Big Audio Dynamite - Entering A New Ride (1997)

By 1995 Big Audio Dynamite had been going for 10 years, and so their record label CBS put out 'Planet BAD - The Greatest Hits', whilst the band signed a new deal with Radioactive Records and released the album 'F-Punk' under their original name of Big Audio Dynamite. It was much more guitar orientated than previous albums, although club influences were still very much in evidence, with reviews praising the fact that it bridged the gap between rock and underground dance music, this time acid house, ambient and the ultra-fast beats of jungle. Despite the positive reviews the album wasn't a major commercial success, and the next year the band would play no live dates at all, as they worked on new material which would see them change direction once again. Work started on their second album for Radioactive in 1996, following line-up changes which saw Chris Kavanagh and Gary Stonadge leaving the band, whilst guitarist Nick Hawkins played on the sessions, but left to form his own group Dynamo Jo after the album was completed. New members Joe Attard (DJ/vocals), Bob Wond (drums/vocals), and Daryl Fulstow (bass/vocals) were recruited along with Ranking Roger on vocals, who had previously enjoyed success with both The Beat and General Public. As there were now two DJ's in the band, the emphasis switched from the guitar-driven sound of the 'F-Punk' album, to music that once again reflected current trends in UK club culture, and unlike 'Megatop Phoenix', Mick Jones' vocals were not present throughout the album, and he was credited as being the guitarist and MC. This meant other members of the group contributed more to the album vocally than on any previous projects, and it sounded somewhat different to anything the band had issued before. So different, in fact, that Radioactive Records refused to release the album when it was finished, as it seems they couldn't work out how to market a band who could change styles so dramatically from one album to the next. Promotional copies of both the single 'Sunday Best' and the album were circulated, but despite positive comments Radioactive refused to change their stance, and both the single and the album remain officially unreleased. Fans of the band started an internet campaign known as 'BAD Aid', in which they encouraged other fans to write to Radioactive Records showing an interest in the album, and requesting its release, but despite a great deal of time and effort by a number of fans the album remains in the Radioactive vaults to this day. Some time later it began to circulate amongst the band members as CD-R copies, and they started to release the tracks as mp3 files through their web-site, but they didn't manage to get through the entire album before they shut down the page and the group was history. By collecting all the files released through the site, plus other tracks that have leaked online, we can at last hear the complete album, which includes a couple of bonus tracks from the original sessions. 

Track listing

01 Man, That Is Dynamite!  
02 B.A.D. And The Night Time Ride  
03 Sunday Best  
04 Must Be The Music  
05 Taking You To Another Dimension  
06 Sound Of The B.A.D.  
07 Cozy Ten Minutes  
08 Get High  
09 Bang Ice Geezer  
10 On The Ones And Twos  
11 Nice And Easy  
12 Go With The Flow 
13 Sound Of The Joe  

For a full history of Big Audio Dynamite check out this site.