Evolver (The Grid album)

Last updated

Evolver
Grid Evolver.jpg
Studio album by
the Grid
Released19 September 1994
Recorded1993–1994
Length66:17
Label Deconstruction
Producer The Grid
The Grid chronology
456
(1992)		Evolver
(1994)		 Music for Dancing
(1995)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg link
Melody Maker (favorable) [1]
Music Week Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]
NME 6/10 [3]
Smash Hits Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]

Evolver is the third album by English electronic dance group the Grid. It was released in 1994. "Swamp Thing" is the best-known song from the album. It became a dance club favourite and chart-hit in the UK, Europe and Australia. "Texas Cowboys" and "Rollercoaster" were also released as singles. Evolver reached number 14 on the UK Albums Chart. [5]

Contents

Critical reception

Paul Mathur from Melody Maker said, "Evolver is packed with potential incidental music for sporting highlights, but manages to cram in a heap of hitherto techno-unfriendly sounds just to further irritate those who believe in the sanctity of the dancefloor metronome." [1] Alan Jones from Music Week noted, "The enormity of The Grid's 'Swamp Thing' (one of the year's 10 biggest sellers) and their cult status is such that this album will undoubtedly sell well, at least initially, but a little more adventurousness with their hybrid house/techno/trance style wouldn't have gone amiss." [2]

Johnny Dee from NME wrote, "Like magicians conjuring white rabbits, doves and ham sandwiches from top hats into the foreign land of the theatre, The Grid's Evolver gameplan centres around their fantastic techno handbag and the ensuing merry cavalcade of a thousand comical wedding reception dances." [3] Mark Frith from Smash Hits named it Best New Album, adding, "Best is a stunning track called 'Texas Cowboys' which is a frenetic hi-energy romp with Orb-type samples. Silver dreadlocks are going to be very big this autumn." [4]

Track listing

All tracks written by Grid members Richard Norris and Dave Ball.

  1. "Wake Up" – 7:53
  2. "Rollercoaster" – 6:34
  3. "Swamp Thing" – 6:41
  4. "Throb" – 5:04
  5. "Rise" – 6:07
  6. "Shapes of Sleep" – 6:44
  7. "Higher Peaks" – 6:11
  8. "Texas Cowboys" – 5:51
  9. "Spin Cycle" – 5:31
  10. "Golden Dawn" – 9:38

Additional information

Charts

Chart (1994)Peak
position
Australia (ARIA) [6] 51
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ) [7] 37
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [8] 27
Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade) [9] 46
UK Albums (OCC) [5] 14

References

  1. 1 2 Mathur, Paul (24 September 1994). "Albums". Melody Maker . p. 36. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  2. 1 2 Jones, Alan (24 September 1994). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Albums" (PDF). Music Week . p. 17. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  3. 1 2 Dee, Johnny (17 September 1994). "Long Play". NME . p. 55. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  4. 1 2 Frith, Mark (14 September 1994). "New Albums: Best New Album". Smash Hits . p. 57. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  5. 1 2 "Official Charts > Grid". The Official UK Charts Company . Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  6. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  7. ↑ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 1994. 41. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved June 26, 2025.
  8. ↑ "swedishcharts.com > The Grid in Swedish Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  9. ↑ "hitparade.ch > The Grid in der Schweizer Hitparade" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
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