Kurt Iveson (kiveson@coombs.anu.edu.au)
Wed, 8 Sep 1999 12:43:55 +1000
Hi folks...
Just done some shopping, so here's some reviews of the stuff I've got into
so far...
BARRIO NUEVO
Nice latin comp from Souljazz records that kicks some ass all the way
through. Includes various takes on latin rhythms and arrangements as they
popped up in soul, funk, disco, even rock(ish) contexts. Better known
stuff like tracks by War and Mandrill sit shoulder to shoulder with tracks
by folks I'd never heard much about before. And as usual with Souljazz, it
is nicely packaged. Highlights for me include Mandrill's 'Fat City Strut',
which kicks off with a ridiculously heavy funk groove before morphing into
a latin jam, the Chakachas track 'Jungle Fever', and the Bobby Rodrigues
track which has some fabulous horn arrangements. More trombones!
Doug Carn, ADAM'S APPLE
Speaking of trombones .... there's some more mad trombone solos amongst the
other shit going on with this record. It's a cool re-issue on the revamped
Black Jazz label. Very spiritual soul jazz, featuring a little moog action
along with Doug's piano and organ work, some great percussion and horn
work, and both electric and acoustic bass to drive the bottom end along.
The vocals are pretty cool for the most part too. The first track is the
killer for me ('The Chant'), a very righteous up-tempo latin-tinged
groover, with unison vocals acting as the head that keeps the whole thing
together. Also includes a nice interpretation of Wayne Shorter's
'Sanctuary' and Earth Wind and Fire's 'Mighty Mighty'.
NEW LATINAIRES
This comp on Ubiquity is fucking outstanding! The Jazzanova tracks, and
the Carl Craig remix of Johnny Blas are my favourites at the moment, but I
reckon every track is great. Definitely an interesting new take on latin
influences that goes way way beyond sticking some congas over a house
beat.... Highly recommended! (By the way, anyone else heard that
Jazzanova remix of Tate's Place track 'Burnin' on Dynamic Joint records?
Damn, that's some funky shit. They give great remix.... Same track is
apparently due for an As One/Off World remix in the near future. Woohoo!)
Meshell, BITTER
I really like this album. It's making a very different statement to her
two previous outings. There's not one booty-shakin track all the way
through, but if its got soul, who cares, right? If you can still get off
on acoustic guitars and pianos, great string arrangements, and intelligent
song-writing, you should enjoy this one. With the songs in this format,
you kinda think you know how the songs are gonna turn out, but everything
is just slightly twisted in an interesting way. One of the things that
stood out for me was the singing ... the melodies are probably a little
more interesting than on the other records, there's some great vocal
arrangements on parts of it, and I guess they're probably just a little
more in the mix than on the previous albums. She handles all this really
well I reckon ... such a hypnotic voice. *And* she does a great
interpretation of one of my favourite Hendrix tunes ('May this be love').
Cool...
NYC BODY and SOUL, V2
I'm loving parts of this, and the package as a whole is growing on me ...
but somehow I'm not feeling the whole thing as much as some of the above
albums. It just seems to loose a little vibe somewhere in the middle or
something. But the Tom and Joyce track up near the front is sublime ...
great Brazilian flavoured house, which I think from memory has been remixed
by one of the Body and Soul crew. I'd love to get to the club one day to
hear them really work these tunes (... but unless anyone feels like sending
me an airline ticket, that might not be for some time yet...)
60 Channels, 60 CHANNELS
Finally got my hands on this one a little while ago (it never got a local
release in Australia...). Not as good as I'd hoped on the strength of
other tracks done by The Angel on comps like the Blue Note New Groove thing
and Excursions on Ubiquity. I think it's because most of the tunes have a
pretty conventional 'song' structure, so she seems less interested in
exploring the dynamics of the beats and atmosphere over any stretch of
time. But some of the tracks have definitely grown on me ... my reactions
might be more based on expectations that just listening to it for what it
is.
Right then. I guess I better start thinking of some other ways to
procrastinate and avoid uni work...
Peace,
Kurt
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