Mental Floss for the Globe

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Mental Floss for the Globe
Urban Dance Squad, Mental Floss for the Globe, front cover.jpeg
Studio album by
Urban Dance Squad
Released1989
RecordedMay–July 1989
StudioI.C.P. (Brussels, Belgium)
Length50:48
Label Arista
Producer Jean-Marie Aerts
Urban Dance Squad chronology
Mental Floss for the Globe
(1989)		 Life 'n Perspectives of a Genuine Crossover
(1991)
Singles from Mental Floss for the Globe
  1. "Deeper Shade of Soul"
    Released: 1989
  2. "No Kid"
    Released: 1990
  3. "Fast Lane"
    Released: 1991

Mental Floss for the Globe is the debut studio album by Dutch rap rock band Urban Dance Squad, released in 1989 by Arista Records. Produced by Belgian guitarist Jean-Marie Aerts, [1] it spawned three singles: "Deeper Shade of Soul", "No kid" and "Fast Lane". The album peaked at No. 54 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Contents

"Deeper Shade of Soul" reached No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. [2] The album won an Edison Award in the Netherlands, and in 2008 was named the best Dutch pop album of all time by Dutch music magazine OOR . [3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Chicago Tribune Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Entertainment Weekly A− [6]
Orlando Sentinel Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [7]

The album was released in the US to positive reviews; the Toledo Blade commented on the unusual combination of rock instrumentation with a rapper and a DJ, and of hip-hop rhythms with heavy metal music, and called it "refreshing". [8]

According to AllMusic's Rick Anderson, the album "revealed a band smashing the boundaries between rock, funk, punk, metal, and hip-hop." [4]

Simon Reynolds, writing for Entertainment Weekly , described the album as a collage of rap, rock, funk, dub, reggae, and soul. [6]

Writing for the Chicago Tribune , Greg Kot commented on the album's sound: "Put the music of James Brown, Public Enemy, Robert Johnson, Sly Stone, Bad Brains, Lee Perry and Jimi Hendrix in a blender and this is what it might sound like." He also stated that the album's "primary virtue is that it creates a sonic world in which punk, funk, blues, metal, reggae and hip-hop collide with joyous abandon." [5]

Track listing

CD release

  1. "Fast Lane" – 3:29
  2. "No Kid" – 3:39
  3. "Deeper Shade of Soul" – 4:32
  4. "Prayer for My Demo" – 3:40
  5. "Big Apple" – 3:30
  6. "Piece of Rock" – 4:59
  7. "Brainstorm on the U.D.S." – 4:03
  8. "The Devil" – 3:33
  9. "Famous When You're Dead" – 5:15
  10. "Mental Floss for the Globe" – 3:05
  11. "Struggle for Jive" – 4:04
  12. "Man on the Corner" – 3:40
  13. "God Blasts the Queen" – 4:11

Vinyl release

Cassette release

Europe

  • A1. "Fast Lane"
  • A2. "No Kid"
  • A3. "Deeper Shade of Soul"
  • A4. "Brainstorm on the U.D.S."
  • A5. "Big Apple"
  • A6. "Piece of Rock"
  • B1. "Prayer for My Demo"
  • B2. "The Devil"
  • B3. "Famous When You're Dead"
  • B4. "Mental Floss for the Globe"
  • B5. "Man on the Corner"
  • B6. "Hitchhike H.D." - 3:33
  • B7. "God Blasts the Queen"

United States

  • A1. "Fast Lane"
  • A2. "No Kid"
  • A3. "Deeper Shade of Soul"
  • A4. "Brainstorm on the U.D.S."
  • A5. "Big Apple"
  • A6. "Piece of Rock"
  • B1. "Prayer for My Demo"
  • B2. "The Devil"
  • B3. "Famous When You're Dead"
  • B4. "Mental Floss for the Globe"
  • B5. "Struggle for Jive"
  • B6. "Man on the Corner"
  • B7. "God Blasts the Queen"

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Mental Floss for the Globe. [9]

Urban Dance Squad

Additional musicians

Production

References

  1. ↑ Bijl, Peter (18 August 2006). "Urban Dance Squad: de beginjaren in retrospectief". 3VOOR12 . Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  2. ↑ "Urban Dance Squad, "Deeper Shade of Soul"". Billboard . Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  3. ↑ "Rudeboy terug met surfband". Het Parool . 23 February 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  4. 1 2 Anderson, Rick. "Mental Floss for the Globe – Urban Dance Squad". AllMusic . Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  5. 1 2 Kot, Greg (9 August 1990). "Urban Dance Squad: Mental Floss for the Globe (Arista)". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  6. 1 2 Reynolds, Simon (24 May 1991). "Hybrid sounds". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  7. ↑ Fields, Curt (21 September 1990). "Urban Dance Squad". Orlando Sentinel . Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  8. ↑ Walker, Stewart (10 June 1990). "Recordings". Toledo Blade . Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  9. ↑ Mental Floss for the Globe (liner notes). Urban Dance Squad. Arista. 1990. ARCD-8640.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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