Leftism (album)

Leftism is the debut studio album by English electronic music duo Leftfield, released in 1995 on Columbia Records. It contained a mixture of new tracks along with reworked versions of previous Leftfield singles. The album contains guest spots from musicians not associated with dance music at the time such as John Lydon from Public Image Ltd. (and formerly of Sex Pistols) and Toni Halliday from Curve. The album was described as progressive house, although some journalists found that label too limiting, suggesting the album incorporated many genres. After completing the album, the duo initially were not pleased with it.

On its release, the album was well received from the British press with positive reviews from the NME and Q. The album was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 1995 but lost to Portishead's Dummy. Leftism sold well and was released months later in the United States. Critics have praised the album as one of the major album-length works of dance music, with Q referring to it as "the first truly complete album experience to be created by house musicians and the first quintessentially British one".

Production

thumbnail|left|Toni Halliday (pictured in 1995) provided guest vocals on the song "Original".

Leftism is an album that consists of singles recorded previously by members Paul Daley and Neil Barnes between 1992 and 1995, with the exception of the single "Not Forgotten" which is not included, and other new tracks. These earlier singles included "Release the Pressure", "Song of Life", and "Open Up". Lemn Sissay guests on "21st Century Poem".

After completing the production on Leftism, Rob Daley was unhappy with how the album turned out stating that "It sounded shit [...] It seemed to have no cohesion, the tracks just didn't seem to hang well together. But having lived with it for a while it sounds much better." Paul Daley echoed these statements saying "We did all the tracks, listened to them and decided it sounded a fucking mess [...] we went back, messed around with the running order and chopped a lot of things out. Hopefully now it sounds complete, something that can be listened to in one go."

Release

Leftism was released on 30 January 1995 in the United Kingdom by Columbia Records. In the United States, it was released on 15 August. The single "Open Up" peaked at number 13 on the UK singles charts. Leftism sold over 220,000 copies.

On 5 May 2017, the band released Leftism 22, with a remastered album as well a bonus disc of remixes by current artists, including Adrian Sherwood.

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score =

| rev3 = Mixmag

| rev3score = 10/10

| rev4 = Mojo

| rev4score =

| rev5 = NME

| rev5score = 9/10

| rev6 = Q

| rev6score =

| rev7 = Record Collector

| rev7score =

| rev8 = Select

| rev8score = 5/5

| rev9 = Uncut

| rev9score = 8/10

| rev10 = Vox

| rev10score = 9/10

Leftism was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 1995, but lost to Portishead's Dummy. Mixmag praised the singles for Leftism, stating that "classics like 'Release The Pressure' and 'Song of Life' were the cement that welded a whole new British house scene together. London proudly joined the league of house capitals. British dance music has never looked back." The NME praised the album as helping keep British house music alive "when the boffins were getting complacent, the junglists were lining their pockets and the trip-hoppers were muscling in, Leftfield have returned to save the night."

Legacy

Later reviews of the album were generally positive. In 2000, Q gave a re-issue of the album four stars out of five, opining that "It's hard to overestimate the significance of Leftism, roundly acknowledged upon its release in 1995 as the first truly complete album experience to be created by house musicians and the first quintessentially British one." Q specifically praised the song "Open Up", describing it as having a "revolutionary fervour that once gripped dance, and that's missing from pretty much all pop music at the moment." The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In 2000 it was voted number 59 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums. In 2007, The Guardian included the album in their list of "1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die".

Track listing

Released in 1995 on CD, cassette and double vinyl. A limited edition triple vinyl version was also released at the same time, containing "Cut for Life" (7:09) (replacing "Song of Life"), "Half Past Dub" (3:38) and a longer version of "Open Up" (8:44). It was re-released in 2017.

2000 double CD re-release

The second CD contains B-sides and remixes from the original singles, as well as "Cut for Life".

2017 re-release

CD and digital contains eleven "brand new" remixes.

Personnel

Leftfield

Neil Barnes – production, keyboards, guitar, drum programming
Paul Daley – production, keyboards, mixing

Other musicians

Earl Sixteen, Cheshire Cat, Papa Dee, Djum Djum, Toni Halliday, Danny Red, John Lydon, Lemn Sissay – vocals

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References