Release date:20-05-2005

2005 EU 8-track LP by the Canadian thrash metal trio -Though Digable Planets only released two albums, 1993's REACHIN' (A NEW REFUTATION OF TIME AND SPACE) and 1994's BLOWOUT COMB, they still established themselves as one of the most unique and sophisticated alternative hip-hop acts of the '90s. For some reason, however, the DPs never got their propers. A 2005 reunion tour and BEYOND THE SPECTRUM: THE CREAMY SPY CHRONICLES, Blue Note's well-packaged compilation of the group's output, should help to remedy that oversight.

Tracks: 
1         Intro        
A2         Dedicated        
A3         Nickel Bags        
A4         Jettin'       
B1         Where I'm From (Remix)        
B2         Three Slim's Dynamite        
B3         Dog It
C1         Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat)        
C2         Dial 7 (Axioms Of Creamy Spies)
C3         Graffiti
D1         Pacifics        
D2         9th Wonder: Blackitolism (Elaine Brown Mix)
D3         Where I'm From (LP Version)

Digable Planets formed in the early '90s, when Butterfly (b. Ishmael Butler, Brooklyn, NY) met Ladybug (B. Mary Ann Vieira, Silver Springs, MD) while attending college in Massachusetts. The two later hooked up with Doodlebug (b. Craig Irving, Philadelphia, PA), in Washington DC, and began recording. Their first single, "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)," hit the R&B Top Ten while their debut, Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space), was a critical and commercial success. After embarking on an ambitious tour, which included several live musicians, the Planets returned in late 1994 with their best album. Blowout Comb continued the group's jazz-rap fusion, but also saw them branching out to embrace the old school sound of the street as well. After Blowout Comb, Digable Planets gradually dissolved due to the dreaded "creative differences." 

Ten years later, the group has reunited, recently completing a tour and assembling a collection of hits, remixes and rarities for Blue Note. Beyond The Spectrum: The Creamy Spy Chronicles contains some of contemporary music's first gems and exclusive tracks that have spanned the decade and remain head-boppin' jams for the hip-hop generation.
Comprising tracks from the trio's two studio albums--including hits like "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)"--as well as two B-sides and two remixes, BEYOND THE SPECTRUM is the perfect introduction to the Planets' laid-back, jazz-fueled vibe. All the things that made their albums great sound as fresh and appealing as ever: the funky, head-nodding beats, the samples of Art Blakey and Lonnie Liston Smith, the witty hipster double-speak, and the mellifluous voices and flow of the three MCs (with Ladybug's sultry delivery adding perfect counterpoint). The set should help rescue them from obscurity and place them rightfully alongside such luminaries as Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul.