Logical Progression (also known as LTJ Bukem Presents Logical Progression) is a compilation album spearheaded by the English musician and label head LTJ Bukem, released in 1996.[2][3] It includes tracks by Bukem and artists who recorded for his label, Good Looking Records, as well as his remixes.[4][5]

Logical Progression
Compilation album by
LTJ Bukem
Released1996
GenreJungle, drum and bass
LabelGood Looking/ffrr[1]
ProducerLTJ Bukem, various
LTJ Bukem chronology
Mixmag Live!
(1996)
Logical Progression
(1996)
Promised Land Volume One
(1996)

The compilation was a commercial success.[6] (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide called it "a landmark drum-and-bass album," and, along with Goldie's Timeless, "perhaps one of the two most important drum-and-bass releases of the decade."[7]

Bukem promoted the album in the United States by playing the Enit Festival.[8]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [9]
Chicago Tribune    [10]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music     [11]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide     [12]
Muzik     [13]
The Philadelphia Inquirer    [8]
(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide     [7]

Eric Weisbard, writing in Spin, called the compilation "the most rhythmically rich drum'n'bass compilation I've heard, whir-whizz shimmer that's less reggae than other jungle, an uncut slice of British trendiness."[14] Rolling Stone wrote: "While Bukem's dense tunes fare slightly better than the anesthetized soundscapes that fill most of Logical Progression, it is tracks like Photek's spooky, claustrophobic 'Pharoah' (which sounds like 'Riders on the Storm' meets 'Cold Sweat' at high speed) and Aquarius and Tayla's oceanic 'Bringing Me Down' that provide the real sustenance."[15]

Newsday determined that "Bukem's songs 'Demon's Theme', 'Music' and 'Horizons' are like signature tunes from another galaxy, but his mix CD, replete with surface noise from the original vinyl, is doomed to attract that most damning of indictments from the uninitiated: that it all sounds the same."[16] The Chicago Tribune concluded that Bukem "charts new territory by orchestrating a psychedelic urban symphony incorporating trance's slow Middle Eastern tonalities, jungle's industrialized West Indian drum roll and a lyrically experimental hip-hop."[10] The Independent deemed the album a "spring-heeled, summer's-coming drum'n'bass selection."[17]

AllMusic wrote that "the house influences and steady rhythms make Logical Progression perhaps the best introduction to jungle for those not used to hyper-speed breakbeats."[9] MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide noted that "Demon's Theme" is "considered a classic."[12]

Track listing

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Disc one
No.TitleArtistLength
1."Demon's Theme"LTJ Bukem 
2."Links"Chameleon 
3."Music"LTJ Bukem 
4."One & Only"PFM 
5."Bringing Me Down"Aquarius & Tayla 
6."Danny's Song"PFM 
7."Vocal Tune"Peshay 
8."Coolin' Out"LTJ Bukem 
9."Western (Remix)"PFM/Conrad 
10."Horizons"LTJ Bukem 
Disc two
No.TitleArtistLength
1."Airtight (Remix)"Funky Technicians 
2."New Element"Form Form 
3."Drums in a Grip"F. De Wolf/Wax Doctor 
4."Solutions"Ils & Solo 
5."In Too Deep"JMJ & Flytronix 
6."So Long"Seba & Lo-Tec 
7."Pharaoh"Photek 
8."Miles High"DJ Trace 
9."Groove Therapy"Universal 
10."Mind Games"DJ Crystl 

References

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  1. ^ Comer, M. Tye (May 8, 2000). "Ace of Bass". CMJ New Music Report. Vol. 62, no. 665. p. 65.
  2. ^ "LTJ Bukem Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. ^ Hoffmann, Frank (November 12, 2004). Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound. Routledge.
  4. ^ Odell, Michael (Sep 1996). "Revolutions". Vibe. Vol. 4, no. 7. p. 221.
  5. ^ Shapiro, Peter (January 5, 1999). Drum 'n' Bass: The Rough Guide. Rough Guides.
  6. ^ "LTJ Bukem yo Tour Behind Long-Awaited Debut". MTV News. Archived from the original on May 4, 2017.
  7. ^ a b (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. 2004. p. 119.
  8. ^ a b DeLuca, Dan (4 Aug 1996). "The Pop Explosion That's Getting the British Excited". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. K1.
  9. ^ a b "Logical Progression, Level 1". AllMusic.
  10. ^ a b Armstrong, Mark (27 Dec 1996). "LTJ Bukem Logical Progression". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. 26.
  11. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 5. MUZE. pp. 358–359.
  12. ^ a b MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 173.
  13. ^ Virde, Veena (April 1996). "LTJ Bukem: Logical Progression" (PDF). Muzik. No. 11. p. 99. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  14. ^ Weisbard, Eric (Aug 1996). "Whatever". Spin. Vol. 12, no. 5. p. 104.
  15. ^ Micallef, Ken (Oct 3, 1996). "L.T.J. Bukem Presents Logical Progression". Rolling Stone. No. 744. p. 75.
  16. ^ Fletcher, Tony (8 Dec 1996). "The Beat of a Different Drum". Newsday. p. C23.
  17. ^ Thompson, Ben (21 Apr 1996). "Various Artists: Logical Progression". Review. The Independent. p. 22.