Rolling Stone (9/19/02, p.98) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Transports you to a nocturnal setting, where you feel as if the evening air is blessed with the glow of a full moon..."
Uncut (12/02, p.132) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...An electronic album with personality..."
Magnet (10/02, p.110) - "...It's an organic exploration into 21st-century exotica..."
CMJ (9/30/02) - "...A complex album that reaches a level of warmth that's rarely achieved in electronic music....[The album] offers listeners a musical trip around the world without ever having to leave their living rooms..."
Vibe (10/02, p.180) - 3 out of 5 - "...In their world of high hepcat camp, Thievery Corporation can steal your ears and hold them hostage..."
Thievery Corporation: Rob Garza, Eric Hilton.
Additional personnel: Emiliana Torrini, Sleepy Wonder & Shinehead, Lou Lou, Pam Bricker, Notch.
Additional personnel include: Pam Bricker, Patrick De Santos (vocals); Steven Albert (guitar, electric bass); Ustad Amir (sitar); Frankie Addison, Kelvin Sampson, Harold Little (horns); Roberto Berimbao (electric bass); Sonny Caberwal (tabla).
Eric Hilton and Rob Garza, the Washington, D.C. duo better known as Thievery Corporation, continue to refine their previously established style on THE RICHEST MAN IN BABYLON. For their third proper album of new material, they continue to mine a mellow electronica groove with jazz, pop, and world music flavorings mixed in among the expected reggae, soul, and funk elements. The title tune and "The State of the Union" focus heavily on the reggae aspects of Thievery Corporation's sound, while "Liberation Front" bears more of an acid-jazz feel. The closing track "Resolution" (along with a few others) is more in line with that ethereal trip-hop flow for which Hilton and Garza are perhaps best known. On the graphics side, a great deal of time appears to have been put in to the package here, which includes a thick and evocative photo booklet whose striking, occasionally off-kilter images provide an excellent visual equivalent to the music.
