What's That Noise? Explained

What's That Noise?
Type:	studio
Artist:	Coldcut
Cover:	Whats That Noise cover.jpg
Genre:	Electronic, house, alternative hip hop
Label:	Tommy Boy/Reprise/Warner Bros. 25974 (US) Big Life (UK)^[1] Ahead of Our Time (UK)
Producer:	Coldcut
Next Title:	Some Like It Cold
Next Year:	1990

What's That Noise? is the debut album by Coldcut, released in 1989.

Guests on the album include: Lisa Stansfield on "People Hold On" and "My Telephone", Mark E. Smith (the Fall) on "(I'm) In Deep", Junior Reid on "Stop This Crazy Thing", Queen Latifah on "Smoke 1" and Yazz on "Doctorin' the House".

The album peaked at No. 20 on the UK Albums Chart^[2] and at No. 103 on the Australian ARIA chart.^[3]

Critical reception

The album was featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Trouser Press wrote: "In between the vocal tracks are various 'Beats & Pieces', as one title has it: samples, melodies and grooves that help flesh out What's That Noise?, a patchy but generally rewarding debut."^[4] The Stranger called the album a "classic LP [that] married cut-and-paste techniques with old-fashioned songwriting smarts."^[5]

Track listing

1989 UK release

Side A

1. "People Hold On" (featuring Lisa Stansfield) – 3:58
2. "Fat (Party and Bullshit)" – 4:34
3. "(I'm) In Deep" (featuring Mark E. Smith) – 5:23
4. "My Telephone" (featuring Lisa Stansfield) – 5:26
5. "Theme from "Reportage"" – 1:35
6. "Which Doctor?" – 4:59

Side B

1. "Stop This Crazy Thing" (featuring Junior Reid) – 5:57
2. "No Connection" – 3:34
3. "Smoke 1" – 4:51
4. "Doctorin' the House" (Say R Mix) featuring Yazz – 5:18
5. "What's That Noise?" – 2:56

Some copies also contained a separate bonus 12" with the following tracklisting:

Side 1

1. "Beats & Pieces" (Mo Bass Remix) – 5:55
2. "Stop This Crazy Thing" (Hedmaster Mix) – 7:03

Side 2

1. "Maker Brake"
2. "Greedy's Back"
3. "Drawmasters Squeeze"
4. "Trak 22"

1989 US release

1. "People Hold On" (featuring Lisa Stansfield) – 3:58
2. "Fat (Party and Bullshit)" – 4:17
3. "(I'm) In Deep" (featuring Mark E. Smith) – 5:08
4. "My Telephone" (featuring Lisa Stansfield) – 4:54
5. "Theme from "Reportage"" – 1:35
6. "Which Doctor?" – 4:30
7. "Stop This Crazy Thing" (featuring Junior Reid) – 5:15
8. "No Connection" – 3:34
9. "Smoke Dis One" (Featuring Queen Latifah) – 5:40
10. "Not Paid Enough" – 7:23
11. "What's That Noise?" – 2:28
12. "Beats & Pieces" (Mo Bass Remix) – 6:00
13. "Stop This Crazy Thing" (Hedmaster Mix by Adrian Sherwood) – 7:00

Personnel

• Jonathan More – drum machine, bass, percussion, keyboard, engineering, turntable, sampler
• Matt Black – synthesizer, drum machine, keyboard, engineering, turntable, sampler
• Tony Harris – engineering
• George Shilling – engineering
• Lisa Stansfield – vocals
• Barry Clempson – engineering
• Ian Devaney – piano, keyboard
• Merlin T. – engineering
• Dave Campbell – engineering
• John Jamieson – keyboard
• Junior Reid – vocals
• Snowboy – percussion
• Mark E. Smith – vocals
• Cleveland Watkiss – backing vocals
• Queen Latifah – vocals
• Yasmina Evans – vocals

External links

• What's That Noise? Album at Discogs

Notes and References

1. Book: MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide . 1999 . Visible Ink Press . 254.
2. Web site: COLDCUT . Official Charts . 27 March 2021.
3. Web site: Coldcut ARIA chart history, received from ARIA in May 2024. ARIA. Imgur.com. 14 July 2024. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
4. Web site: Coldcut . Trouser Press . 27 March 2021.
5. Web site: Collage Graduates . The Stranger . 27 March 2021.