World Clique
Studio album by
Deee-Lite
ReleasedAugust 7, 1990
RecordedJanuary 1989–May 1990
Studio
  • D&D (New York City)
  • Calliope (New York City)
Genre
Length48:19
LabelElektra
ProducerDeee-Lite
Deee-Lite chronology
World Clique
(1990) 		Infinity Within
(1992)
Singles from World Clique
  1. "Groove Is in the Heart"
    Released: August 1990
  2. "Power of Love"
    Released: 1990
  3. "E.S.P."
    Released: 1991

World Clique is the debut album by American dance music band Deee-Lite, which was released in 1990. The album's first single, "Groove Is in the Heart", was a top-five success on both the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart as well as a No. 1 hit on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart. Three subsequent singles also hit the top ten on the U.S. dance chart, including "Power of Love/Build That Bridge", which also hit No. 1, and "Good Beat".

Guest artists on the album include Bootsy Collins, Q-Tip, Fred Wesley and Maceo Parker. When World Clique was released on compact disc, two bonus tracks were added to the album: "Deee-Lite Theme" and "Build the Bridge".

"E.S.P." contains a sample of actor Bela Lugosi from the 1934 film The Black Cat.[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Chicago Sun-Times[4]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[5]
Los Angeles Times[6]
NME9/10[7]
Record Mirror4/5[8]
Rolling Stone[9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[10]
Select5/5[11]
Slant Magazine[12]

In Spin, Steven Daly hailed World Clique as "the debut album of the year" and "an eloquent tableau of '90s possibilities", finding that Deee-Lite "keep the affair on a human scale" and distinguish themselves from other "digital Robin Hoods" by writing their own hooks and refraining from excessive sampling.[13] "While their command of technology is determinedly progressive," wrote Don McLeese of the Chicago Sun-Times, "they use sampling for more than the usual recycling and bring a playfulness beyond the bloodless perfection that has come to characterize computer music."[4] Entertainment Weekly critic Greg Sandow said that Deee-Lite "make dance music that's unpredictable and steadily delirious" and imbue World Clique with "an ironic edge" and their own lyrical and musical "quirks".[5] Record Mirror's Richie Blackmore complimented the group's "refreshing ability to master different dance styles",[8] while Richard Norris commented in Select that the album "sounds like the most fun you've ever had, a fittingly wordly mix of chunky funk, house and soul topped with some of the finest wiggly noises you'll have heard for a while."[11] Helen Mead of NME lauded World Clique as "one of the most varied and inspirational club crossover records ever."[7]

Dennis Hunt of the Los Angeles Times was less impressed, writing that World Clique is "littered with distracting touches and tries too hard to be innovative".[6] Rolling Stone reviewer Arion Berger felt that it features "formulaic well-chosen beats and not-quite-powerful vocals" and comes across as "a selective history of pop culture played as house music and compressed into easily swallowable three-minute bites."[9] The Village Voice's Robert Christgau identified "Good Beat" as the album's sole "choice cut".[14]

Two years after the album's release, Billboard called World Clique an "innovative, media-saturated debut".[15] In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Ned Raggett wrote that frontwoman Lady Miss Kier "has not merely the pipes but the personality to carry something on her own", while producers DJ Dmitry and Towa Tei "come up with a seamless, adept flow throughout, merrily raiding whatever they so choose in the past for their own purposes."[3]

In 2003, Slant Magazine included World Clique in its list, Vital Pop: 50 Essential Pop Albums.[16] Charles Pitter for Zouch notes that album track and single "Groove Is in the Heart" is a "dance classic".[17]

Commercial performance

The album's initial success occurred in the UK, where it peaked at No. 14 on the UK Albums Chart in September 1990.[18] Simultaneously, the album entered the Billboard 200 at No. 180 for the week of September 15 in the US.[19] Fueled by the success of "Groove Is in the Heart", World Clique continued to climb the chart for several weeks, peaking at No. 20 for the week of November 24.[20]

The success of subsequent singles "Power of Love", "Good Beat", and "E.S.P." helped the album to sustain steady sales throughout the following months, with the album achieving RIAA Gold certification in December 1990[21] and remaining on the Billboard 200 for a total of 41 weeks before falling off the chart in June 1991, following its final chart position at No. 199.[22] World Clique is Deee-Lite's most successful album, outlasting Infinity Within (1992) and Dewdrops in the Garden (1994) on the Billboard 200 chart and outperforming its successors in terms of highest peak position and mainstream exposure and sales.[23]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Deee-Lite except "Deee-Lite Theme", which was written by Deee-Lite and Herbie Hancock, and "Groove Is in the Heart", which was written by Deee-Lite, Hancock and Jonathan Davis

No.TitleLength
1."Deee-Lite Theme"2:10
2."Good Beat"4:40
3."Power of Love"4:40
4."Try Me on... I'm Very You"5:14
5."Smile On"3:55
6."What Is Love?"3:38
7."World Clique"3:20
8."E.S.P."3:43
9."Groove Is in the Heart"3:51
10."Who Was That?"4:35
11."Deep-Ending"3:47
12."Build the Bridge"4:32

Personnel

Deee-Lite[edit]

Additional personnel[edit]

Technical[edit]

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for World Clique
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[31] Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[32] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[33] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ Harrington, Jim (2016). "Deee-Lite - World Clique". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 636.
  2. ^ "It's Béla Lugosi versus Boris Karloff in a loose take on the Black Cat". The A.V. Club.
  3. ^ a b Raggett, Ned. "World Clique – Deee-Lite". AllMusic. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  4. ^ a b McLeese, Don (October 1, 1990). "Worldly Deee-Lite clicks in techno-dance debut". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on December 28, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  5. ^ a b Sandow, Greg (August 17, 1990). "World Clique". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  6. ^ a b Hilburn, Robert; Hunt, Dennis; Boehm, Mike; Cromelin, Richard; Gold, Jonathan; Hochman, Steve; Willman, Chris; Lewis, Randy; Johnson, Connie; Waller, Don (October 14, 1990). "Fall's Big Albums, From AC / DC to Z.Z. Top". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Mead, Helen (September 1, 1990). "Deee-Lightful". NME. p. 32. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  8. ^ a b Blackmore, Richie (September 1, 1990). "Deee-Lite: World Clique". Record Mirror. p. 18.
  9. ^ a b Berger, Arion (November 1, 1990). "Deee-Lite: World Clique". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 19, 2008. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  10. ^ Considine, J. D. (2004). "Deee-Lite". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 222. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  11. ^ a b Norris, Richard (September 1990). "Body Eclectic". Select. No. 3. p. 80.
  12. ^ Gonzalez, Ed (May 1, 2004). "Review: Deee-Lite, World Clique". Slant Magazine. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  13. ^ Daly, Steven (October 1990). "Deee-Lite: World Clique". Spin. Vol. 6, no. 7. pp. 79–80. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  14. ^ Christgau, Robert (July 30, 1991). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  15. ^ "Deee-Lite: Infinity Within". Billboard. Vol. 104, no. 26. June 27, 1992. p. 46. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
  16. ^ "Vital Pop: 50 Essential Pop Albums". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  17. ^ Pitter, Charles. "Zouch".
  18. ^ "everyhit.com". Archived from the original on March 19, 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  19. ^ "The Billboard 200 - Chart Listing For The Week Of Sep 15 1990". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 8, 2015. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  20. ^ "The Billboard 200 - Chart Listing For The Week Of Nov 24 1990". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-03-28.[dead link]
  21. ^ "RIAA Searchable Database". RIAA. Archived from the original on 2007-06-26. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  22. ^ "The Billboard 200 - Chart Listing for the Week Of Jun 22 1991". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 8, 2013. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  23. ^ "Artist Chart History - Dee-Lite". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  24. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Deee-Lite – World Clique". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  25. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 9159". RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  26. ^ "Charts.nz – Deee-Lite – World Clique". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  27. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  28. ^ a b "World Clique - Deee-Lite". Billboard. Retrieved 2012-04-16.
  29. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 1702". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
  30. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1991". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  31. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Deee-Lite – World Clique". Music Canada.
  32. ^ "British album certifications – Deee-Lite – World Clique". British Phonographic Industry.
  33. ^ "American album certifications – Deee-Lite – World Clique". Recording Industry Association of America.
Categories