Album lore

Vegas, The Crystal Method’s inaugural full-length, emerged in 1997 on Tiny E Records, staking a claim in the American electronic canon with its ten tracks of big beat, breakbeat, and electronica. Recorded and assembled by Scott Kirkland and Ken Jordan, the album nods to diverse sources: “Busy Child” samples Eric B. & Rakim’s “Juice (Know the Ledge),” while “Trip Like I Do” incorporates elements from Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal and an answering machine message, lending an idiosyncratic texture. “Keep Hope Alive” draws from a Jesse Jackson speech, and “Bad Stone” threads in Bill Cosby’s stand-up routines from his 1963 Wonderfulness album, an unusual archival touch.The album’s resonance extended beyond the club, with tracks like “Busy Child” and “Keep Hope Alive” surfacing in film and television, while “High Roller” found new life in commercials and airshow circuits. A decade later, Vegas was revisited in a deluxe edition, remastered and expanded with remixes from Paul Oakenfold, Deadmau5, and others, preserving its place in the electronic lineage. The original remains a touchstone for crate-diggers and DJs who prize the fusion of breakbeat grit and electronic polish that defined a moment in late-90s American dance music.

Album lore

Vegas, The Crystal Method’s inaugural full-length, emerged in 1997 on Tiny E Records, staking a claim in the American electronic canon with its ten tracks of big beat, breakbeat, and electronica. Recorded and assembled by Scott Kirkland and Ken Jordan, the album nods to diverse sources: “Busy Child” samples Eric B. & Rakim’s “Juice (Know the Ledge),” while “Trip Like I Do” incorporates elements from Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal and an answering machine message, lending an idiosyncratic texture. “Keep Hope Alive” draws from a Jesse Jackson speech, and “Bad Stone” threads in Bill Cosby’s stand-up routines from his 1963 Wonderfulness album, an unusual archival touch.The album’s resonance extended beyond the club, with tracks like “Busy Child” and “Keep Hope Alive” surfacing in film and television, while “High Roller” found new life in commercials and airshow circuits. A decade later, Vegas was revisited in a deluxe edition, remastered and expanded with remixes from Paul Oakenfold, Deadmau5, and others, preserving its place in the electronic lineage. The original remains a touchstone for crate-diggers and DJs who prize the fusion of breakbeat grit and electronic polish that defined a moment in late-90s American dance music.