The White Room

 18th October 2018  2 Comments

The White Room is without a doubt the album that finally catapulted The KLF into mega-stardom, spawning three hit singles of which one (3 a.m. Eternal) got them to Number One in the UK (their second after Doctorin’ The Tardis).

JC: At one stage it was going to be some huge mix with all these separate songs we recorded crossfaded, and a few juicy bits and pieces thrown in between.

BD: Some of it was recorded incredibly fast, like in half an hour. Other things seemed to take years, like the songs. Some of the tracks we’ve done here we were working on this time two years ago. We seem to be in a constant process of re-working our past.Jimmy Cauty & Bill Drummond (Sound On Sound, Apr 1991)

Reviews

‘The White Room’ is, to a large extent, The KLF playing safe. Anyone whose introduction to the JAMMS-Disco 2000-Timelords-KLF saga was via the ‘stadium house’ reworking of ‘What Time Is Love?’ last year, will be ever so pleased with this remarkably strong and cohesive LP.
Tim Nicholson, Record Mirror, 2 Mar 1991 (Album Of The Week)
Tim Nicholson
In essence, ‘The White Room’ is a neat summation of Drummond and Cauty’s colourful history – it embraces their previous JAMs-related guises while still updating the Kopyright Liberation Front’s corporate identity.
Anthony Farthing, Sounds, 2 Mar 1991
Anthony Farthing
In many ways, it’s their most subtle, successful and dangerous musical mischief to date. 1991: what the f*** is going on? Love it.
Push, Melody Maker, 2 Mar 1991
Push
There’s a hell of a lot of reasons to admire The KLF but I’m afraid ‘The White Room’ isn’t one of them. For the most it’s nothing more than background noise, and you’ve been paying attention to the lives and times of Drummond and Cauty you’ll know how dynamic ‘The White Room’ should be.
James Brown, NME, 2 Mar 1991
James Brown
Flawed, brazen, hilarious, wildly exciting and warmly knowing samizdat manifesto from the new kings of art-disco.
NME, 21 Dec 1991 (#41 Year End Album Countdown)
Indeed, this would indicate that [the album’s] release was little more than a cash-in on their new-found success […], where it not for the strikingly imaginative way in which the duo approached their task. […] A more subtle form of subterfuge than before, this LP will appeal to recent converts and hard core fans alike.
Iestyn George, Q Magazine, Mar 1991
Iestyn George
It’s full of glorious studio trickery and dance weirdness […] but sometimes gets a little on the wearing side because – in between all the brilliant dance bits – Bill and Jimi keep trying to show us how kooky and weird they are with their strange chants and bleeping noises.
Unknown, Mar 1991

Tracks & Formats

JAMS LP6

LP Album / 4 Mar 1991
A1 What Time Is Love? (LP Mix) 4:43
A2 Make It Rain 4:00
A3 3 a.m. Eternal (Live At The S.S.L.) 3:36
A4 Church Of The KLF 1:53
A5 Last Train To Trancentral (LP Mix) 5:33
B1 Build A Fire 4:40
B2 The White Room 5:15
B3 No More Tears 9:24
B4 Justified And Ancient 4:44

JAMS CD6

CD Album / 4 Mar 1991
1 What Time Is Love? (LP Mix) 4:40
2 Make It Rain 4:02
3 3 a.m. Eternal (Live At The S.S.L.) 3:35
4 Church Of The KLF 1:52
5 Last Train To Trancentral (LP Mix) 5:36
6 Build A Fire 4:39
7 The White Room 5:14
8 No More Tears 9:23
9 Justified And Ancient 4:44

Track times for 3 a.m. Eternal and Church Of The KLF are estimates based on JAMS LP006 as the CD version combines both into one single track.

JAMS CD6 (Front)JAMS CD6 (Front)
JAMS CD6 (Inner)JAMS CD6 (Inner)
JAMS CD6 (Back)JAMS CD6 (Back)
JAMS CD6 (Disc)JAMS CD6 (Disc)

Please also check the FAQ for the differences between the original KLF Communications release and the international versions.

2 thoughts on “The White Room”

  1. Some of the track lengths listed here are incorrect. As per Wikipedia, they are from a German release. Most international releases have different lengths for tracks 3-5 (some using the single version of 3AM Eternal, with the “ladies and gentlemen, the KLF have left the building” line intact). On the UK release they are:
    3AM Eternal (Live At The SSL)/Church Of The KLF – 5:27 (single track)
    Last Train To Trancentral (LP Mix) – 5:33/5:36

    Reply

    1. Those are the ones taken from Lazlo’s old discography… strange nobody ever noticed this. Somebody probably mixed up track lengths between different international releases which might have their tracks split at different points – that’s the only possible explanation of somehow ending up with a 6:04 version of Last Train.

      Reply

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