The White Room
Encyclopedia
Allmusic said that The White Room "represents the commercial and artistic peak of late-'80s acid-house
" and Q magazine called it "strikingly imaginative" and "a more subtle form of subterfuge" than previous works. A retrospective review by Splendid Magazine thought some of the tracks to be filler and the album "silly" in places, but were extremely impressed by the "Stadium House" songs. "As providers of perverse, throwaway, three-minute pop-song manna," they concluded, "the KLF were punk rock
, the Renaissance
, Andy Warhol
and Jesus Christ all rolled into one."
In 1993, NME
staff and contributors voted the album the 81st best of all time. The Guardian
listed it at the 89th best British album of all time and Scotland on Sunday
listed the album in their "Essential 100". Readers of Scotland's Is this music?
magazine voted The White Room the 44th best "Scottish" LP of all time. In 2000 Q magazine placed it at number 89 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. It is also featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
.
In the North American Arista
release, samples of crowd noise from U2's
Rattle and Hum
album, used to segue
between the "Stadium House" tracks, are removed, leading to abrupt and awkward transitions between these tracks; additionally, "No More Tears" is shortened and "Last Train To Trancentral" appears in its significantly different stadium house single version.
Acid house
Acid house is a sub-genre of house music that emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance-like style, often with samples or spoken lines rather than sung lyrics. Acid house's core electronic squelch sounds were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by DJs from Chicago who experimented with...
" and Q magazine called it "strikingly imaginative" and "a more subtle form of subterfuge" than previous works. A retrospective review by Splendid Magazine thought some of the tracks to be filler and the album "silly" in places, but were extremely impressed by the "Stadium House" songs. "As providers of perverse, throwaway, three-minute pop-song manna," they concluded, "the KLF were punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
, Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
and Jesus Christ all rolled into one."
In 1993, NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
staff and contributors voted the album the 81st best of all time. The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
listed it at the 89th best British album of all time and Scotland on Sunday
Scotland on Sunday
Scotland on Sunday is a Scottish Sunday newspaper, published in Edinburgh by The Scotsman Publications Ltd and consequently assuming the role of Sunday sister to its daily stablemate The Scotsman...
listed the album in their "Essential 100". Readers of Scotland's Is this music?
Is this music?
Is this music? is an alternative music magazine based in Scotland, with a focus on the Scottish alternative music scene. Its first issue appeared in late 2003, featuring news of Bob Fairfoull's split from Idlewild, but its best known 'exclusive' was the first ever interview with Glasgow-based pop...
magazine voted The White Room the 44th best "Scottish" LP of all time. In 2000 Q magazine placed it at number 89 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. It is also featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die is a musical reference book edited by Robert Dimery, first published in 2005. The most recent edition consists of a list of albums released between 1955 and 2010, part of a series from Quintessence Editions Ltd...
.
Original unreleased soundtrack
1991 album release
The running times below are for the version of The White Room released on CD in Germany. Most releases of the album outside of North America had the same audio content, but located the track markers differently depending on which label released the CD.In the North American Arista
Arista Records
Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
release, samples of crowd noise from U2's
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
Rattle and Hum
Rattle and Hum
Rattle and Hum is the sixth studio album by rock band U2 and companion rockumentary directed by Phil Joanou, both released in 1988. The film and the album feature live recordings, covers, and new songs...
album, used to segue
Segue
A segue is a smooth transition from one topic or section to the next.-In music:In music, segue is a direction to the performer. It means continue without a pause. It comes from the Italian "it follows". The term attacca is also used in classical music.For written music it implies a transition...
between the "Stadium House" tracks, are removed, leading to abrupt and awkward transitions between these tracks; additionally, "No More Tears" is shortened and "Last Train To Trancentral" appears in its significantly different stadium house single version.
Personnel
- Jimmy CautyJimmy CautyJames Francis Cauty is a British artist and musician born in Liverpool, England, in 1956...
- productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, performance and programmingProgramming (music)Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices, often sequencers or computer programs, to generate music. Programming is used in nearly all forms of electronic music and in most hip hop music since the 1990s. It is also frequently used in modern pop and rock... - Bill DrummondBill DrummondWilliam Ernest Drummond is a Scottish artist, musician, writer and record producer. He was the co-founder of late 1980s avant-garde pop group The KLF and its 1990s media-manipulating successor, the K Foundation, with which he burned a million pounds in 1994...
- production, performance, vocals and programming
Additional performers
- Nick Coler - keyboardsSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, additional programming; backing vocals ("3 a.m. Eternal") - Maxine Harvey - vocals, backing vocals (except "What Time Is Love?", "Justified and Ancient")
- Black Steel - vocals, scat singingScat singingIn vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. Scat singing gives singers the ability to sing improvised melodies and rhythms, to create the equivalent of an instrumental solo using their voice.- Structure and syllable choice...
; bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
("No More Tears", "Justified and Ancient"), pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
("No More Tears") - Ricardo Lyte - rapRappingRapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
("3 a.m. Eternal" and "Last Train to Trancentral") - Isaac Bello - rap ("What Time Is Love?")
- Tony ThorpeThe Moody BoysThe Moody Boys was a UK house music production and remix outfit active since 1988 , consisting of Tony Thorpe and, until 1992, Jimmy Cauty.-History:...
- breaks, samplesSampling (music)In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically... - Duy Khiem - tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
("Make It Rain"), clarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
("The White Room") - Graham LeeGraham Lee (Australian musician)Graham Lee is an Australian rock musician and record producer, best known as the steel guitar player of the 1980s band The Triffids, where he was nicknamed 'Evil Graham Lee'....
- pedal steel ("Build A Fire") - P. P. ArnoldP. P. ArnoldP. P. Arnold is an American-born soul singer who enjoyed considerable success in the United Kingdom in the 1960s and beyond.-Early life:...