Monday, January 25, 2010

First Base - Babe Ruth



First Base by Babe Ruth (1972)

Incredibly funky psych-rock album. The most well known song from this album among b-boys and their fans will definitely be "The Mexican" which is used widely at battles and jams around the world.
It starts off very hard with "Wells Fargo" then slows down significantly with "King Kong", an instrumental, and "Black Dog".

The female vocalist has a very distinctive squeeky quality to her voice. I find that it adds personality to her vocals it but I could see how some might be turned off by it.

Favorite: "The Mexican" "Wells Fargo"

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Distant Star - Bill Charlap



Distant Star by Bill Charlap (1997)

jazz pianist, Bill Charlap's fifth studio album. I'm constantly amazed at how prolific jazz artists are with their releases!

This album starts off heavy on the improvization but calms down significantly by the 3rd song, "Last Night When We Were Young". It stays pretty mellow through the remaining six songs and finishes off smoothly with "The Heather On The Hill".

Favorite: "While We're Young" "Last Night When We Were Young" "The Heather On The Hill"

Saturday, January 23, 2010

A Bugged Out Mix by Hot Chip



A Bugged Out Mix by Hot Chip (2009)

just what the title indicates, this mix is all over the place. This is just the latest installation in the "Bugged Out Mix" series. Other volumes include those by Miss Kittin, Erol Alkan, Klaxons & Felix da Housecat. for more info on the the crew behind the compilations, go get BUGGED Out!

It took me a little while to get drawn into the mix, which is fine because it runs over 2 discs, clocking in at almost 2.5 hours! The first disc is a bit tech-y for my taste but by the time they drop their own "Take It In", I was feeling what they were doing.

The second disc is less electronic, even featuring cuts from Hall & Oates, Terence Trent D'Arby, Biz Markie and Zapp & Roger. Like I said, all over the place!

Favorite: Ican "Chiclet's Theme", District One - "One2One", The Andrews Sisters - "Rum & Coca Cola", Robert Palmer - "Looking For Clues"

Friday, January 22, 2010

Depart From Me... - Cage



Depart From Me... by Cage (2009)

the cover image gives you a really good idea of how depressing this album is. mostly not anything i'd care to listen to more than once.  As a general rule: I want no singing from my rappers. The production is really moody & synth-y with lots of bass.  I could maybe get behind an instrumentals release.

Least Favorite: "Kick Rocks" "Captain Bumout"

Favorite: "I Lost It In Havertown"

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Song For My Father - Horace Silver




Song For My Father - Horace Silver Quintet (1964)

today is my father's birthday.  he would have been 69 years old.  without him, i would never have developed the love and passion for music that i will always have.  for that, i am forever grateful. 
R.I.P. Jon Evans Manousos  1/21/1941 - 12/10/2005

I listened to this album a lot right after my dad passed away. Though it is a fairly chill jazz album, it's not at all depressing.

Favorite: "Song For My Father" The airy phrasing of Carmell Jones' trumpet is truly stellar.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Bright Like Neon Love - Cut Copy



Bright Like Neon Love - Cut Copy (2004)
 
Favorite: "Saturdays" "A Dream"
 

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Born Like This - M.F. Doom



Born Like This - M.F. Doom (2009)

Favorite: "Yessir!" ft. Raekwon - then again, rhyming over ESG's "U.F.O." beat isn't really fair.  Everyone sounds good over it.
"Cellz" really finds Doom at his best with his signature clever wordplay and comic-book inspired beats.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Cruel & Unusual - Black Sun Empire



Cruel & Unusual - Black Sun Empire (2006)

Very energetic & tech-y drum & bass.

Favorite: "Bitemark""Everything" with Corrupt Souls, "Future Frame"

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Shotgun Rules - Zuchinni Drive



Shotgun Rules by Zuchinni Drive (2009)


Another project I've had for a while and been listening to without knowing what to say about it.
Sent to me by my friend KaeoFLUX, formerly of Komadose Productions out of Massachusetts. Now based in Brooklyn, NY & working with his band Mon.Key.Pod, they have crafted a dense soundscape for Marcus Graap (of Stacs of Stamina) and Tom De Geeter to play with. I've had it & been listening to it for months & still can't describe it other than to say it's grown on me.

The full album is available for free download at Marathon of Dope.

Favorite: "Shibuya" "Where the Buffalo Roam" ft. Seraphim of No Surrender "Your Fucking Face" ft. Elissa P

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Calibration - Omar Rodriguez-Lopez



Calibration by Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (2008)
 
This album, especially songs like "Sidewalk Fins", sounds like the music I might hear in a nightmare. It has an other-worldly quality to it, tinged with distortion and feedback.
 
Favorite: "Una Ced Lacerante" "El Monte T'Ai" "Las Lagrimas de Arakuine"

Friday, January 15, 2010

The Freedom Rider - Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers




The Freedom Rider by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers (1961)

this album is much more of a showcase for Art Blakey than "A Night In Tunisia" which I wrote about yesterday. He really shines on the title track where he takes a long solo.
I enjoyed this album significantly more as there is a great deal more piano work and considerably less horn. 

Favorite: "The Freedom Rider" "Petty Larceny"

Thursday, January 14, 2010

A Night In Tunisia - Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers



A Night In Tunisia by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers (1959)

For my tastes, pianist Bobby Timmons is the star of this group, though it consists of many more widely recognized players: Lee Morgan, Wayne Shorter & of course Art Blakey.  I am not a fan of the squealing (some couch it more kindly: "edgy, sometimes blistering") horns so common in the hard-bop recordings.

Favorite: "So Tired" a Timmons composition  "Yama"

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Moody's Mood for Love - King Pleasure




Moody's Mood for Love by King Pleasure (1956)

I thought I'd like this album because 1) I like Moody's version of Mood for Love & 2) how could you not like something put out by a guy named "King Pleasure"?? But, we put it in during the drive back from my brother's place & I had to have Greg replace it after only a few tracks. Unfortunately, scat really isn't my thing.

Favorite: "Evening Blues" - really the only song I could stand on the whole album

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Swoon - Silversun Pickups




Swoon - Silversun Pickups (2009)

their energy and falsetto singing reminds me a bit of Smashing Pumpkins.

Favorite: "Panic Switch" - surely has grown on me more than a little bit between hearing it on the radio and on the incessant runs of "Embedded" on Current TV, but I do like it. & "Surrounded"

Monday, January 11, 2010

Tin Foil Hat EP - RJD2





Tin Foil Hat EP - RJD2 (2009)

The first thing I've heard from this guy in quite a while.  Though it gets off to a bumpy start with "The Sleepaway", the second track "The Highest of Courts" finds RJ doing what he does best: pairing funky drums with atmospheric vocals and instrumentals. "Thine Planetarium" reminds me of his first 12", "June", in a good way.  The guest MC, Tage, doesn't really do anything for me on "The Move" but RJ's work is still solid - I mostly just wish he had better taste in rappers. 

Overall, this is a good reminder of why I was so excited about RJ back when his debut, Deadringer, dropped in 2002.

Favorite: "When It Wobbles" "Thine Planetarium" "The Highest of Courts"

Sunday, January 10, 2010

A Man With A Horn - Lou Donaldson



A Man With A Horn - Lou Donaldson (1963)

Favorite: "Misty" simply beautiful.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Ultraviolet - Kid Sister



Ultraviolet by Kid Sister (2009)

New release from Fool's Gold records, the label started by A-Trak and Nick Catchdubs. This album is not as hip hop as I like, a bit too electro, pop-y & sing-song, but it's pretty much what I expected from two guys who are huge in the party scene now.

Favorite: "Get Fresh" "Big n Bad"

Friday, January 8, 2010

Kofi - Donald Byrd



Kofi by Donald Byrd (1969)

I could really do without most of Lew Tabakin's jazz flute (for the most part, I have to agree with Christina Applegate from "Anchorman" when she says "Jazz flute is gay.") 

Favorite: "The Loud Minority" "Elmina" - at about 2 minutes in, the drums kick in and the bass gets really funky.   But then at about 5:30, Donald goes off the deep end honking his trumpet and he lost me again. When he drops out again at about 6:20, he lets the bass, keys and percussion shine a bit. 
Aside from these 2 songs, I'm not really feeling this album.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Heavy!!! - Booker Ervin




Heavy!!! - Booker Ervin (1966)


Least Favorite: "Bei Mir Bist Du Schon"


Favorite: "Not Quite That"

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Latino Con Soul - Joe Torres




Latino Con Soul - Joe Torres (1966)

This album covers of a lot of fun songs which keeps it very lighthearted.  It features a version of one of my favorite songs, "Sunny", but this rendition won't be added to my favorites.  The most surprising was the cover of the Beatles "Eleanor Rigby" which I almost would not have recognized without the track listing next to me.
 
Least Favorite: "Yo Sali"


Favorite: "Devil Eyes"  "Soul Cha"

Monday, January 4, 2010

One Foot In The Gutter - The Dave Bailey Sextet



One Foot In The Gutter: A Treasury of Soul by The Dave Bailey Sextet (1960)

Though the title indicates this album to be a treasury, I was a bit disappointed to find it contained only 3 songs!  But they are great songs, and clocking in at over 10 minutes each (the final one is 20+ minutes), I didn't feel shorted. 


Favorite: "Sandu"

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Always Got Tonight - Chris Isaak





Always Got Tonight by Chris Isaak (2002)


Not a huge fan of this album.  I liked his earlier work, especially songs like "Wicked Game" and those from his "Forever Blue" album.  However, this album seems derivative of his previous work and not very inspired.  

Least Favorite: "Notice The Ring" "American Boy"

Favorite: "Worked It Out Wrong" "Always Got Tonight"

Saturday, January 2, 2010

1958-1959 - Ike Turner




A new year - more good music for everyone.  I lost my momentum there for the past few weeks.  But I went up to visit my brother for Christmas and came home with a big box of our dad's old CDs.  So the next several reviews will all be pulled from there.  Pretty much all jazz and old rhythm & blues style rock. And to simplify things for myself, I won't be posting streaming versions of the songs. I prefer them, but the hosting service I have been using only allows so many at a time and it was becoming tedious to delete older ones to make room for new reviews.




1958-1959 by Ike Turner (1993)

Being a rock & roll guitar pioneer is not what Ike Turner is most well known for.  But this CD shows just some of the greatness he could do.

Favorite: "Matchbox (Version A)"