page_title: Obey the Time
section_title: Composition
hierarchical_section_title: Obey the Time / Composition
caption_attribution_description: Vinni Reilly (The Durutti Column)
context_page_description: Obey the Time is the eighth studio album by English band The Durutti Column, released in 1990 by Factory Records. Conceived during the middle of the popularity of acid house in the band's native Manchester, band leader Vini Reilly chose to combine acid house, and other electronic dance music styles, with his signature guitar playing on a new album. He created the album in his home studio with engineer Paul Miller. Drummer Bruce Mitchell only plays on one song, with his slot being filled by drum machines on the remaining tracks. As such, critics have described Obey the Time as a Vini Reilly solo album.
  The album was named after a line from William Shakespeare's Othello, which Reilly felt reflected his musical approach on the album. The album's artwork, designed by regular collaborators 8vo, marked a turning point in the band's sleeve designs with its usage of computer design. A remix of "Contra-Indications" by British group Together was released as a single in 1991. Upon its release, Obey the Time received mixed reviews, though retrospective reviews have been positive, with critics complimenting its blend of electronic and rock music. A remastered version was released in 1998.
context_section_description: For Obey the Time, Reilly aimed to combine acid house music with his trademark guitar approach. While drawing influence from contemporary dance music styles, in particular the aforementioned late 1980s popularity of acid house in his native Manchester, he also drew inspiration from "dubby world music" and "chilled-out electronica" styles. Characterised by its usage of drum machine, unobtrusive piano and gently reverberated guitars, the album is defined by how its synthesises contemporary styles that "create something distinctly different," according to Ned Raggett of AllMusic. It is more aggressive than previous Reilly albums, with its reliance on constant beats accompanied by "sprinkled" guitar and piano. Writer Martin C. Strong felt the tracks were styled after New Order and exuded a cold feel. One biography felt the album's delve into house music was representative of the musical experimentation that defines the Durutti Column's material.
  Many of Reilly's percussion patterns on the album are not specifically acid house rhythms, instead reflecting earlier synth-funk and  hard electro sounds, although, according to Raggett, "there's enough of the cusp-of-the-'90s about everything to show he wasn't dating himself." The keyboard stabs on some tracks feature the "stuttering, choppy melodies" of techno music, while, according to Raggett, "Reilly's own knack for what suits a song best means sometimes it's more gentle acoustica and other times full-on electric shimmer and drive." The album is also atypical to other Durutti Column albums in that it features very few guitar parts. Tracks such as "Hotel of the Lake 1990", "Fridays", "Spanish Reggae" and "Contra-indications" are defined by the shimmering "nightmarish neon noodles" and stuttering staccatos.
  Obey the Time is bookended by two acoustic tracks atypical of the album's aggressive sound, "Vino Della Casa Bianco" and "Vina Della Casa Rosso", described by writer Paul Pledger as "opening and closing vignettes," which show a warmer, "more personal side" to Reilley's oeuvre, as does "Home". "Hotel of the Lake, 1990" features funk-styled guitar and bass work, "whooshing" minimal synthesiser loops and a steady beat, laden with a reoccurring "classically Durutti five-note guitar melody with deep echo." "Fridays" incorporates elements of flamenco music, while its keyboard stabs feature the choppy, stuttering melodies favoured by techno music. Both "Fridays" and the "gently dramatic" track "The Warmest Rain" are sparse and minimal. The subtle "Spanish Reggae", whose title was described by Ned Raggett as "both accurate and not a nightmare", incorporates a slow but menacing contemporary dancehall rhythm, with subtle flamenco snippets and Reilley's electric guitar playing processed through heavy dub echo. "Contra-indications" is a pure house music piece, displaying an explicit influence from the Durutti Column's labelamates the Happy Mondays and New Order.
caption: Vini Reilly (pictured in 2007) was inspired by acid house on Obey the Time.
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