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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.
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Nothing here has quite the same panache as club hits like "Bingo Bango" or "Romeo," but "Crazy Itch Radio" nonetheless contains a handful of songs that reassert Basement Jaxx's superior production skills and unfailing ability to get any dance party grooving.
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BlenderWay too much fun. [Oct 2006, p.130]
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Their experiments have only caused them to stumble off the path they’ve tread, finally tripping to one side of the thin line between smash and schmaltz.
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"Crazy Itch Radio"... is the sound of an act running out of steam as it settles for the lowest common denominator with a nonchalant shrug of the shoulders.
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If you boarded the good ship 'Jaxx back in the Nineties, Crazy Itch Radio won’t see you throwing yourself overboard any time soon. If you were waving it away from the shore, though, this won’t see you splashing your way through the sea to catch up.
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Crazy and fun, this is for the people who thought Gnarls Barkley's album was a little too tame.
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Entertainment WeeklyThe album's energy flags later on, but its highlights are equally suited for dance-floor or headphone listening. [15 Sep 2006, p.77]
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FilterUncharacteristically lazy beats, chintzy instrumentation, ambiguous "sexy soul" vocalists and third-grade lyrics. [#22, p.96]
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MagnetCrazy Itch Radio is catchy overload. [#73, p.86]
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MojoA funny, funky and gloriously eccentric stew. [Oct 2006, p.100]
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For all the colour and flair apparent on Crazy Itch Radio, and despite some genuine gems... a reliance on production and arrangement where some more killer tunes would have worked more memorably is, perhaps, an indication that the Jaxx have, down the years, simply set the bar high.
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New Musical Express (NME)It's easy enough to ignore until a real stinker passes by. [2 Sep 2006, p.21]
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Crazy Itch Radio cements Basement Jaxx reputation as Britain's gold-standard dance duo.
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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.
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'Crazy Itch Radio' bumbles along with mid-paced beats and, it seems, too many disparate influences to really hold together.
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Like a nervous listener station-surfing for the next big fix, Crazy Itch Radio is the end result, the space where successive sounds subconsciously collapse upon each other.
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Infectious, progressive, immediate dance music.
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Q MagazineMaybe if they had calmed down a bit, Crazy Itch Radio wouldn't be Basement Jaxx's fourth best album. [Oct 2006, p.126]
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Crazy Itch Radio's not the Sign O' The Times that Rooty fans have been waiting for, but it's a more-than-serviceable Lovesexy.
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SpinNo instant classics... but the productions remain fresh, hype, and kaleidoscopic. [Oct 2006, p.94]
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The transition from tracks to songs forces the group to rein in a style that needs to be no-holds-barred. When Basement Jaxx uses this restraint to their advantage... it’s easy to buy the direction they taken. When it doesn’t, Crazy Itch Radio just makes the group appear dense.
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Where past albums like Rooty and especially 2003's Kish Kash seemed intent on eating listeners' brains by way of shuddering rhythms and hyper-dense pastiche, Crazy Itch Radio seems content to just lick those brains and let them get off on the restraint.
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So the first-listen impact has been lessened, but the growing affection ends up in the same place as always.
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Though their daft interludes and kitchen-sink production sound too familiar, Crazy Itch Radio can still surprise.
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UncutAdopt[s] a more relaxed approach than 2003's obsessively intricate Kish Kash. [Oct 2006, p.106]
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Under The RadarThis album feels and sounds like a tossed-off collection of odds and sods instead of an album of A grade tracks. [#15]
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UrbTheir best album since... Remedy. [Sep 2006, p.131]
User score distribution:
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Positive: 17 out of 22
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Mixed: 2 out of 22
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Negative: 3 out of 22
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Dec 7, 2010
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jdFeb 3, 2007the first 1/2 of the cd is very very good -- after that, 1 choice cut, several mediocre
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JorgeRDec 31, 2006I like all the radio-like effects... DaftPunk-cious xD... But there's a lot of annoying "intros" for a few songs...