- Record Label: Eighteenth Street Lounge Music
- Release Date: Oct 1, 2002
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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Sure, it could've been worse, but it also could've been slightly different.
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BlenderWhile perfectly accomplished, this is big-budget background noise, purpose-built for any one of the plush cocktail bars it's soon to be endlessly played in, but lacking anything as distinct as, say, a personality of its own. [#10, p.130]
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The essential internationalism that characterizes this global showcase of a disc is mind-blowing in both scope and quality.
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The Richest Man In Babylon is strictly background fare. If you run a coffeeshop, youre cooking with gas.
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Babylon's treasures don't run as deep as they could've, but swingers will still enjoy this luxurious spin.
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A career-low for Thievery Corporation.
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One of their more intriguing works to date, capably blending vocal theatrics, spritual exploration and subtle songcraft in one sitting.
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Q MagazineSettles for inoffensiveness rather than innovation. [Oct 2002, p.118]
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Hilton and Garza explore foreign cultures with wide-eyed curiosity and a taste for the unexpected.
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The tunes just circle like SUVs in a parking lot; there are traces of a head of steam, of a nod towards explosive tune-structures, but it seems the ball is dropped at the last minute in favour of a holding-pattern approach -- the familiar bassline and chorused keys. It's a letdown.
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Playing exactly like past Thievery Corporation albums that sounded preordained from the start, The Richest Man In Babylon adopts various degrees of swagger and repose, but the cumulative effect is striking mostly for its vacancy.
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UncutGuests like Emiliana Torrini and Shinehead help make this that rarity: an electronic album with personality. [Dec 2002, p.133]
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UrbThese Thieves have finally come into their own, developing a sound that's growing increasingly distinct. [Oct 2002, p.100]
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 12 out of 13
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Mixed: 0 out of 13
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Negative: 1 out of 13
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Jul 3, 2017
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PaulDApr 12, 2010One of my favorite all-time albums.
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VICKYKAug 13, 2005It's my favourite song...their live performance in Greece{26/07/2005} was fantastic!!Their chill out music really takes you in another world...