Beats + Pieces

Beats + Pieces was released in 1987 as the first release on Coldcut's own Ahead of Our Time label, and one format also carried That Greedy Beat. It samples James Brown, Kurtis Blow and the comedian Flip Wilson. The tracks were assembled with cassette pause-button edits and later with spliced tape that would sometimes run all over the room. The Chemical Brothers have described it as the first bigbeat record.

The Mo Bass Remix appears on the bonus 12-inch that came with some copies of What's That Noise?. In August 1997 a reworking, More Beats + Pieces, gave the duo their first UK Top 40 hit since 1989, and the Daddy Rips It Up Mix of it opens the second side of the vinyl Let Us Play!. Reviewing Sound Mirrors in 2006, Pitchfork's Jess Harvell said he would rather hear Pump Up the Volume than Beats and Pieces for his kitschy sampladelic single fix.