Showing posts with label 1995. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1995. Show all posts

Saturday, May 20, 2023

Various - Tranceculture > Endless Universe

Hypnotic: 1995

This was a fairly popular CD among my raving peers way back in the day. When you're stuck in the hinterlands of Canadaland, in the Before Times of primitive internet, finding anything with a hint of the underground was like mana from heaven to the ears of high-schoolers. This wasn't some poppy eurodance rinsed out by MC Mario, this was European trance music, with sounds emitting from the deepest cosmic corners, conjuring sci-fi concepts like semiconductors, DNA structures, and Apollo moon missions, all throbbing at 160 – 200 bpm. It does all seem a bit silly in hindsight, doesn't it?

There's a lot about Tranceculture that can come off rather dodgy, even by mid-'90s efforts. Despite being presented as a compilation, it's abundantly clear all the tracks are produced by one man, Steffen Schuhrke, who barely gets an 'Operations & Navigations' credit. The alias Reverse Pulse had appeared on a few other scattered Hypnotic collections, so why not just bill it as that? No, this is just Hypnotic (re: Cleopatra) on their chintzy marketing shtick again, right down to a lenticular jewel case with lame- oh, I can't stay snarky at you, lenticular jewel cases. There's even a picture of Saturn, always frickin' awesome!

Besides, it's all about the music, right? Right, and Tranceculture features some of the purest forms of trance you can imagine. Like, ultra-retro pure. We're talking basic, hypnotic loops, performed in incremental waves, melody more of a suggestion of minor chord progression in backing pads. There's acid and bleepy arps, but served as a rhythmic rudder to the blistering pace of these tracks rather than prominent leads. Aside from escalating tension as loops build upon each other, there isn't any sort of typical song structure going on here.

It's an almost improvisational method of constructing each track, Steffen feeling out when and where each loop gets dropped in, whether a key change is warranted, and how much knob twiddling one earns. Nor does he seem encumbered by when and how a track should end, letting things run for however long feels right for the moment, even if that's nine, thirteen, or fifteen minutes. It rather reminds me of the old Spiral Tribe free-tekno tapes but with German trance sounds rather than hardcore techno.

Still, the dated nature of Tranceculture can't be overlooked. Heck, I'm sure some could argue A.I. does this now – it certainly ain't no th'ang for computers to emulate popular EDM, so why not three decade old (!!) trance? Plug in some stock loops, request a couple effects, and let 'er rip, right? I thought so at first, but the more I re-listened to this CD, the more I realized Steffen's still doing things that just can't be mimicked by technology yet. When and where such loops are utilized, just how much a knob gets twisted – a 'human intuition' sort of vibe, however basic or subtle it may be. Damn, didn't expect to get so metaphysical with a shameless nostalgic trip.

Wednesday, February 22, 2023

Children Of The Bong - Sirius Sounds

Planet Dog/Mammoth Records: 1995/1996

In the great Electronic Music Encyclopedia, the chapter on “What Could Have Been...?” is replete with artists, acts, producers, and projects that never saw their fulfilled potential. In a psychedelic scene with many flash-in-the-pan names and one-and-done wonders, Children Of The Bong's story always felt particularly cruel. A promise of something truly unique and remarkable, cut entirely too short due to circumstances utterly out of their control. Misters Henry and Goganian basically created psy dub years before it ever caught on!

I'll grant there were already tunes on the downtempo side of things within the psy scene, but much of it seemed in flux with already existing genres - ambient dub, world beat, acid breaks, goa trance, and so on. It took a true all-star act like Shpongle (re: Simon Posford and Raja Ram) to essentially set the terms and tropes of what psy dub would go on to entail. Yet for all the groundbreaking ideas those two were credited with, Children Of The Bong got there first, and quite possibly were even more intuitive with said ideas involving improvised analogue gear, as evidenced on their lone album, Sirius Sounds.

All those wiggly, squiggly, free-flowing trippy-drippy sounds psy dub is so often associated with are in full effect here. Hell, there's a track titled Squigglasonica, itself something of a spiritual successor to Ionospheric State (which I touched upon in Transmissions From Planet Dog). Funky, hip-shakin' rhythms coupled with delightfully fun knob twiddling on those wormy acid leads, and how could you not think of a title more appropriate?

These tracks are more representative of the sort of live jams Rob and Daniel would do, but they made room for more traditional takes on psychedelic world beat too. Well, about as traditional as anyone out of the Megadog scene would go, and even then throwing in their wildly warped variations of it. Interface Reality may be comparatively chill, but that don't mean the acid doesn't get a good workout along the way. The Veil has the sort of po-faced spiritual samples coupled with tongue-in-cheek low-ridin' basslines that reminds everyone not to take this scene too seriously. Underwater Dub gets about as deep into the reggae dub side of things as you could possibly go with this album, while Life On Planet Earth... actually sounds like a fairly typical spaced-out psy-dub track, until you remember it came out years before that was really a thing.

Okay, so clearly Children Of The Bong were 'ahead of their time', and all that. Why are they not regarded in the same breath as that scene's major players, then? Two reasons, one clearly being they broke up shortly after Sirius Sounds came out, Rob Henry carrying on with different music after. The second is just bad label luck, Planet Dog/Ultimate already showing strains of mismanagement with their signed acts. Fortunately, tales of the Bong continued to linger over the ages, and Sirius Sounds has seen some expanded re-issues recently. No excuses for overlooking this album any longer then.

Thursday, February 2, 2023

Various - Serenity Dub 2.1 p.m.

Incoming!: 1995

Even for short-lived '90s ambient dub and techno labels, Incoming! feels among the most short-lived of them all. I mean, probably not, in that it had a three year run with a few home-grown acts sustaining it in that time. I even crossed paths with the print once, via S.E.T.I.'s The Geometry Of Night, as fine an example of the darker, more paranoid side of downtempo dub as I'd ever heard from that era. That seemed a chance encounter though, so who knows if I'd have stumbled upon any other Incoming! releases in those years, much less be as drawn to cover art. Maybe that Golden Star CD from Nonplace Urban Field? Or the warped speakers from the compilation Submerged – A Collection Of Blooming Breaks + Bulging Beats - that looks a little familiar.

Regardless, as is tradition with many labels starting out, a compilation or two showcasing their musical manifesto doesn't hurt, and Incoming! did the deed with a pair titled Serenity Dub. I got the second one because, well, I knew more names on it than the first. Names like Rapoon, Biosphere, S.E.T.I., Loop Guru, Scanner, and Mouse On Mars.

Those first four, I already had their tracks, though you can't blame me for not recognizing them as such. Like, I find Rapoon's Vernal Crossing a captivating listening experience, even gave Bol Baya Ace Track honours, but that still don't mean I can I.D. the piece blind. As for Biosphere, Botanical Dimensions kinda' gets overshadowed by Novelty Waves as the highlight off Patashnik. Same can be said for Loop Guru's Tchengo as heard of Duniya. That's all the familiar tunes though. Let's hear what fresh dub music I get to experience for the first time on Serenity Dub 2.1 p.m.

The CD opens with Transonic's Low Space Monitor. Hm, I know that name, but from where...? *THAT bass tone emerges* Oh, it's another Bill Laswell joint. Of course it is. Actually, a pairing with Robert Musso, where the two dropped a few albums over on Fax+. Interesting get for Incoming!, but their world beat vibe does fit. The dub business carries over onto Nemesis Dub System's Caravan (In Dub), a rather dated instrumental, even for '95.

Further along, Scanner does another of his noir-ish downtempo tunes as radio chatter chatters about, while the always interesting Mouse On Mars gets in on some early sound experiments with a minimalist dub throb. Their Chagrin grows very chill over time with relaxing layers of reverb and echo – serenity indeed. Following that, Cosa Nostra almost goes pure space noir on This Thing Of Ours, with ultra-dreamy pads and trumpet playing. Damn, now I want to watch some Cowboy Bepop.

Rounding out the rest are Seefeel and Unitone Hifi with some dubby jams (weirdo shoegaze-reggae and world beat, respectively), and you have about as well-rounded a collection of '90s underground dub music as you could hope for. Well, if you're starting a label promoting the stuff, at least.

Friday, January 27, 2023

Cypher 7 - Security

Subharmonic: 1995

It started with Psychonavigation, then moved on to include Divination. That only left Cypher 7 as the remaining artist from that Alien Ambient Galaxy compilation I hadn't properly indulged in yet. I wasn't so sure I would though, as from what I could glean, this project had the least amount of Bill Laswell input out of all three, his primary credit being “Navigation & Ground Control” (re: producer). Then again, the chaps behind Cypher 7 – Alex Haas and Jeff Bova – worked with Laswell on some of those Divination sessions, so there was bound to be some connective sonic tissue there. Not to mention appearing on Bill's Subharmonic label.

Then again, said label wasn't really a major focal point for the Laswellian One, more of a means to distribute some of his European releases (re: Fax+ output) on American shores, so how much attention could Cypher 7 really be given? Then again-again, Subharmonic also was where he released his take on ambient dub, so maybe the rest of Cypher 7 would lean that way? Ah, fek'it, let's just buy one of their albums should I find a Discogs seller offloading it on the cheap. Ah, here's one! Guess I'll settle with Security, as it not only has two familiar tracks on it (The Suspicious Shaman and Nothing Lasts), but has a cooler bit of cover art too.

Sure enough, opener Message Important gets into some of that vintage Laswell downtempo dub action, with a groovy rhythm, ominous string pads, a quirky sample of French resistance broadcasts, and jazzy playing with organs and bass guitar provided by, yup, Bill Laswell. Just no mistaking that bass tone. Unlike some of his lengthy jams though (this one lasts upwards of fourteen minutes), Message Important is tight and compelling as it plays through. It feels like you're immersed in some noir flick, silhouettes of smoke flowing through the shadowy cracks of a dimly lit basement.

In fact, much of Security has that vibe. Tokyo A.M is a pure, minimalist ambient piece with sparse field recordings of damp back alleys and subtle, sinewy pads, lurking in the dark of door enclaves. Following that, Benares (Open Secret) gets more operatic with opulent orchestral strings and... light Indian singing and drumming? Not quite so French noir as the other tracks, unless you want to count Moroccan into that equation. Which I will because I like me some consistent themes with my albums, yo'. And nothing says French film like having Jeanne Moreau going on about passion and love in Nothing Lasts.

Final track Falling Backwards is another moody, minimalist, experimental ambient piece. At sixteen minutes in length though, it finds room for a little dub jamming towards its end, the piece even morphing into more of an uplifting tone. Ooh, a positive outcome in a noir setting? What is this, modern Hollywood? Sadly not, as Cypher 7 would move on from the project after this. Another intriguing story of '90s underground ambient dub, cut too short.

Friday, August 19, 2022

FSOL - ISDN

Virgin: 1995

You'd think I'd have gotten this in my initial gathering of FSOL albums, a necessary companion to Lifeforms and Dead Cities. A few things kept me from doing so though, a primary factor being I wasn't sure this was even an album. Compared to Ziggy Riphead's striking, CGI artwork from this period in Future Sound Of London's timeline, ISDN is flat, drab, and nondescript. Which hey, is an artistic statement in of itself, plus you'd find plenty weirdo visual-scapes within the booklet if you really needed them.

Still, this record had something of a rep, in that even for a FSOL LP, ISDN was way out there. Wherein Brian and Garry, uninhibited by such limitations as 'performance' and 'audience expectation', could transmit their muses directly into your living rooms. Oh honeys, you hadn't heard anything yet. Just wait until you get a load of this thing called 'live streaming'!

That all said, an appreciation of Brain and Garry's numerous Environment outings finally got me to properly grab ISDN. Okay, reconnecting with a few tunes like Slider, Amoeba and A Study Of Six Guitars didn't hurt in nudging me either. Whether this was some over-indulgent live show broadcast over a fledgling internet, or an assemblage of studio wankery, it was hard to deny at least a handful of dope-ass tunes emerged from these sessions. Surely there were more than what I plucked out of ancient P2P programs.

Confounding the “is this a live album or not?” vibe of ISDN is opener Just A Fucking Idiot, sampling live audio from a Joy Division/New Order. From there, the track's pure future-shock territory, so *deep breath* The Far Out Son Of Lung And The Ramblings Of A Madman grounds things with freeform jazz-funk groovy goodness. An appropriately bit of bridging ambience in Appendage later, and we're into the highlights off ISDN: Slider and Smokin Japanese Babe. Yeah, you could argue they're FSOL jumping on some trendy genres (big beat and trip-hop, respectively), but they're still done in that nifty, warped, post-apocalyptic, psychedelic, sampleholic way only FSOL were doing at the time.

After that though, ISDN goes wa-a-a-yy deep into sound collages and music making for its own sake. For sure some moments stick out – the electro-chill of You're Creeping Me Out, the spritely melodies in Eyes Pop – Skin Explodes – Everybody Dead - but it's not until eleventh track Egypt that things steer in some sort of direction again. As for Egypt, it's got electro rhythms, chants, crickets, woodwinds... y'know, vintage Lifeforms-era FSOL.

Kai and Amoeba feel like two halves of a whole, what with their muted rhythm sections, though I prefer Amoeba's sputtering voice pads over Kai's industrial drone-throb. Six Guitars remains pure bliss, and Snake Hips takes us out on total psychedelic rock weirdness. An Amorphous one calls from beyond.

So yeah, ISDN does have some of FSOL's best moments. It's just a shame they mostly come at the bookends of the album rather than as a consistent whole.

Monday, January 17, 2022

Various - Chap. 2 Trans'Pact Productions (2022 Update)

Trans'Pact Productions: 1995

(Click here to read my original TranceCritic review)

Gilbert Thévenet, the man behind Trans'pact Productions, and the bulk of the label's releases, passed away last year. From what I can glean, he suffered from Parkinson's, the disease taking his life just over 50 years of age. A number of artists I enjoy have died around that age, and that freaks me out some. I've no reason to believe my health will fail as I draw closer to my half-centennial, but I'm sure many thought so as well, some illnesses coming on sudden and severe. Don't postpone those physicals, is what I'm saying.

As my original TranceCritic review was excruciatingly detailed, let's talk legacy then. It's a bit of a funny one, in that Mr. Thévenet was among the earliest adopters of goa trance. His works as Asia 2001, Loren X, and Progressive Transe helped lead the genre out of its pure acid roots into something proper India influenced, all the more remarkable considering he hailed from the lands of the francophone. Like, you could understand a UK label like TIP Records getting some Goa vibes on, being a former colony and all, but what influence in South Asia did France have? Vietnam? But yes, Trans'Pact has the honour of being one of the first goa labels, even if it didn't much thrive during psy trance's mid-'90s boom period.

I mentioned in that old review how much of a free-wheelin' experimental vibe permeates Chap. 2, as though ol' Gil' was having a ton o' fun toying about with his drum machines and acid boxes. As many of these productions came out in that first year of Trans'Pact's lifespan, it makes sense the songcraft is so laissez-faire, almost no rules to acid trance such as this existing yet. It didn't take long for trends and formulas to take hold though, so by the time this CD came out, much of that adventurous spirit was lost. 'Martin Cooper' soon settled into a singular project alias, Asia 2001, which stuck to the classic squealin' goa stylee for its duration. Just as well, as the Asia 2001 cuts off here were the best tunes by a fair margin anyway.

Trans'Pact itself wouldn't last, the label's output drying out after '95. When it finally shuttered, Gilbert migrated to Avatar Records, where he remained until the very end. For a time, it seemed his Trans'Pact productions would remain elusive items on the collector's market, but in recent years, Avatar started digitally re-issuing his back-catalogue. Well, the original albums as Asia 2001 at least. Ain't no way they'd resuscitate a woefully outdated collection of proto-goa such as this though.

Then they went and did it! I don't know how I feel about this. For the longest time, Chap. 2 felt like this ultra-obscure item only true heads would ever hear, tunes never given the attention or care they might deserve abroad, forgotten to all but a select few. And now anyone can hear it on streaming whenever they like! Good, is how I should feel.

Monday, February 22, 2021

Deep Forest - Boheme (2021 Update)

Epic: 1995

(Click here to read my original TranceCritic review)

Somehow, this album keeps aging like the best wines. I have no idea how or why it gets better as I get older. Is it because there's ever greater distance from my initial disappointment in hearing it the first time, so unlike their self-titled debut? Or maybe I've grown more appreciative of how much of a musical gamble Boheme truly was, especially in light of the sort of music Deep Forest would go on to make in the future.

Like, it could have been so very easy of Sanchez and Mouquet to retread 'ethno-dance'. They still had an ear for the clubs in the mid-'90s, and if you doubt it, I simply point you towards their rub on Apollo 440's Liquid Cool as proof-positive. And if that still isn't enough, I give you the Peter Gabriel collaboration While The Earth Sleeps, made for the movie Strange Days, but added as a bonus to later versions of Boheme. It makes the fumble of Bohemian Ballet on here ever the more confounding, though I like Cafe Europa a little more than before. I attribute that to hearing it as performed in a symphonic nature, on the recently released Deep Symphonic. Oh yes, even Deep Forest (now just Mouquet) gave their old tracks the symphonic treatment. Considering how many producers and DJs in clubland have done so, it's surprising it took this long for Deep Forest to also get in on that. Then again, much of their post-2000 work involved multiple instruments, so it was a natural evolution to re-interpret the sample-heavy material as though performed by full symphonies.

Speaking of, can you guess what else Deep Forest got up to, after the split? No, go on, guess! You'll never believe it. Wait, you guessed dubstep? How did...? Oh, you peaked, didn't you.

But yes, once Mouquet took the name for himself, he started a series of country-specific Deep... albums. The first, Deep Brasil, sounded about what you'd expect from a Deep Forest project specifically focused on the South American country. Half a decade passed, then Deep India and Deep Africa dropped, and I don't know what crawled into Mouquet's brain, but boy-howdy must he have been influenced by the festival psy-dub scene in that time. For sure there's still 'traditional' world beat and ethno-ambient in them, but those half-step rhythms and mid-range bass noises too. Was he trying to get hep' to the youth? Just found those sounds too irresistible to not dabble in? It absolutely boggles my mind that Deep Forest - DEEP FOREST - would go dubstep. And even more damning, I... kinda' like it? What on Earth is happening!? Oh, he's been hanging out with Gaudi. Yeah, I'd trust him in guiding the way with basslines.

Anyhow, Boheme. I think what keeps drawing me back here is the roller-coaster of emotions it wilfully takes you through. The dark, mysterious, and melancholic, followed by unabashed exhilaration and jubilation. For a tight forty minutes, that's a journey worth taking.

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Loop Guru - Amrita (...All These And The Japanese Soup Warriors) (2019 Update)

North South: 1995

(click here to read my original TranceCritic review)

It's been over half a decade since I last talked up Loop Guru, and I still haven't gathered any more of their albums. Not that they're super-hard to find or anything, most going for a tidy pop on the Amazon market now, but something keeps me from finally diving into their domain proper-like. Trepidation, that's it. A worry that they just won't live up to whatever expectation I have on them, even with the limited amount of exposure I've thus far provided myself. Wait, how is that even an excuse now? Most of their albums are also on Spotify (though not this one, oddly), so if I want to hear them to confirm my unfounded fears, I can at any time. No, there must be something else, something buried deep in my subconscious that's holding me back. I wonder what it is?

Actually, I think I know: no matter what, I will never recapture the feeling I had when I first heard Amrita. It's not a terribly significant event, but it's a vivid moment, furiously flashing across my memory membranes every time I hear Diwana or Often Again. It was a few months after I'd moved out on my own into Vancouver, and I'd just gotten this CD on one of my trips to an A&B Sound (RIP), intended for a TranceCritic review because why not.

Sometime in the wee minutes past midnight and feeling the buzz of a smoked bowl, I got the munchies and decided to walk the five blocks to a 7/11 for some snackables. As I'm strolling in the clear spring evening, the swinging tribal sounds of Loop Guru playing from my discman, I come to a startling revelation: I'm honestly and truly free, the boundless opportunities of bachelorhood open before me. I'm living in my own apartment, doing recreational drugs when I want without worry of neighbours or roommates, going for strolls in the middle of the night with nary a care or concern of where I wander, in a city I hadn't even dreamed to live in but a few years past. And this all dawned upon me while listening to this album. Now, I'm not saying it wouldn't have occurred to me if I hadn't been playing Amrita at the time, but I cannot deny something about the music here made everything click right in that moment.

And without a doubt, there is a freeing jubilation in Amrita, the sort of tribal exuberance that makes you want to kick off your shoes and dance up a dust storm in the sandy floors of an outdoor party. Yeah, Papasus and Fumi show their dubbier, chill side too, but damn, those drums in Gianyar! That chant in Yayli! That flute in Diwana! That rhythm in Sun! Can you blame me for being hesitant in exploring Loop Guru's discography further? How could anything else they do top such ebullience?

(sorry, that seems like the sort of cheeky word they'd use in liner notes)

Saturday, January 26, 2019

Various - Ambient Rituals - Exercise One: Music For Soul Braiding

Hypnotic: 1995

I believe this was Hypnotic's first ambient compilation, though I use the genre lightly regarding the music on here. Dark ambient, yeah, plus weird dronescapes too, though nothing so occult as you might think from “Rituals” in the title. Then again, I had no clue of what to expect from a Hypnotic ambient release. All I'd ever heard from them was German trance, and while I knew some of those acts had downtempo material under their belt (ie: Komakino as Ynos), I'd never seen it appear on Hypnotic CDs before.

Well, none of that mattered, because Hypnotic didn't bother reaching into their Music Research trough for this compilation. Instead, they tapped an obscure Toronto print called DOVentertainment Inc., which briefly housed such famed industrial names like Zoviet France (and by extension, Rapoon), Digital Poodle, Dead Voices On Air, and La Floa Maldita. Okay, 'housed' is stretching it a bit; handled Canadian distribution, more like. Somehow, Cleopatra got the distribution rights to their material, and since they'd established Hypnotic as their one-stop outlet/dumping ground of all things 'raverish', handed it off there as an ambient collection, never mind the music here most definitely unplayable in traditional chill rooms. Technical stuff sometimes makes my head hurt, or maybe it's this inner-ear infection I'm dealing with.

Track one comes care of Kinder Atom, a quartet of producers that includes Heiki Sillaste. Their track of Scanus is a weird, spacey minimalist techno-dub, sounding rather empty yet soothing as subtle blips and beeps sing and breathe along a steady rhythm pulsing along. Ambient techno for sure, but with a striking ominous tone befit of an industrial outlet. Mr. Sillaste returns in track number two, Autorhythm Two from A.S.A., the second time I've come across this alias, meaning I now own half of this ridiculously obscure Canadian project. And what a strange track it is too, layers of bloopy sounds creating a percolating dripping sound as a lone beep echoes every so often. Interesting, if you dig your experimental techno. Heiki appears a third time later, under his most famed handle of Digital Poodle, though Weapon is but a transitional track, showing off angry robot noises before playing a forlorn ode to a post-war industrial wasteland. Surprisingly captivating, for the short time it plays. Rapoon's here too, with a super-long ultra-repetitive track that's also very meditative, in that old-school Rapoony sort of way.

Really, the two big takeaways I got from Ambient Rituals are a pair of tracks that couldn't be further apart if they tried. The first is Hemisphere from Synaesthesia, whom you may know as good ol' Leeb and Fulber merging their EBM and world beat senses into a big, bruising downtempo jam. The other is Vuls from Dead Voices On Air, a desolate composition of distant sounds and drones. Imagine being bound inside an asylum, the hum of ventilation ducts and a security camera your lone companions, words from your overseers intermittently oozing through the cold concrete walls. Delectable paranoia for the mindspace.

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Alice In Chains - Alice In Chains

Columbia: 1995

Of the Big Four Of Grunge, I know the least about Alice In Chains. I'm sure I heard them in music video rotation and soundtracks, as you couldn't escape the grunge movement growing up a teenager of the Gen-X variety. Compared to the ubiquitous presence of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden, however, Alice In Chains somehow slipped me by. I always saw Nevermind, Ten and Superunknown on store shelves and within peers' CD collections, but I can't recall spotting Dirt among them. Maybe I didn't know what to look for, what tunes I should have noticed on their mixtapes, but fact remains for much of grunge's peak, I only knew Alice In Chains in name only, as yet another band that the rock world seemed to really like. Them and Blind Melon.

Hell, even when this particular album dropped, with cover art you couldn't turn away from if you tried, it still took me a while to clue in it was an Alice In Chains record. Like, weren't they pioneers of the Grunge Tree or something? Then again, Live kinda' made the Grunge Tree a joke, so I can understand why they'd not want anything to do with it. Instead, let's get a photo of a poor three-legged canine, and on the flip, feature a three-legged human! Nice way of showing how having too little and too much of something (in this case, legs) can be an impediment to one's existence.

Right, time to get into music discussion, and I'm afraid this is about where I'll lose all those AiC fans. As said, my knowledge of the band is extremely slight, even with their biggest hits. This self-titled third album did hit the top spot on on the Billboard 200, but I don't recall hearing much of anything from it when it was new, much less compared to their earlier work. I can only offer my thoughts on how it sounds to these virgin ears in the here and now.

And boy, is this ever one sludgy, grungy sounding album. I know the genre had moved on from its original form by '95, but AiC do a good job keeping the bleak tone intact, despite an ever increasingly optimistic decade (drug problems help). There really isn't much in the way of hooks or melodies, everything a dank, dour, atonal thrum of guitar distortion and Layne Staley's depressive vocals. Anything that does leap out is usually on the bass end, like the heavy rhythm stomp of Sludge Factory and God Am. Some kick the tempo up (So Close, Head Creeps) but for the most part, we're trawling through the Seattle murk.

I actually find the atonal nature of this album addictive, like a comforting glumness I want to explore further. Sit back with headphones, the layers of distortion overwhelming, and peel them back, finding the golden goo underneath. Alice In Chains may not catch my attention so readily as other rock, but it does keep luring me back for another spin.

Saturday, November 17, 2018

Transcend - 2001-2008

Ntone: 1995

And another CD I thought I'd never find, due to the fact I didn't know it existed. Absolutely I knew a few artists on that Tone Tales From Tomorrow Too compilation had music elsewhere, and even gathered a few items up from them (Spacetime Continuum, Neotropic, Sounds From The Ground, kinda'), but Transcend? Sure, the chap had two tracks on there, but he seemed like such an enigma, what with strange, obscure, futuristic track titles like 2003 and 2005. What hope could a teenager from the hinterlands of Canuckistan have in stumbling upon anything from the dude? Very little indeed, Transcend a nigh ghost within the Discoggian archives. This is his lone album, with a lone vinyl single with some of the same tracks coming out the year prior. Even his compilation-fu is sparse, a few scattered tunes on the usual suspects for trippy downtempo cropping up (Mind The Gap series, Instinct Records, Shadow Records). Darren Leathley, the chap behind Transcend, didn't do much else beyond Transcend either, a jungle cover of Pretty Vacant as Sub Carrier all that Lord Discogs provides.

What I hadn't counted on, however, is that Ninja Tune still has CD stock of this album, as revealed when I checked out their actual online store for the first time ever. Why hadn't I ever done that before? Because Ninja Tune music was always available in local stores, and I figured whatever was available here was available anywhere. Not the soundest of logic, but then, there was always Amazon too, providing the fallback. Now that I know it's there tho'... *giggity*

Oh, hey, maybe I should talk some actual music, eh? Ah, sadly, I'm not sure there's much to talk about here. 2001-2008 features eight tracks (2001 up through 2008), all doing that early '90s sample-dub stoner downtempo stuff quite a few folks were doing, and is strictly middle-of-the-road at that. Associated name-drops include The Orb, Psychic Warriors Ov Gaia, and maybe some post-Lifeforms FSOL for good measure. But all done in a real hazy, woozy, trippy meandering kind of way, which fits the 'experimental side of Ninja Tune' vibe Ntone was establishing itself as. I guess you could call this stuff illbient, though it lacks the turntablism that marked that genre's traits. I can't say I've heard much specifically like Transcend's style, but he's not doing much to elevate above the pack either.

If there's any distinct trait in this album, there's a loose idea of the evolution of civilization. The opening clutch of tracks mostly feature chill, laid-back tunes that have no problem throwing in a looping tribal beat, repeated stray woodwind sample, or ethnic chant into the dub stew (plus, big bong rips). The vibe turns urgent by mid-album (hey, it's the Tone Tales tunes!), and downright sketchy and paranoid too (2005). The final track, 2008, features tranquil jungle field recordings, eventually giving way to abrasive, rhythmic samples of deforestation – chopping, sawing, and felling of jungle growth, sending the local fauna fleeing for their lives. Message, much?

Monday, November 12, 2018

raison d'être - Within The Depths Of Silence And Phormations (Redux)

Cold Meat Industry/Old Europa Cafe: 1995/2013

I wouldn't call Peter Andersson a giant in the realm of dark ambient, but dude's definitely seen some shit. His early career had him doing industrial, EBM and sound experiments under various aliases, which naturally led him to doing dark ambient under other various aliases. In recent years, he's created more aliases to explore other facets of the industrial scene, but throughout it all, raison d'être has been his most prominent project. Atomine Elektrine and Stratvm Terror (with Tobias Larsson) give it competition in terms of total output, but at twenty-five albums under the guise, Mr. Andersson's other handles have some catching up to do.

I'd like to say Within The Depths Of Silence And Phormations is the raison d'̻tre album that came highly recommended, was given the ultra re-issue treatment for its Very Important status in the annals of dark ambient, but I can't confirm that. For one thing, quite a few albums from that era of his has seen the re-issue treatment, especially those that came out on the now defunct Cold Meat Industry print. There's also little in this particular album I hear that signifies it being a giant leap forward in Peter's songcraft compared to what came before. And while I'm sure there are those who hold Within The Depths... as the best release from raison d'̻tre, without taking in everything from him during this period of work, I cannot confirm such a proclamation. Nay, I honestly only scooped this album up because, as I was perusing an online store, I saw a boat on the cover. If there's one thing I've learned about dark ambient, always buy the albums that feature boats on the cover Рthey're like the Saturn beauty shots of the genre.

So diving in with no idea of what I was diving into, I was immediately struck by a steady drum beat and Gregorian chants. I didn't know what to expect, but I certainly wasn't expecting ritualistic dark ambient. Incidentally, the track is called Sephiroth, and considering this came out in 1995, it makes me wonder if Nobuo Uematsu is somehow a raison d'être fan. No, just a coincidence, I'm sure.

The album mostly flits between intense chanting pieces and droning atmospheric dark ambient compositions, painting a remarkable canvas of a church society on the verge of crumbling ruin. Not just in the field recordings and orchestral additions either, but also the sporadic dialog samples too – something about murder and the like. It all rather reminds me of Delerium's older works, but with a stronger narrative from start to finish and less noodly experimentation. Cool stuff, if you like depressive dark ambient with hooded monks in the periphery.

This Redux version includes a bonus disc of assorted material released around the same time. It's mostly of the same variety of dark ambient – repeated chants, minimalist drone, melancholic melodies, though under-produced compared to what's on Within The Depths.... Having a specific tale to tell can do wonders for one's presentation.

Sunday, October 28, 2018

Various - A Taste Of Pork: A Collection Of Pork Recordings

Quango Records: 1995

This is a CD I always saw in the music shops, even as far back as I was allowed to go to the Vancouver music shops. As the years went on, there it forever sat, unloved, uncared, unappetizing. Like, who in their right mind would pay regular price for a compilation with just seven tracks on it, three of which are by the same artist? CDs weren't cheap, and when you're looking to wax twenty bones on a compilation, you want to get as much music as possible on it, with as much variety on it. No wonder those double-disc sets of 'european trance' or those hard house DJ mixes with thirty-five tunes were more appealing. This though, what's appealing about orange cover art talking about pork? Whenever is food a tempting association with music? Unless you have synaesthesia, they interact with completely different senses, generating completely different responses upon your brain-matter. I can no better taste the music than I can hear the ham - I sure as shit ain't shoving some sizzling strips down my earholes!

Still, I've been on a bit of a Quango Records binge as of late, most of their discs quite cheap and easy to come by. I figured there's no harm in dropping a couple loonies for this on the Amazon market, round out a little more of that early jazz-funk downtempo collection that keeps growing. And it makes sense that Bruno Guez would tap Pork Recordings for material for the fledgling Quango, the label the birthing home of future Quango staple Fila Brazillia. In fact, it was co-Fila member Steve Cobby that co-founded Pork Recordings with David 'Porky' Brennand (thus the print's namesake). They even produced a lone white label to kick things off, but it was clear Cobby's production as Fila and Heights Of Abraham (with former members of industrial group Chakk) would do the heavy lifting in Pork's early years.

Hence it's no surprise that of the seven tracks that make up A Taste Of Pork, Steve Cobby is in on all but one of them. As mentioned, Fila Brazillia gets three, Leggy and The Sheriff both doing that funky, chill Latin-jazz thing the duo's always been ace at (as they played back-to-back, I thought they were the same track!). There's also Subtle Body, a surprising ambient-jazz thing with gentle keyboards and twinkling bells with dubby overtones. Meanwhile, Heights Of Abraham get two cuts, The Cleric and E.V.A. (Instrumental), both much chiller and groovier than the Fila Brazillia material, almost treading into ambient dub's domain. Cobby even gets to shows off his solo project Solid Doctor, itself a slightly dubbier take on the burgeoning Kruder & Dorfmeister downtempo stylee.

The lone track breaking up the Cobby showcase is R Resonant from R Earth. This was actually care of a re-issue Pork did for the 1990 single, though why they picked this, I haven't a clue. Is it just because a Kevin Bacon in this group? No, couldn't be that.

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Etnica - The Juggeling Alchemists Under The Black Light

High Society/DAT Records: 1995/2018

No, seriously, is there a better time to be a music fan than this past half-decade? Like, beyond just the unprecedented abundance of selection, even old, obscure stuff is now frequently unearthed and reissued in ultra-deluxe collector's packages. I've always wanted to pick up an Etnica album, one of the O.G. goa trance acts that lured me into the genre's weird, twisted sonic possibilities. Alien Protein was the obvious choice, released on the familiar print Blue Room Released – be easiest to find, is what I'm sayin' (plus, Party Droid!). I never considered their debut album, released on the far smaller label High Society, an item almost certainly lost to the dustbins of an overpriced collector's market. Not only has DAT Records rescued The Juggling Alchemists Under The Black Light from such a fate, but included a second CD of assorted remixes and single material from the same period of Etnica's career. And then they convinced the band to unleash a pile of unreleased early works for a third disc of material. Dang, son, I would have been satisfied just with a standard re-issue, but all that and chicken soup too?

Describing exactly what makes Etnica click in such a way that so few other psy trance acts do is difficult to detail. Yeah, they have just as much wiggly noises and squiggly sounds as any other act of the era, but there's something uniquely identifiable about their particular method. They have just as much freeform songcraft as other respected acts of the era like Kox Box, but always show enough restraint in not getting lost in random, go-nowhere tangents. There's the obligatory goa tonal scales, but it never sounds like Etnica is completely dependant upon them either, trippy tribal trance sounding just as comfortable cruising the cosmos as it does getting crusties flailing about on Indian beaches. And while the original Juggeling Alchemists Under The Black Light album was a tidy seven track outing, all the additional material in this mega-package doesn't dilute the experience in the slightest, Etnica's sound hardly growing stale even as the hours of music pile on. Well, okay, there are a couple quibbles I must point out.

One, due to a mislabeled DAT being sent to DAT, a lone track isn't even an Etnica cut; rather, it's a tune called Alien Phenomenon by another High Society act called Evolution. Whoops. But to make matters worse, this was supposed to be a remix of Party Droid. Aagh! Also, The Early Years disc definitely shows Etnica still in their developmental stage, tracks on there comparatively unpolished when contrasted with the stuff they properly released. It's all serviceable old-school trance, but not terribly different from much of what else was available out there. A fun bonus, then, though when mixed among the wicked-awesome coolio cuts that Etnica started churning out on the regular (as the digital version of this collection does due to alphabetizing the whole playlist) ...yeah, I can hear why they initially sat on it.

Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Various - A Journey Into Ambient Groove

Planet Earth Recordings/Quango Records: 1995/1996

Bruno Guez, the dude who oversaw Quango Records, claims in the inlay this particular compilation was the impetus that created the label. The original Journey Into Ambient Groove came out on Planet Earth Recordings, a short-lived print mostly handling early Harthouse America distribution. It possibly would have ended at that, Mr. Guez continuing on the DJ circuit while the CD got lost in a pile of trendy 'ambient house' compilations flooding the market in the wake of The Orb's commercial success. The head of Island Records though, Chris Blackwell, liked what he heard from Guez' efforts, sensing he had an ear for downtempo music that was more properly global than what most UK producers were making, and suggested a full label promoting a brand of 'global groove'. Thus, when Quango launched, Bruno retained the rights to the original Journey Into Ambient Groove brand, and used it as the premier compilation series for the young label. He'd go on to create many other series, but at four volume's worth in three year's time, this was his most successful.

Naturally, the title of this series is something of a misnomer. While there's definitely groove among these ten tracks, there's precious little ambient. A chill vibe, for sure; a dubby vibe, oh yeah. Even a light Balearic vibe, if you count the occasional flamenco guitar jamming as Balearic. Don't really hear anything I'd count as ambient though – no droning pads, no wallpaper sounds, no sentiments of napping at airports (though hanging out at a fancy lounge-bar might work). Not that it's Bruno's fault or anything, 'ambient' simply the standard buzzword for anything 'chill-out' through the first half of the '90s. It's just funny seeing it carried forward on a compilation series that'd go on to include the likes of Innervisions, Fila Brazillia, Cottonbelly, and Basement Jaxx.

What Journey Into Ambient Grooves has most in common with is the ambient dub that Beyond and Waveform were pushing. Heck, the opening track of Gato de Oro from Sapien sounds like it could have been an Original Rockers tune, which makes sense since it's actually a remix from Rockers Hi-Fi (aka: the group Original Rockers evolved into). And speaking of original rockers, Kruder & Dorfmeister's Original Bedroom Rockers is also on here, as it should be since K&D's records were among the earliest items Quango put out. Another Fine Day also crops up towards the end, doing his jazzy dub-chill thing in Lazy Daisy, while Howie B does a rub on Jenny Devivo's Love Is What I Live For.

Can't say I recognize anyone else in this track list, though I've probably crossed paths with traditional dub-dance act Zion Train at some point – they get two tunes here with Arise and First Power. The remaining artists all provide suitably groovy music to vibe on in your down time, but I feel this style would find its true form in the coming years, when the K&D influence would move downtempo beyond, um, Beyond's original ethos.

Sunday, August 26, 2018

Green Day - Insomniac

Reprise Records: 1995

Because I know y'all are just dying to know before I get into this album, let's get my relationship with Green Day out of the way. Yes, I was age appropriate to like them when Dookie came out, and even had a mixtape with the obvious hits on it. No, it's not so surprising considering that was my lone, obligatory 'rock tape', which included such popular acts like The Offspring, Nirvana, and Beastie Boys. And when Geek Stink Breath was about to premier on MuchMusic, the hype did its job in getting me to check it out, after which I went “ewww...!” I pretty much forgot about Green Day after that, as did most of my peers. A couple dedicated souls still followed them, but most of the punk kids I knew started following the likes of Rancid, NOFX, Propagandhi, Lagwagon... basically anyone on Fat Wreck Chords. And aside from that song that everyone was surprised was a Green Day song, I ignored them until American Idiot dropped. I thought it a brilliant album, and even considered picking it up, but its lead singles became just as overplayed as the stuff from Dookie. I've since only kept tabs on their career out of continued curiosity than any interest in their music. So, y'know, a pretty typical story.

The fact that I almost bought one of Green Day's most critically hailed albums may not be that surprising, though I'm sure y'all are wondering why I now have a comparatively forgotten album of theirs. No, wait, you already know the drill – former owner offloading CDs, and I gotta' collect 'em all! Strange that he'd have Insomniac and not Dookie; did he keep a few?

Anyhow, I actually kind of like this album, more so than the agreed-upon best ones like Dookie and American Idiot. Whatever you think of Green Day overall, you cannot deny they know their way around a pop-punk riff and catchy hook, and Insomniac has several that I haven't heard in ages, don't get overplayed on classic rock stations (oh God, I so old), and don't really stay in my head afterwards. Wait, is that a good thing?

I'll never forget the video for Geek Stink Breath (ewww...!), but dang, how did I forget just how catchy the tune is? That brisk build in Panic Song reminds me of some of the best old-timey punk bands with actual talented musicians on them, and I guess Walking Contradiction is fun enough as an closer single. But yeah, hearing a bunch of unfamiliar Green Day songs is better than hearing Basket Case, Holiday, or When I Come Around for the zillionth time.

That's all I have to say about Insomniac. Most of these songs breeze by as punchy punk is want to do, and it's still a genre of music I generally don't make time for. This was a fun diversion, but not likely a CD I'll be playing again for a few years.

Sunday, February 18, 2018

Oasis - (What's The Story) Morning Glory?

Epic: 1995

The only Oasis album you probably have, even if you're not an Oasis fan. Not to say their other albums weren't super-popular and mega-sellers, but (What's The Story) Morning Glory? absolutely trounces its discographic neighbours many times over. Heck, their debut album Definitely Maybe didn't even chart here in Canada. It did eventually reach Platinum sales though, riding the coattails of Morning Glory, which hit number one with a bullet, and Top 10 nearly everywhere else in the world. It even reached fifth on the Zimbabwean Albums Chart – I didn't even know Zimbabwe had such charts!

Now the obligatory, not-shocking truth-bomb from yours truly: this is the first time I've ever sat down to hear Morning Glory in full. Yeah, I know, big surprise that one of the biggest rock albums of the '90s featuring some of the most overplayed radio singles ever passed me by when 'techno' was my calling card. It's not like my teenage years weren't already spent hearing half this album everywhere I went. Wonderwall was inescapable. Champagne Supernova was inescapable (because ain't nothing more appealing to teenagers than singing about getting high). Don't Look Back In Anger was inescapable. I think I escaped Some Might Say though, having only vague recollections of hearing it in the past. Still, the utter omnipresence of Oasis quickly led me to Britpop rock fatigue, so odds of me hearing a whole album of music from the band cratered fast and hard. Damn, I even blame them for my continued avoidance of The Chemical Brothers' Dig Your Own Hole, because like Hell I wanna' hear a Gallagher going on about setting suns in my 'techno', yo'.

We're two decades removed from OasisMania though, so maybe now I can appreciate these songs with a fresh perspective, without those hummable choruses ingrained like nails upon my brain. And aside from Wonderwall, I do dig these jams. The songcraft on display is unquestionably worthy of the hype, to say nothing of how it inspired British rock's demand for big, emotional anthems that go down well at music festivals. Liam's vocals really pop, Noel's guitar leads hook and glide you along, and everything else... kinda' mushes into a big wall-of-noise assault.

Was Morning Glory always so brick-walled in the mastering? I never noticed it when hearing the singles on the radio or the TV, but it's unmistakable now that I'm paying attention to the album proper-like. Apparently this was a big issue at the time, audiophiles complaining about the lack of dynamics for a major record such as this. The producer, Owen Morris, admits to mastering in such a manner, as much a result of inexperience in the studio as his shying away from “posh production values”. I can't say it's a deal-breaker in enjoying this album – the melodic leads remain the focal points, as they should – but it's weird saying Morning Glory is best experienced played in the background, ignoring nuances you couldn't pick out if you tried.

Friday, February 2, 2018

Various - United DJs Of America, Vol. 3: Josh Wink - Philadelphia, PA

DMC America: 1995

It's been a while since I did a “DJ mix series retrospective on the cheap”, and if there's one that could use another look while being affordable, it's United DJs Of America. While Europe and especially the U.K. were absolutely gung-ho about their vinyl spinners, many DJs in America struggled to gain much attention outside clubbing hotbeds, save the occasional crossover single they produced on the side. DMC figured they could make bank highlighting some of America's most prominent jocks, and started the series up in 1994.

Hot off the heels of his breakout acid anthem of Higher State Of Consciousness, DMC tapped Josh Wink for the series' third entry. Heh, no, that wasn't the sole reason. The whole point of United DJs Of America was to shed some shine on locales beyond the famed clubbing hotbeds of New York City, Chicago, South Florida, and San Francisco (Detroit was more about warehouses than clubs), and Philadelphia often went overlooked. However, DJ Jazzy Jeff wasn't part of the house and techno scene, ?uestlove was busy doing his own thing with The Roots, and Diplo was an unknown teen in '95. If any Philly jock was to get the greenlight here, Josh Wink was the man, a well-established veteran with discerning heads even before hitting big with Higher State.

United DJs Of America was Wink's first commercial DJ mix, and I suspect he was still in the feeling-out process of how to make one. It starts fine enough with some bumpin' house action from Murk and Madd African, but soon gives way to the sort of minimal techno and house that Wink made his name on, including his own pre-Higher State cut How's The Music. It's all very heady music, and I'm sure worked wonderfully in dark, sweaty clubs back when, but does it ever drag listening to it on the homefront. Plus, I'm kinda' worn out on DBX' Losing Control now, thanks.

But we all know ol' Josh for the acid, and the back end of his set comes correct with the tweakin' 303 action, tracks like Cappio Bros.' Caffeine 4 Daze?, Firefly's Supernatural, and ten-plus minutes of Tata Box Inhibitors' Plasmids doing the damage proper-like. A strong finish, though a rather tedious trip to get there.


I can't do a DJ mix series retrospective without some gimmick, so what better way to celebrate each selected city than having a guest review spot by someone famous from each location. And I can't think of anyone more famous from Philly than Rocky Balboa! What, I didn't say they had to be real.

Rocky: A'yo, if DJing is something Josh wanna do, and is something Josh gotta' do, then Josh will do it, ya' know? Remember, big arms can move rocks, but big beats can move mountains. Ya' know, they always say if you live in one place long enough, you are that place, and Josh, he's Philly, through an' through. He's a contender that refused to give up.





Friday, December 1, 2017

KMFDM - Nihil

Wax Trax! Records/Metropolis: 1995/2007

About time I started up a KMFDM collection. They were only the first industrial band that caught my attention because Mortal Kombat obviously, but also all those eye-popping CDs with brutalist comic-art covers didn't hurt either. Truthfully, I was intimidated by the artwork, not quite ready for their aggressive, thrashy take on discotech rawk. That Juke Joint Jezebel jam though, always got my jimmies jostlin', and you can imagine my fanboyism upon discovering they used footage from the Patlabor movie for the music vid. I figured I'd get to their output eventually, but industrial remains rather fringe where my tastes are concerned, something I hope to rectify over time. Have to start somewhere though, and while Nine Inch Nails, Fear Factory, and Front Line Assembly have provided a taste, it's about time I give Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid their due.

And as Nihil is the album that has Juke Joint Jezebel on it, it's only natural that I'd pick this one up first. No, wait, that's not it. I got Nihil because, as their most commercially successful album, it's clearly The Only KMFDM Album You're Supposed To Have, Even If You're Not A KMFDM Fan. Haha, no, it's a good reason, but that's not it either. I got this first because of a totally unrelated situation that will be made clear incredibly soon.

Thing that's always struck me as crazy with this band is how American they sound. Maybe their earlier work was more Teutonic (I haven't heard any of it), but much of the stuff I've come across always had this 'buttrock' vibe to it, like they were fully committed to American gutter riffs, gospel glory, and cyberpunk sleaze. This may have been in part to their moving to the States, the industrial scene a different beast here compared to Europe. Opening track Ultra (also made popular by anime) is a propulsive beast, with shouty lyrics and abrasive guitars that'll get all the longhairs whipping their heads about. Flesh, Trust, and Search & Destroy go even thrashier, the sort of tunes that makes me hype to just attack something, like a punching bag or my dishes.

KMFDM haven't forgotten their EBM roots though, tracks like Beast, Revolution, and Brute getting down to thumping, jack-boot rhythms as cyberpunk samples and electronics play out – probably could have made handy soundtrack fodder if Juke Joint Jezebel hadn't hogged all the glory. They even find time to slow things down to a grinding chug with Terror (that hook!), and... is that a ballad with Disobedience? Well, about as mellow as they'll allow, vicious sonic attacks still bridging the mellow parts.

Given their history, it's remarkable KMFDM hit upon such a success eight albums deep, though they'd been building plenty of good-will for most of the '90s too. Maybe it was the added input of former band member Raymond Watts to the mix, or maybe just feeling inspired by the West Coast scenery they relocated to, but whatever the case, Nihil remains peak KMFDM.

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

LL Cool J - Mr. Smith

Def Jam Recordings: 1995

Can't be a proper hip-hop head without a little LL Cool J in my collection. Just a shame it's taken me this long to get some. No, wait, that's not true - I did have a Cool J album before, his G.O.A.T. album when I first got into hip-hop. I liked it enough to nab me a copy, but when it came time for the Great CD Pawning Of 2002 (unemployed ass gotta' pay for ramen noodles somehow), it didn't survive the purge. No great loss by most accounts, and while LL's remained an active name in the world of rap, I haven't been compelled to keep tabs on his music. That doesn't excuse me from skipping on his early classics though, so maybe this will finally get my ass hunting for those albums you're supposed to have, even if you're not a LL Cool J fan.

Actually, I think I've already accomplished this with Mr. Smith ...kind of. While not a critical darling on the same level as Bigger And Deffer or Mama Said Knock You Out, it was a successful commercial turnaround for LL after a weak jump on the gangsta fad of the early '90s. Propped up by Platinum-selling singles that catered to the lucrative R&B crowd, even folks who'd never bothered with his '80s output were buying this album up.

That's damn impressive considering how most rappers from the previous decade were constantly being upstaged by fresher talents. For sure those only after the grittiest, grimiest street tales wouldn't have much use for Mr. Smith, but there's a much wider audience than that in the Urban scene, and Cool J tapped into it perfectly. Hell, I remember Doin' It being quite the hit even in my backwoods region of Canada, if only because as snarky teenagers, we'd do mocking sarcastic renditions of the chorus. Joke's on us though, LL soon appearing on Demographic-Approved soundtracks like Beavis And Butthead Do America and Space Jam.

So the R&B tunes were the big hits (including Boyz II Men collab' Hey Lover, and Loungin with the Puff Daddy-produced duo Total). How's the rest of Mr. Smith, then? Good enough, I suppose – no embarrassing attempts at being thug at least. LL gets in several braggadocios cuts showing off his lyrical skills for 'real hip-hop heads', including Make It Hot, I Shot Ya, No Airplay, Mr. Smith, Get Da Drop On 'Em. He also gets in a couple wordplay cuts, one toying with movie titles (Hollis To Hollywood), another giving props to rap acts over the years (Hip Hop). This one's oddly placed in the album though, second track status when it feels like it should be plugged near the end as a tribute.

Production wise, most tunes are handled by a then-new talent called TrackMasters, who's smooth, Eastcoast style would lead them to producing such prominent names like Nas, Foxy Brown, Noreaga, Method Man, and Will Smith. Eh, I'll take Rashad Smith's dubby style myself. He later got Busta Rhymes.

Things I've Talked About

...txt 10 Records 16 Bit Lolita's 1963 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2 Play Records 2 Unlimited 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 20xx Update 2562 3 Loop Music 302 Acid 36 3FORCE 3six Recordings 4AD 6 x 6 Records 75 Ark 7L & Esoteric 808 State A Perfect Circle A Positive Life A-Wave a.r.t.less A&M Records A&R Records Abandoned Communities Abasi Above and Beyond abstract AC/DC Ace Trace Ace Tracks Playlists Ace Ventura acid acid house acid jazz acid techno acoustic Acroplane Recordings Adam Beyer Adam Ellis Adam Freeland Adham Shaikh ADNY Adrian Younge adult contemporary Advanced UFO Phantom Aegri Somnia AEI Music Aes Dana Afgin Afrika Bambaataa Afro-house Afterhours Agoria Aidan Casserly Aira Mitsuki Airwaves Ajana Records Ajna AK1200 Akshan album Aldrin Alex Smoke Alex Theory Alice In Chains Alien Community Alien Project Alio Die All Saints Alpha Wave Movement Alphabet Zoo Alphaxone Altar Records Alter Ego alternative rock Alucidnation Ambelion Ambidextrous ambient ambient dub ambient techno Ambient World Ambientium Ametsub Amon Amarth Amon Tobin Amplexus Anabolic Frolic Anatolya Andrea Parker Andrew Heath Androcell Anduin Andy C anecdotes Aniplex Anjunabeats Annibale Records Anodize Another Fine Day Antendex anthem house Anthony Paul Kerby Anthony Rother Anti-Social Network Anzio Green Aoide Aphasia Records Aphex Twin Apócrýphos Apollo Apollo 440 Apple Records April Records Aqua Aquarellist Aquascape Aquasky Aquila Arcade Architects Of Existence Archives Arcturus arena rock Arista Armada Armin van Buuren Arpatle Artifact303 Arts & Crafts ASC Ashtech Asia Asian Dub Foundation Astral Engineering Astral Projection Astral Waves Astralwerks AstroPilot AstroPilot Music Asura Asylum Records ATB ATCO Records Atlantic Atlantis atmospheric jungle Atom Heart Atomic Hooligan Atomine Elektrine Atrium Carceri Attic Attoya Audiobulb Records Audion AuroraX Autechre Autistici Autumn Of Communion Auxilary Auxiliary Avantgarde Avatar Records Aveparthe Avicii Axiom Axs Axtone Records Aythar B.G. 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