Even more out of sync with the prevailing trends upon its release -- Suede had hit the U.K. and Brit-pop's incipient reign was under way, while the U.S.A. still wanted its rock as manly grunge straight up -- Blood Music at once wasn't quite the best follow-up in the world and yet worked much better as an album than Whirlpool, which given that it was constructed from almost as many different sessions as the first album ranks as even more of a surprise. The band's increasingly schizophrenic tastes reflected themselves in the music from the start, as opener Don't Look Now started with a swirling bit of techno-psychedelia, punctuated by a guitar riff shortly afterward. Songwise, things were not quite as distinct this time around; singles We Are the Beautiful and She's a Vision felt a little too much like pale copies of earlier stompers like Pearl, though admittedly the vocals were a bit more up front. Taken as a whole, however, somehow the album holds together well -- everything flows just right throughout, shifting from the peppier semi-dance of Everytime to the chillier, slightly emptier Deli, from the more rocked-up nuggets like Greater Power to the calm, floaty ending, Love Forever. It wasn't enough in the end to ensure the success of the album or the continuation of the band, but Blood Music still has enough going for it to suggest Chapterhouse might have gone on to greater things next time through. Differing bonus discs appeared on U.K. and U.S. versions -- the former consisted of a full remix of the album by techno duo Global Communication, while the latter included a couple of remixes from other acts, a sweet little number called Frost, and the awesome Picnic, a 15-minute ambient/rock piece that arguably was their best-ever number. ~ Ned Raggett, Rovi

1		Mesmerise
2		Precious One
3		Summer Chill
4		Then We'll Rise
5		Frost
6		Age
7		Don't Look Now
8		There's Still Life
9		We Are the Beautiful
10		Summer's Gone
11		Everytime
12		Deli
13		On the Way to Fly
14		She's a Vision
15		Greater Power
16		Confusion Trip
17		Love Forever