alive’ (#71) and ‘Busy Child’ (#81) along with ‘Now Is the Time’ and the unreleased ‘More’ – to EA Sports’ legendary FIFA: Road to World Cup 98.

interestingly this is not the 20th anniversary remaster, at least the 2023 repress isn't, which I was very pleased to hear. can confirm that the noise floor here is a bit high but it doesn't get in the way often. mighty and satisfying sound overall

Sounds super clean, so good! One of the best memories of my 90s techno culture.

My copy from the 2023 repress (variant 2) is a bit noisy even after a wet clean. Fortunately, quiet sections are rare on this album so it doesn't impact for the most part, and the dynamics are great.

Good as hell. Excellent record with excellent sound. A big beat masterpiece

This record would be killer remixed into 5.1 - did it with legion

This is surfacing again online to buy (in the US - eBay and Amazon). Fantastic album! It sounds great and the record is flat. A pretty quality pressing here.

Grab the new repress on eBay from Rarewaves. Cheap! Ten words

I think this pressing sounds amazing. The bass is low and tight and the highs are clear. My copy has some very minor surface noise, but I haven’t cleaned yet. This album is a classic techno banger from front to back!!

If you are into the "big beat" genre, then this is another album worth getting. Listening to this album, the Crystal Method are like The Chemical Brothers of America. I like the first six tracks, especially "Cherry Twist" and "Keep Hope Alive". The one criticism I have is the lyric in "Jaded", which is "Think about the good things that I did to you and think about the bad things I didn't do". I don't believe that sort of lyric fits well the Crystal Method's style. But other than that, still a great album even after 25 years! A