All Systems Gone is a 1999 album by Presence, a project from producer
Charles Webster featuring vocalists
Shara Nelson
Shara Nelson (born 1965) is an English singer and songwriter. She worked with Massive Attack in the early 1990s, and as a solo artist had five UK top 40 hit singles. Her 1993 debut album, ''What Silence Knows'', was shortlisted for the Mercury ...
and Sara Jay, both of whom had previously worked with
Massive Attack
Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall.
The debut Massive Attack album ''Blue Lines'' was release ...
, and
Steve Edwards, formerly a member of Cloud 9, released on the Pagan label in the UK.
Recording
Webster had recorded under the name Presence since the 1995 single "My Baby" and had a UK hit in 1998 with "Sense of Danger", which reached no. 61 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
.
[Presence]
, Official Charts Company
The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France.
In the United Kingdom, its charts inc ...
. Retrieved 16 June 2014 This was followed a year later by "Future Love", which peaked at no. 66.
Both hit singles were included on the album, along with singles "The Strength" and "Better Day". Unlike much of the genre, the album is very song-based, with Webster explaining "I wanted to make a proper album as opposed to a strict house album. I wanted the songs to have depth and emotion."
[Paoletta, Michael (1999)]
U.K.'s Charles Webster Maintains Unorthodox Presence
, ''Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'', 9 January 1999, p. 22. Retrieved 16 June 2014 Nelson said of the collaboration "Charles' songs really stood out from the tracks I tend to receive. They were dance-based, but they had real depth and soul, which is very unusual."
[Verrico, Lisa (1999)]
Touched by Your Presence
, ''Scotland on Sunday
''Scotland on Sunday'' is a Scottish Sunday newspaper, published in Edinburgh by JPIMedia and consequently assuming the role of Sunday sister to its daily stablemate ''The Scotsman''. It was originally printed in broadsheet format but in 2013 ...
'', 21 February 1999.
Reception
The album received much critical acclaim with ''
DJ'' magazine giving it an 11/10 rating, and
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
calling it "Probably the first classic record of the 21st century."
[''All Systems Gone'']
, ''NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'', 4 January 1999. Retrieved 16 June 2014[Larkin, Colin (2000) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Nineties Music'', Virgin Books, , p. 315][Greenwald, Matthew]
''All Systems Gone''
, Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
. Retrieved 16 June 2014 ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' awarded it a 7/10 rating, describing it as "a collection of subtle, soothing, densely-textured compositions".
''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' reviewer Michael Paoletta described it as "beautifully awash in melancholic melodies, soulful vocals, and atmospheric landscapes".
[Paoletta, Michael (2000)]
Presence ''All Systems Gone''
, ''Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'', 22 January 2000, p. 30. Retrieved 16 June 2014
Track listing
References
{{Authority control
1999 albums