Never, Never, Land is the second album by the British electronic music act UNKLE, released on 22 September 2003. On 24 October 2004 an expanded edition entitled Never, Never, Land Revisited was released. The original album debuted at No. 71 in Australia. It was promoted by four singles: "Eye for an Eye", "In a State", "Reign" and "Safe in Mind", which was released only as a 12" promo.

Never, Never, Land
Studio album by
Released22 September 2003 (2003-09-22)
24 October 2004 (2004-10-24)
Genre
Length66:00
LabelMo'Wax (2003)
Global Underground (2004)
ProducerJames Lavelle
Richard File
Unkle chronology
Psyence Fiction
(1998)
Never, Never, Land
(2003)
Edit Music for a Film: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Reconstruction
(2005)
Alternative cover
Cover of 2004 double-CD edition
Never, Never, Land Revisited
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic66/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Blender[3]
Drowned in Sound8/10[4]
The Guardian[5]
Mojo[6]
Pitchfork5.0/10[7]
Rolling Stone[8]
SpinB[9]
Stylus8.4/10[10]
Under the Radar4/10[11]

The tracks on the album contain audio samples from the movies The Prophecy, Jacob's Ladder, THX 1138 and The Thin Red Line. "Panic Attack" samples the beat from "She's Lost Control" and "Inside" samples the beat from "New Dawn Fades", both original songs by English post-punk band Joy Division.

Track listing

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  1. "Back and Forth" – 0:54
  2. "Eye for an Eye" – 5:45
  3. "In a State" – 6:59
  4. "Safe in Mind (Please Get This Gun From Out My Face)" (featuring Josh Homme) – 6:21
  5. "I Need Something Stronger" (featuring Brian Eno & Jarvis Cocker) – 4:16
  6. "What Are You to Me?" – 6:45
  7. "Panic Attack" – 5:13
  8. "Invasion" (featuring 3D) – 5:15
  9. "Reign" (featuring Ian Brown and Mani) – 5:32
  10. "Glow" (featuring Joel Cadbury of South) – 4:19
  11. "Inside"– 8:20
  12. "Awake the Unkind" (Japanese version bonus track) – 4:35
  13. "Eye for an Eye Backwards" (Josh Homme & Alain Johannes Remix) (Never, Never, Land Revisited bonus track) – 6:23
  14. "Safe in Mind (Please Get This Gun From Out My Face)" (Chris Goss Remix) (Never, Never, Land Revisited bonus track) – 4:45

Disc two of Never, Never, Land Revisited: Inside Out

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  1. "Blackout" – 6:50
  2. "Tracier" – 2:09
  3. "Panic Attack" (Ape Sounds Remix) – 6:08
  4. "Reign" (Anagram - Psychonauts Remix) – 9:44
  5. "In a State" (DFA Remix) – 11:59
  6. "Invasion" (Medway Vs Eva Coast to Coast Remix) – 8:41
  7. "Have You Passed through This Night?" (Remix of the track "Eye for an Eye") – 9:35
  8. "Glow" (Hybrid Remix) – 7:58
  9. "In a State" (Sasha Remix) – 11:04

Miscellaneous

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Some CD versions of the album feature a hidden track in the pregap. The track can be heard by playing the beginning of track one and then using the rewind/search button to go back 0:18.

The track "Glow" was used as one of the insert songs of the 2009 film Push starring Dakota Fanning.

Samples

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  • "Back and Forth"
    • The narrator/voice of the first track is Street poet Robert Alan Weiser.
    • Black Sabbath - "Changes" (only appears in early leaked versions of the album, but readily available on public websites, e.g. YouTube)
  • "Eye for an Eye"
    • The film The Prophecy (vocal sample: "Even now in heaven there were angels carrying savage weapons")
    • James Asher- "Fairground Ghost"
    • The Undisputed Truth – "Ball of Confusion"
    • The film The Thin Red Line (vocal samples: "Does it help the grass to grow? The sun to shine?", "Is this darkness in you too? Have you passed through this night?", "This great evil. Where's it come from?")
  • "Safe in Mind"
    • The film Fallen (vocal sample: "I like the night. The street. The smells. The sense of another world. Sometimes you come face to face with yourself.")
  • "I Need Something Stronger"
    • William Blake's Introduction, from Songs of Innocence and of Experience (poem, 1795)
    • The film THX 1138 (vocal sample: "what's wrong?" Nothing, really. I just, you know, i need something stronger", "Can you feel this? What is that buzzin'")
    • The film Jacob's Ladder (vocal sample: "It's just a matter of how you look at it, that's all")
  • "Panic Attack"
  • "Reign"
    • "Scott Walker" - "Farmer in the City (Remembering Pasolini)"
  • "Inside"
  • "Blackout"

Charts

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Chart (2003) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[12] 71
French Albums (SNEP)[13] 82
Irish Albums (IRMA)[14] 57
UK Albums (OCC)[15] 24
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[16] 6

References

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  1. ^ "Never Never Land by Unkle". Metacritic. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  2. ^ Bush, John. "UNKLE – Never, Never, Land". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  3. ^ The pulse underscoring the album keeps it hopping when the songs meander. [Nov 2004, p.142]
  4. ^ Anonymous, Adam. "UNKLE - Never, Never, Land". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 19 June 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  5. ^ Sullivan, Caroline. "UNKLE, Never, Never, Land". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 September 2003.
  6. ^ At points UNKLE verge on Moby car advert territory, but judicious sampling and that deadpan sci-fi spirit keep the album the right side of experimental. [Sep 2003, p.113]
  7. ^ Plagenhoef, Scott. "Unkle - Never, Never, Land". Pitchfork. Retrieved 28 January 2004.
  8. ^ Deihl, Matt. "U.N.K.L.E. - Never, Never, Land". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 13 November 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2004.
  9. ^ "SPIN Dec 2004 (Page 124)". Spin. Retrieved 1 December 2004.
  10. ^ Mathers, Ian. "Unkle - Never, Never, Land". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on 20 June 2004. Retrieved 11 February 2004.
  11. ^ Most of the songs on this record float by, leaving little or no impression. [#7]
  12. ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 13 October 2003" (PDF) (712). Australian Recording Industry Association. Australian Web Archive. 13 October 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 November 2003. Retrieved 12 June 2016. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  13. ^ "Lescharts.com – Unkle – Never Never Land". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  14. ^ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 39, 2003". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  15. ^ "Unkle | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  16. ^ "Unkle Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 12 June 2016.