Critics give U.F.Orb a B-Side Breakdown of 88 (B+), from 10 reviews at outlets we track. Scores run 80 to 100.
The verdict on U.F.Orb
10 of 10 critics liked it, and they mostly agree.
- Highest 100 Select and AllMusic
- Lowest 80 Uncut, The Rolling Stone Album Guide, Record Collector and Encyclopedia of Popular Music
- By the numbers The best-reviewed album of The Orb's career on B-Side Breakdowns, ahead of The Orb’s Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld (83). The seventh best-reviewed album of 1992 we've tracked.
| The gist | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Select via Wikipediaby Andrew Perry | 5/5 | 100 | 2005 | |
| AllMusic via Wikipediaby John Bush | 5/5 | 100 | ||
| Entertainment Weekly via Wikipediaby Benjamin Svetkey | A | 95 | 1992 | |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide via Wikipedia | 9/10 | 90 | 2005 | |
| NME via Wikipediaby Iestyn George | 9/10 | 90 | 1992 | |
| Robert Christgau via Wikipediaby Robert Christgau | B- | 81 | 1993 | |
| Uncut via Wikipedia | 4/5 | 80 | 2005 | |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide via Wikipediaby Douglas Wolk | 4/5 | 80 | 2004 | “Previously published as: Rolling Stone album guide” |
| Record Collector via Wikipediaby Spencer Grady | 4/5 | 80 | 2007 | “Ambient house, ambient techno, pop ambient; The Orb birthed these and multiple other dance sub-genres. UFOrb is the group’s second album and their” |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music via Wikipediaby Colin Larkin | 4/5 | 80 | 2005 |
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U.F.Orb in The Orb's catalog
How these critics usually treat The Orb
- Record Collector Harsher than usual8 points below the other critics here. Usually 14 points above on The Orb's other albums (5).
- NME Kinder than usual3 points above the other critics here. Usually 15 points below on The Orb's other albums (7).
- AllMusic Kinder than usual14 points above the other critics here. Usually 3 points above on The Orb's other albums (13).
- Uncut About usual for them8 points below the other critics here. Usually 6 points below on The Orb's other albums (6).
More from The Orb
← Earlier The Orb’s Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld (1991)Later → Orbus Terrarum (1995)
More Electronic from around 1992
Would you spin it again?
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How the Breakdown works
Every outlet’s score is converted to 0–100 (2/5 is 40, 5.9/10 is 59, a B+ is 88) and averaged. Grades follow the B-Side scale: A is 90–100, B 80–89, C 70–79, D 60–69, F below 60. Approval is the share of critics who scored it 75 or higher; the Breakdown shows green at 75 and up, red below. Divisiveness asks a different question: not how many critics liked it, but how close their scores are to each other. Five critics who all give it 50 are Unanimous, even though none of them liked it. The labels run Unanimous, Broad agreement, Some debate, Divided, and Contentious. Replay rate comes from listeners, not critics: yes counts fully, a few tracks counts half, no counts zero. The gist quotes each outlet’s own summary of its review. Published is the date on the review itself, read from the outlet’s page, so you can see whether an album’s reputation came at release or years later. Scores marked est. come from reviews that publish no number. Scores marked via Wikipedia are archive ratings, mostly for older albums, taken from the “Professional ratings” box on the album’s Wikipedia page (published openly through Wikidata); each links to the original review when we can find it online, and to that Wikipedia entry when we can’t. When an outlet reviewed an album twice, years apart (often for a reissue), both scores count, each labeled with its year.
A-Side marks the critics’ top tier. An album earns it automatically, from its numbers alone: a Breakdown of 90 or higher, from at least 5 reviews, with at least 75% approval. Nobody hands it out and nobody can buy it; if new reviews pull an album below the line, it loses the badge.
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