Crazy Itch Radio
Studio album by
Basement Jaxx
Released4 September 2006
Recorded2006
GenreHouse
Length51:05
Label
Producer
  • Simon Ratcliffe
  • Felix Buxton
Basement Jaxx chronology
The Singles
(2005) 		Crazy Itch Radio
(2006) 		Scars
(2009)
Singles from Crazy Itch Radio
  1. "Hush Boy"
    Released: 28 August 2006
  2. "Take Me Back to Your House"
    Released: 30 October 2006
  3. "Hey U"
    Released: 5 March 2007

Crazy Itch Radio is the fourth studio album by English electronic music duo Basement Jaxx. The album features Linda Lewis and Swedish popstar Robyn among the guest vocalists.

The album was listed on several publications' year-end lists, including The Observer and PopMatters.

Background

"The Crazy Itch of life is the thing that inspires and motivates you to act," explains Felix Buxton about the title of the album.[1]

The duo ended up making about 40 songs for the album. "And then towards of the process of the album, we're like 'Okay, we got to focus on some now and get them finished.'"[2]

The duo incorporated Balkan horns on the album.[3]

It was originally scheduled for an early 2006 release but the release date was put back.[citation needed]

"Hush Boy" and "Take Me Back to Your House" were released as singles. "Hey U" was released as a single to digital download services in 5 March 2007.

For the song "Hush Boy", the band worked with vocalist Vula Malinga to create its melody over a basic track. Vula's vocal was then kept but all the music was redone, which the band said allowed them "a tremendous amount of freedom to explore different sounds".[4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic73/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
The A.V. ClubB+[7]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[8]
Pitchfork7.4/10[9]
Mojo[10]
The Phoenix[11]
PopMatters7/10[12]
Slant Magazine[13]
Q[14]
Uncut[15]

The album was given a score of 73 out of 100 by Metacritic based on "generally favorable reviews", although less so than Basement Jaxx's previous records.[5] AllMusic gave it 4 out of 5 stars, writing "at this point, it's impossible to imagine them topping themselves; an album that is merely deeply engaging and wildly entertaining cannot be considered a flop in any way."[6] In his Consumer Guide, Robert Christgau gave the album a two-star honorable mention ((2-star Honorable Mention)(2-star Honorable Mention)), stating, "Interchangeable ladies detail interchangeable ups and downs over beats whose changeabilty supposedly renders them indelible," and picked out two songs from the album, "Take Me Back to Your House" and "Run 4 Cover".[16]

Pitchfork, while still giving the album a positive review, wrote, "Crazy Itch Radio isn't a bad album by any means; it just doesn't scream "best album of the year" from the moment you put it on."[9] NME, on the other hand, was more critical, writing "It's easy enough to ignore until a real stinker passes by."[17]

Resident Advisor More successful was Basement Jaxx's 'Crazy Itch Radio'. Unlike 'Kish Kash' from 2003, a rather ho-hum effort handicapped by letting N’Sync's JC Chasez near the mic, this year's 'Crazy Itch Radio' was easily the duo's best, mostly due to an inspired roster of vocalists: R&B songstress Vula Malinga, Swedish superstar Robyn, and second lady of grime Lady Marga. The production was also as diverse as ever, expertly layering influences plucked from all over the world. In 2006 the Jaxx are superstar DJs, touring with Robbie Williams for Christ's sake, but they've certainly earned their stripes. Ten years on, they're sharp as tacks. Freestylers and Greatest Hits merchants take note: if you don't keep reinventing your sound, your window of relevance gets slimmer and slimmer with every passing year. – Dave Rinehart

PopMatters's Tim O'Neil rated the album as his tenth Best Electronic Music of 2006 for the website, stating that It's not their best album, not compared to 1999's epochal Remedy or 2001's assured Rooty. But it is an improvement on 2003's overrated Kish Kash, which garnered so much initial attention but hasn't aged nearly as well as its predecessors. Thankfully, Crazy Itch Radio is nowhere near as hyperkinetic and jam-packed as Kish Kash. It still feels stuffed to the gills in places, but it seems as if the duo have at least acknowledged that an album like Kish Kash was so dense as to be almost unlistenable in places. There are still a few moments of confusion and chaos—why the hell did they bury the lead on "Hush Boy" but have a grimey Muppet scream the chorus?—but when the Jaxx are on, as on a track like "Take Me Back to Your House", they work better than almost any other dance act in the world today..

Promotion

In 2006, Basement Jaxx were the support acts for the European leg of Robbie Williams's Close Encounters Tour, which started on 9 June and ended on 19 September.[18] The duo at first refused to be a part of the tour because most of Ratcliffe's friends who "are into good music don't think Robbie's very good at all". They later changed their minds after learning Williams was playing at Wembley Stadium, which Ratcliffe called "such a historical venue", and because their friends encouraged them.[19]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe, except where noted.

Crazy Itch Radio – Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Intro"Wil Malone0:37
2."Hush Boy"
3:59
3."Zoomalude"
  • Butch Bonner
  • Lorna Hamilton
0:50
4."Take Me Back to Your House"
5:08
5."Hey U"
  • Buxton
  • Ratcliffe
  • Henry Ernst
  • Adrian Sical
4:54
6."On the Train"
  • Buxton
  • Ratcliffe
  • Tommy Blaize
4:14
7."Run 4 Cover"
  • Buxton
  • Ratcliffe
  • Daryl John
4:14
8."Skillalude" 0:35
9."Smoke Bubbles" 4:20
10."Lights Go Down"
5:13
11."Intro (Reprise)" 0:36
12."Everybody"
5:53
13."Keep Keep On" 2:24
14."U R on My Mind" (includes hidden track "As the Night Moves On")Buxton8:09
Total length:51:05
Crazy Itch Radio – Japanese edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
14."U R on My Mind"Buxton3:45
15."Trouble" 3:19
16."Hush Salsa" ("Hush Boy" remix; includes hidden track "As the Night Moves On")
  • Buxton
  • Ratcliffe
  • A.D. Burrise
  • J.D. Burrise
  • Malinga
8:47
Total length:58:47

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.

Charts

Chart performance for Crazy Itch Radio
Chart (2006) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[20] 70
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[21] 21
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[22] 63
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[23] 59
Irish Albums (IRMA)[24] 29
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[25] 40
UK Albums (OCC)[26] 16
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[27] 4

References

  1. ^ Treuen, Jason (4 July 2007). "Men's Style: Basement Jaxx interview". Archived from the original on 13 October 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  2. ^ Interview Basement Jaxx – Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe (part 2) on YouTube. FaceCulture. 4 August 2006. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  3. ^ Media, Spin L.L.C. (January 2007). "SPIN".
  4. ^ Bordal, Christian (20 September 2006). "Jaxx Scratch Back with 'Crazy Itch Radio'". NPR Music. NPR. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  5. ^ a b "Crazy Itch Radio Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  6. ^ a b Andy Kellman. "Crazy Itch Radio – Basement Jaxx". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  7. ^ "Basement Jaxx: Crazy Itch Radio". The A.V. Club. 26 September 2006.
  8. ^ Simon Vozick-Levinson (8 September 2006). "Crazy Itch Radio Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  9. ^ a b Jess Harvell (5 September 2006). "Basement Jaxx: Crazy Itch Radio". Pitchfork. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  10. ^ Mojo (October 2006): 100. ((cite journal)): Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ^ Matthew Gasteier (2 October 2006). "Basement Jaxx". The Phoenix. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  12. ^ Nishimoto, Dan (26 September 2006). "BASEMENT JAXX: CRAZY ITCH RADIO". PopMatters. Retrieved 26 September 2006.
  13. ^ Henderson, Eric (7 September 2006). "Review: Basement Jaxx, Crazy Itch Radio". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 7 September 2006.
  14. ^ Q (October 2006): 126. ((cite journal)): Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. ^ Uncut (October 2006): 106. ((cite journal)): Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. ^ Robert Christgau. "CG: Basement Jaxx". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  17. ^ NME: 21. 2 September 2006. ((cite journal)): Missing or empty |title= (help)
  18. ^ Bychawski, Adam (10 April 2006). "Ordinary Boys and Basement Jaxx support Robbie". NME. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  19. ^ MacInnes, Paul (12 December 2006). "Robbie gigs 'soulless', confess Basement Jaxx". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  20. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 25.
  21. ^ "Ultratop.be – Basement Jaxx – Crazy Itch Radio" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  22. ^ "Ultratop.be – Basement Jaxx – Crazy Itch Radio" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  23. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Basement Jaxx – Crazy Itch Radio" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  24. ^ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 37, 2006". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  25. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Basement Jaxx – Crazy Itch Radio". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  26. ^ "Basement Jaxx | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  27. ^ "Basement Jaxx Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
Categories