Zero 7 - Simple Things (Special Edition) (2001/2018) & When It Falls (Special Edition) (2004/2019)

The men behind the European downtempo outfit Zero 7 – producers Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker – launched their careers in the music industry as tea boys at a London recording studio. Shortly thereafter, however, both were in the thick of action, working alongside a string of well-known British musicians such as the Pet Shop Boys and Robert Plant. They spent the best part of the '90s honing their production skills behind the scenes. Then, after taking on the name of a nightclub in Honduras, the duo gradually began unleashing their own ideas onto an unsuspecting public.

First came a handful of remixes, including Radiohead's "Climbing Up the Walls" and Terry Callier's "Love Theme from Spartacus." Then came Zero 7's own material, beginning with the release of EP 1 in 1999. Only a handful of copies were made and they sold out in a matter of days, a feat that was repeated with Zero 7's second release, EP 2. The duo's first full-length album, Simple Things, came out amid much salivating from the media in mid-2001. A collection of laid-back soul, acid jazz, and funk tracks, the album carried collaborations with respected vocalists Mozez, Sia Furler, and Sophie Barker. A sophomore effort, When It Falls, appeared in March 2004, followed two years later by the Grammy-nominated Garden, which included contributions from longtime partner Sia as well as Swedish star José González. Meanwhile, Zero 7's presence on the popular Garden State soundtrack helped attract a wider audience, endearing the group's music to crowds that didn't typically follow the downtempo scene.

Despite the gathering momentum (which increased when Garden was nominated for a Grammy in 2007), Zero 7 was left without a principal vocalist when Sia Furler left the group's fold, choosing instead to focus on her songwriting career. Binns and Hardaker soon aligned themselves with a different singer, the London-based Eska Mtungwazi, whose influence resulted in a new emphasis on pop music. Released in 2009, Yeah Ghost unveiled Zero 7's retooled mix of pop-influenced electronica and ambient jazz, and the group toured on both sides of the Atlantic in support of its release.

A double CD edition of the Mercury Prize-nominated album, featuring live sessions and previously unreleased tracks and remixes, was released on November 30 2018.

The collection was originally released in 2001 and was a slow burner on the Official Chart, peaking at Number 28 but spending 56 weeks inside the Top 100. To date, it's sold 439,000 in the UK, earning it Platinum status.

Simple Things includes two songs featuring vocals from Sia, Top 40 hit Destiny and Distractions. Both tracks have remained popular over the years as Sia's career and streaming took off. Destiny has 5.7 million plays in the UK since record began in 2014, while the record's other single, In The Waiting Line, has notched up 6.3 million streams.

Many of the tracks on disc 2 of the release have never been made available before – including 3 live sessions from 2002 on San Francisco radio station KFOG (Simple Things, Destiny and Waiting Line) and 2 tracks originally only on the Japanese version of the album (Spinning and Monday Night).

AllMusic Review by Tim DiGravina
Forget the rampant labeling of Zero 7 as the "British Air," because Simple Things is a debut album that stands on its own as a chilled, subtle collection of organic songs. There are hints of Air, but there are equally relevant comparisons that might be made with Morcheeba, Rae & Christian, Nightmares on Wax, and early Massive Attack. Indeed, after Morcheeba's overproduced Fragments of Freedom and Rae & Christian's sloppy Sleepwalking, Simple Things picks up the slack in a rewarding manner. Simple Things might just be a gentle Cinderella, a kind stepsister to Massive Attack's dark masterpiece, Mezzanine. It's rare that a post-trip-hop album is so interesting and engrossing, but the duo of Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker mix a number of musical elements, such as soul-influenced diva vocals, gurgling and ringing keyboards, and classical string arrangements, into a relaxing, potent wave of sounds. Though the album starts to meander in its closing tracks, the first 50 minutes are cohesive, vibrant, and calming. Highlights are too numerous to call out, as the duo switches from instrumentals to songs featuring passionate, energized vocals from Mozez, Sia Furler, and Sophie Barker. All three vocalists mingle as perfect matches to the smart arrangements. Twinkling keyboards, barely-there basslines, and acoustic guitars create rolling melodies that never interfere with the task at hand, that of chiseling textured aural atmospheres. Simple Things is an accomplished slice of soulful genius that rewards frequent spins.

the seminal electronic band’s classic sophomore returns to physical form, resuming its role as the essential soundtrack to any laidback summer chilling. ***CD2 includes acoustic versions of 4 tracks from a live session originally broadcasted on Berlins’ Radio Eins that year. “Light Blue Movers” was only available on the Japanese release of the album, The Alternative Mix of “Home” that has only been released on a 10” pressing for Record Store Day 2019 and it also includes some key remixes of album tracks from Danger Mouse, Stereolab, Motor City Drum Ensemble & Yam Who?*** Singles taken from the original album include “Home” with Tina Dico on vocal duties, “Warm Sounds” featuring Mozez. Sia and Sophie Barker also feature on the album, on tracks “Somersault”, “In Time” and “Speed Dial No. 2”.

AllMusic Review by John Bush
Downbeat acts proceed down the middle of the road at their own peril. While such a path may guarantee them a lucrative career in Starbucks outlets and on crossover compilations, the onset of advanced musicianship and mature songwriting often comes at the expense of artistic ability (see the steady downward fall of Groove Armada for an example). Zero 7, one of the few acts following in the wake of Air that had the talent to match, debuted with a record (Simple Things) that featured some of the warmest, most mellifluous tracks heard in electronic music since Moon Safari. When It Falls, their second record, finds the duo largely sticking to the same formula, with all the sinewy basslines and languorous vocals that follow along. As before, Zero 7 is more of a band than most downbeat acts, with credits for bass, guitar, and drums plus keyboards, brass, flute, and strings. Much of the record is nearly perfect downbeat, and the productions of Zero 7 main men Sam Hardaker and Henry Binns mesh perfectly with the instrumentation – so well, in fact, that the record threatens to sink into a nether region of pop music that's both flawless and harmless, more adult alternative than electronic pop. There's nothing wrong with that prospect, but when a downbeat act begins to emulate a pop act, the situation practically demands developed songs and tighter hooks. Unfortunately, only a few tracks here meet those criteria. Fortunately, though, they are beautiful indeed. On "Home," new addition Tina Dico summons the downy, pastoral yearning that's become de rigueur for downbeat female vocalists, and the returning Sia Furler shines on a track ("Somersault") that's simultaneously spacy and down-home. Sophie Barker, the star of Simple Things' "Destiny," returns for "In Time," one of the sweetest tracks Zero 7 has ever produced. The rest of the record, however, possesses very few of the unburnished edges needed by albums with character or personality. When It Falls reaches a nadir of sorts on "The Space Between," a pleasant song that unfortunately descends into self-parody over the course of its six minutes – two minutes of which are taken up by an overripe harmonica solo.

Tracklist
Disc 1 (01:00:52)
1. I Have Seen (05:07)
2. Polaris (04:48)
3. Destiny (05:38)
4. Give It Away (05:17)
5. Simple Things (04:24)
6. Red Dust (05:40)
7. Distractions (05:16)
8. In The Waiting Line (04:32)
9. Out Of Town (04:48)
10. This World (05:36)
11. Likufanele (06:06)
12. End Theme (03:40)

Disc 2 (01:04:27)
1. Simple Things (Kfog Live Session) (03:31)
2. Destiny (Kfog Live Session) (04:00)
3. In The Waiting Line (Kfog Live Session) (04:14)
4. Monday Night (06:34)
5. Spinning (06:06)
6. Salt Water Sound (05:27)
7. Distractions (Version Idjut) (07:09)
8. In The Waiting Line (Dorfmeister Con Madrid De Los Austrias Dub) (06:41)
9. End Theme (Herberts Chop Dub) (05:06)
10. Distractions (Block 16 Remix) (08:27)
11. Destiny (Photek Remix) (07:12)
___
Disc 1 (59:04)
1. Warm Sound (05:29)
2. Home (04:36)
3. Somersault (06:57)
4. Over Our Heads (04:27)
5. Passing By (04:51)
6. When It Falls (05:30)
7. The Space Between (06:01)
8. Look Up (05:56)
9. In Time (04:57)
10. Speed Dial No. 2 (03:49)
11. Morning Song (06:31)

Disc 2 (53:26)
1. Warm Sound (Radio Eins Acoustic Session) (03:32)
2. Home (Radio Eins Acoustic Session) (03:17)
3. Somersault (Radio Eins Acoustic Session) (03:25)
4. In Time (Radio Eins Acoustic Session) (04:04)
5. Home (Alternative Mix) (04:36)
6. Light Blue Movers (05:29)
7. Somersault (Danger Mouse Remix ft. MF DOOM) (feat. MF Doom) (03:34)
8. Home (Stereolab Remix) (06:50)
9. Somersault (Reworked By Yam Who?) (08:24)
10. Home (Motor City Drum Ensemble Remix) (10:15)