This is an oddity. An instrumental yet not in any 'typical' sense, "24 Hours..." has a whole new sound which demands the listener listen in a different way...
This must have sounded very new back in the day, with its deep, bassy, stripped down club sound, and its cool 'undervibe' providing a distinctly 'chilled out' feel. It's an 'underground' club sound - a London sound - and simply couldn't have existed a few months earlier.
It was certainly a new New Musik. This was simply a good 8 - 10 years ahead of its time. I remember thinking how contemporary (if not futuristic) it still sounded back in 1992 when I first heard it. I don't think anyone else was doing this kind of music back then (early 80s music was not bassy), which makes me believe this could be something of a sadly ignored 'classic' of its time.
As a B-side I feel this was at least as good as the singles, and certainly good enough to have taken its own place on the album (maybe in lieu of the Beatles' cover?)
It makes me wonder if Tony later went on to make other similar types of 'dance' music on his "100% Love" white label in the early 1990s.
(Sadly I may never know the answer as these recordings seem impossible to find now).
And maybe it should be explained for the benefit of new fans, but there was no part I, not that got released anyway. It was the lads having an 'avant guarde' moment. Or something...
;)
92/100
(Richard M)
B site to the 'Planet' single, I recall being rather taken by this when I first heard it. Being no stranger to electronic music instrumentals, this immediately dropped right into my comfort zone. I think this is only the 2nd NM instrumental? OK, perhaps the third if you include the 'Kingdoms' snippet. Oh, then there's 'Chik Musik' and 'Magazine Musik'. And does 'Green and Red (Respectively)' count as an instrumental?
OK, what I'm trying to say is that unlike 'The Office', this is credited to Mansfield, not Gates. And indeed it is a very different beast. Stripped down, minimalistic, but with some delicious bass synth and effects. If you heard this after 'Warp', it probably slots right in there. But, this came 6 months before and was quite a digression, coming off the back of 'Anywhere'.
Sound quality fares better then it's a side sibling on the Japanese release of Warp. But it still sounds a bit mushy. I bet this sounded stunning as it was being mixed in the studio from the master tape.
Overall, 'Culture' is a bit of an enigma. An oddity. But a good one at that.
Oh, and whatever happened to 'Part I'? ;-)
(Graham G)