Well not the kind of thing that I normally listen too ! but I had alot of
fun reviewing this.....( I normally review indie, grunge, dance and ambient
for a local zine)... not least the difficulty in trying to broadly
categorise the band....Frank Zappa and the muppet show band meets some
serious jazz musicians would be the nearest I could get but even this
doesn't cover all the styles they incorporate into their music. Just when
you think that you have a handle on what kind of genre a particular track
is it changes into something else.Having said all this the one musical
style I would say that it isn't, in my opinion, is acid jazz. but there
have been so many discussions about what is aj on this list and I am very
liberal when I define aj.
As I indicated earlier the vocal was very Zappa-esk, not that I am a
Zappa expert or anything, but it had the flavours of jazz rock music and
humour I associate with Mr. Frank and it did make me laugh a couple of
times.There is no doubt that these boys can play, with one or two tracks
having an up front modern jazz feel to them.but if I had to, reluctantly,
categorise this album I would say that the overall vibe is rock jazz,
lighter on the rock than on the jazz.
1. It's all Science Fixion to Me
It starts off with a rock feel, big guitar solo type stuff, but the vocal
is bluesy rock, it then has a jazzy
solo before reverting back to rock. I must say that the vocal did colour my
perception of the album, which was proved in part wrong
about what kind of music it was.
2 Good 'Ol Terra Firma
A kind of Bar rock/blues band, rocking along with sax and keybords, before
throwing in a cello !
3. The Star Spider
This starts off with a classical music feel before becoming opera, then
folk music then smooth jazz
with guitar and vibes before going back to folk music.
4. Mama Lilah
A rock-ish track with a sing along verse a nice jazz piano and sax solo's
5. Song For Chick
Latin influence jazzy (chick Chorea perhaps), nice vibes playing one of my
favourites on the album.
6. Drifters In the Void
Jazz again nice melodic sax, guitar and piano
7. The Old Rastafarian
As the title would suggest a reggae influenced track, quite mellow and
very funny lyrics, reminded me a little of the penguin Cafe Orchestra
8. Dear God I'm Crazy
Well it starts of with a rock feel,
9. Inclination
Excellent one of those up front modern jazz tracks.
10. Kill The Buddha
Satanic verses for the 90's ? possibly not ! not with that manhattan
transfer type backing vocal
anyway, but a riff of straight no chaser on cello excellent track.
11. Pentagrammation
Wailing eastern mystical type of stuff, made me laugh I don't know whether
that way supposed to
be the response.
12. Never Abandon Hope
modern Latin type of thing, could be in a musical type of feel
13. Walk in a Space of Understanding
smooth (not bland ) modern jazz before becoming more bluesy
I Enjoyed this album for its idiosyncratic nature and the more I listened
to it the more it grew on me.
If I have any criticism it is that they have probably got 3 or 4 albums
worth of ideas, musical styles compressed into the one album this is
obviously deliberate a result of most of the band members writing tracks,
but it works really well.
Good luck to Shamms and the boys, you deserve every success in the future
because as they say around these parts......you certainly have got
something there !
Chris Golya
School of Art, Design & Media
University of Portsmouth
I would tell you that music is the expression of emotion
And that politics is merely the decoy of perception.
The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy