Rhythm and Stealth

Rhythm and Stealth
Studio album by Leftfield
Released	20 September 1999
Recorded	1998–1999
Genre	Electronica, trip hop, breakbeat, dub
Length	52:48
Label	Hard Hands, Higher Ground, Sony BMG
Producer	Leftfield and Nick Rapaccioli (track 6)
Leftfield chronology
Leftism (1995) Rhythm and Stealth (1999) Stealth Remixes (2000)
Alternative cover
Cover for re–release with remix CD

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Pitchfork Media	6.3/10[2]
Q	[3]
Uncut	[4]
Rolling Stone	[5]
Select	[6]
Melody Maker	[7]
Alternative Press	[8]
Muzik	[9]
NME	[10]

Rhythm and Stealth is the second album by Leftfield released on 20 September 1999. It was the follow-up to 1995's Leftism. The album reached No. 1 in the UK album chart. It was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in 2000 but lost out to Badly Drawn Boy's The Hour of Bewilderbeast.

Rhythm and Stealth had a notably harsher underlying beat than its predecessor with songs such as "Phat Planet" and "Afrika Shox" being much darker than those on the previous album. The album is best known amongst the public for the song "Phat Planet", which was featured in Guinness' 1999 advert Surfer and the animated series Beast Machines, although the song was never released as a single. The best selling single from the album was "Afrika Shox" featuring Afrika Bambaataa which peaked at No. 7 in the UK Singles Chart.

The album was released on CD, cassette, double-LP, quintuple 10" box set and MiniDisc (COLUMBIA 488527 8). "Double Flash" was one of the songs that was remixed into the European release of MTV Music Generator, known as Music 2000. The album was re-released on 29 May 2000 with a bonus disk of remixed versions which was also released as an album on its own, Stealth Remixes. The song "Swords" was featured in the 1999 film Go.

Track listing

1. "Dusted" (featuring Roots Manuva) – 4:41
2. "Phat Planet" – 5:24
3. "Chant of a Poor Man" (featuring Cheshire Cat) – 5:54
4. "Double Flash" – 4:11
5. "El Cid" – 6:02
6. "Afrika Shox" (featuring Afrika Bambaataa) – 5:37
7. "Dub Gussett" – 4:51
8. "Swords" (featuring Nicole Willis) – 5:07
9. "6/8 War" – 4:13
10. "Rino's Prayer" (featuring Rino) – 6:44

• A special edition was released in Australia and Japan containing a bonus track "Phat Planet (Version 2)"

Bonus CD

1. "Phat Planet" (Dave Clarke Remix) – 5:52
2. "El Cid" (I-Cube Simple Mix) – 5:52
3. "Rino's Prayer" (Nick Rapaccioli Remix) – 5:39
4. "Chant of a Poor Man" (Mighty Quark Remix) – 5:24
5. "Dub Gussett" (Maas Remix) – 6:33
6. "El Cid" (I-Cube Table Tennis Remix) – 6:49
7. "Double Flash" (Headstarter Remix) – 6:11
8. "Afrika Shox (CD-ROM video version) – 4:52
9. "Dusted" (CD-ROM video version) – 4:43

External links

1. Bush, John. "Leftfield: Rhythm and Stealth" at AllMusic. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
2. Cooper, Paul (31 August 1999). "Rhythm and Stealth – Leftfield". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
3. Q (9/99, pp. 98–9) – 3 stars (out of 5) – "... it sounds incredible.... mid-paced dub workouts, dancefloor assaults and ambient interludes appear in roughly the same ratio this time round.... On the functional tracks – whether chillout lullabies or dance stompers – Leftfield... prove [they] can still make a party go with a swing, or persuade everyone to calm down before something gets broken..."
4. http://www.leftfield-online.co.uk/reviews/rasuncut.htm
5. Hendrickson, Matt (28 October 1999). "Leftfield: Rhythm and Stealth". Rolling Stone (RS 824). ISSN 0035-791X. Archived from the original on 28 January 2008.
6. http://www.leftfield-online.co.uk/reviews/rasselect.htm
7. http://www.leftfield-online.co.uk/reviews/rasmm.htm
8. Alternative Press (11/99, p. 108) – 4 out of 5 – "... they haven't lost any of [their] genius.... Leftfield create no two songs alike..."
9. Muzik (10/99, p. 96) – 5 stars out of 5 – "... RHYTHM & STEALTH is awesome.... [Its] devotion to pushing the sonic boom barrier becomes increasingly rewarding..."
10. "Rhythm & Stealth – Leftfield". NME. 16 August 1991. Retrieved 27 February 2012.