Stereolab's fourth full-length, Emperor Tomato Ketchup marked the point where the band evolved from a purely underground phenomenon to an important pop group capable of selling albums while keeping their hipness and integrity intact. At the time of its release, it was simultaneously their most experimental and most accessible release, with the deliberate raw textures of earlier works replaced by a more polished vibe. The album was also their greatest success to date both commercially and critically, and remains a consensus favourite even now. Continuing to mine the music of the '60s and early '70s, Stereolab employs Farfisas and Moogs, melodies from Bacharach and Hardy, soft-rock, bubblegum, dub and hip-hop sounds to augment their core influences of krautrock, punk, jazz and space rock. Odd time-signatures and deft layering techniques are more crucial to the arrangements, and the grooves on tracks like Metronomic Underground and Les Yper-Sound add a level of funk to the mix, while the album also includes clear and catchy pop songs like Cybele's Reverie and The Noise of Carpet.
Emperor Tomato Ketchup brings many elements to the table, but Stereolab puts them all together into a coherent vision. For a group that reveled in resurrecting Continental obscurity, from Neu! to Krzysztof Komeda, Emperor Tomato Ketchup sounded wholly futuristic and alien. Co-released by band’s own label Duophonic UHF Disks and Warp Records.
Remastered from original tapes. Available on 2LP standard and deluxe 3LP, which comes with a Bonus album of unreleased demos, outtakes and alternate mixes. Fold-out poster insert with lyrics and sleevenotes from Laetitia Sadier and Tim Gane.
Tracklist
A1 Metronomic Underground 7:55
A2 Cybele's Reverie 4:42
A3 Percolator
Saxophone [Alto] – Ray Dickarty*
Written By – Gane / Sadier / O'Hagan
3:47
B1 Les Yper-Sound 4:05
B2 Spark Plug 2:29
B3 OLV 26 5:42
B4 The Noise Of Carpet 3:05
C1 Tomorrow Is Already Here
Vibraphone, Guitar [Second] – John McEntire
4:56
C2 Emperor Tomato Ketchup 4:37
C3 Monstre Sacre 3:44
D1 Motoroller Scalatron 3:48
D2 Slow Fast Hazel 3:53
D3 Anonymous Collective 4:32
Bonus Disk
E1 Freestyle Dumpling
E2 The Noise Of Carpet (Original Mix)
E3 Old Lungs
E4 Percolator (Original Mix)
Bonus 3LP Tracklist
F1 Cybele's Reverie (Demo)
F2 Spark Plug (Demo)
F3 Spinal Column (Demo)
F4 Emperor Tomato Ketchup (Demo)
F5 Les Yper-sound (Demo)
F6 Metronomic Underground (Demo)
F7 Percolator (Demo)
F8 Tomorrow Is Already Here (Demo)
F9 Brigitte (Demo)
F10 Motoroller Scalatron (Demo)
F11 Anonymous Collective (Demo)
