OutKast - The Love Below

Arista: 2003

Of course the reason a high percentage of folks bought OutKast's last (and final?) proper album was for that one song on Mr. Benjamin's solo effort, The Love Below. It was such a hit, such a smash, such a pop culture revelation, it turned André 3000 into a superstar overnight, the video serving as much a spotlight on his many stage talents as anything music related. It probably could have launched a semi-successful solo career had Hollywood not lured him away for so long, ushering in a new era of rappers forgoing the standard hip-hop beats of the day for more funk, soul, jazz, and blues fusions. Where you could croon to R&B while mixing in electro synths while sticking to a conceptual theme for the full eighty minutes a CD offered. Where you could be as quirky as you could go, all the while exposing a sensitive side almost unheard of in the world of rap. Come to think of it, hip-hop has come around to such developments in recent years, though most keep pointing to Kanye West as the spearhead, The Love Below practically forgotten these days.

Maybe hip-hop just wasn't ready for it. For sure they didn't mind influences from Prince and Funkadelic making their ways into their jams, but only for a track or three, and always with the sounds of the street kept intact. This was a full-on, take-it or leave-it indulgence, and save a few of those killer, undeniable earworms OutKast could always be counted upon, many left it in the rear view. Even those who only came for Hey Ya!, knowing nothing of the group's history in the Atlanta rap scene, were challenged by the oddities André 3000 wilfully filled The Love Below with. Lord knows when folks bring up this double-LP, they always speak of Speakerboxxx with more fondness, finding Big Boi’s ode to Southern hip-hop the easier to take of the two.

Listening to The Love Below a decade on, and all that lovely hindsight firmly reminding us this could end up being the final OutKast album, it makes things much easier to appreciate what André 3000 was shooting for here. For sure you can mix in some askew blues moments (Take Off Your Cool, Prototype) with your broken-beatnik electro (A Life In The Day Of Benjamin André, Pink & Blue). Or why not some frantic jazzstep (Spread, My Favorite Things) with classic jazz vibes (Love Hater, She’s Alive). Honestly, The Love Below sounds like Mr. Benjamin is exercising every muse he never fully explored in his years of OutKast, all in one go. The whole ‘love’ concept of the album is just something to hang all these disparate tunes on, and while it’s all interesting to hear, Lord help us if a b-side version of this is ever revealed. It probably didn’t need to run the full eighty minutes, though I cannot deny being intrigued by every next track as ol’ André reveals another of his many tastes.

OutKast - Speakerboxxx

Arista: 2003

To write about OutKast’s double-LP opus Speakerboxxx / The Love Below is ultimately an exercise in doubling one’s word count, the two ‘solo albums’ so radically different from each they demand divided attention. Fortunately for me, I’ve long set a precedent of reviewing individual CDs of multi-disc releases, and if there’s ever an album that needs this, it’s OutKast’s technical last album (to date). No, I don’t count Idlewild, the soundtrack merely one part of that project’s main focus: making a movie about OutKast, set in an old-timey ragtime era, because of course they would.

Before venturing into Big Boi’s album, here’s a bit of forgotten trivia first. When the double-disc came out, the CD you’d see upon opening the tray was André 3000’s The Love Below. This, despite Speakerboxxx long considered the CD1 due to its position in the main title, being the advertised front cover, and the name everyone automatically associates with this release. I bring this up because it points to one of the idiosyncrasies that made OutKast such a unique entity within hip-hop’s landscape. They thrived on dashing expectations, whether something big and bold like genre fusions on their albums, to something simple like tricking hip-hop heads into playing the disc they wouldn’t care for if they weren’t paying attention.

Speakerboxxx though, they’d be totally fine with, especially all those trunk rattling Southern bass jams. Big Boi always was the more ‘traditional’ hip-hop part of OutKast, and with a full LP to indulge himself, unleashes plenty of beats for the booty and body, and tons of rhymes for the lyrical heads. Ghetto Musick, Tomb Of The Boom, Flip Flop Rock, and Last Call have no problem getting rowdy and crunk for the sake of it, while funky soul worms its way in Unhappy, Bowtie, The Way You Move, and Reset. And though Dré 3000 doesn’t do much in the way of rhyming on Speakerboxxx, he does lend his production to a few esoteric cuts (Ghetto Musick, War, Church), bringing this CD as close to the vibe most point as vintage OutKast.

Not that Big Boi lacks lyrical back-up without his partner in crime afoot. Mr. Patton has plenty on his mind to spit, getting a few street tales and perspectives out on War, Knowing and The Rooster. He’s not hesitant in calling in some outside support too, Speakerboxxx featuring one of OutKast’s biggest guest spots ever with Jay-Z dropping in along with your usual plethora of Southern rap names (Killer Mike, Goodie Mob, Ludacris, Lil’ Jon & The East Side Boyz). At a time when crunk was primed for its takeover of all things hip-hop, it’s quite refreshing hearing such bass heavy music with some effort put into lyrics. Hell, Last Call with Lil’ Jon is probably one of the best non Lil’ Jon-produced Lil’ Jon tracks out there (pst, it was André 3000 at the console there too). Oh, the wonders we could have visited upon had OutKast kept going this route in the ‘00s.

ACE TRACKS: September 2015

Well, what do you know? It’s October 2015, which means I’ve been back at this blog for three whole years now. I honestly never thought it’d come to this. While I was pretty determined to listen through my entire music collection in alphabetical order, I felt writing about my progress would be nothing but a short-termed lark. That I’d hit another burn-out wall, or see this as a futile endeavor if no one was reading, or get distracted with something more important. This format though - the self-imposed word count and sense of absolute writing freedom - has kept burn-out at bay, somehow attracted its fair share of steady readers, and never interfered with real world obligations. Geez though, I hope I don’t get big off this. Last thing I need in my life is becoming Internet Famous. Here, have a play of ACE TRACKS from September 2015 to keep the controversy at bay.


Full track list here.

MISSING ALBUMS:
Tom Middleton - The Sound Of The Cosmos
Dieselboy - A Soldier’s Story
DJ Moe Sticky - RnB State Of Mind 32 & 33 Various - Saint-Germain-Des-Pres Café III
Tau Ceti - Somnium

Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 0%
Percentage Of Rock: 7%
Most “WTF?” Track: Coldcut - Sound Mirrors (just what is going on with that instrumentation anyway?)

With so much ambient in this playlist, especially from AstroPilot, I’ve gone with a different sort of arrangement. No, not a variation of an alphabetical run-through. Rather, I’ve lumped all the beatless material at the beginning, and worked a gradual increase in tempo through to the end. It goes into some downtempo and deep house stuff, gets a bit more heavy with funk and disco punk, then finishes out with hard trance and acid. So, um, like a traditional set, I guess. Weird that I’ve never done it this way before, but then most of these playlists are quite the mish-mash of genres.

Peter Gabriel - So

Geffen Records: 1986

The only Peter Gabriel album you're supposed to have, even if you're not a Peter Gabriel fan. Unless, that is, you were already a Peter Gabriel fan, enjoying his work with the O.G. Genesis line-up and his following art-rock solo work. Then So is probably seen as a wack, commercial sell-out of an album, courting easy money with huge hits like Sledgehammer and In Your Eyes. Hell, he even gave this record a proper title after his first four were eponymous. That reeks of corporate interference, and it t’was, his label insisting a title so they could market it easier. Man, did they ever, So a mandatory inclusion in any generic advertising shot of CD collections. It worked though, convincing me to 'splurge' on So after spotting it in a supermarket bargain bin. Anything from the '80s with that much public prominence must have some merit to it beyond the recognizable hits, right?

Sure, although this album feels so ‘80s, it almost hurts. Part of that is strictly the production standard of the time, what with the copious reverb and hall effects the decade adored, so if you can’t stand that sound, walk on by. Granted, Mr. Gabriel was partly responsible for it becoming popular in the first place, among the first employing that distinct flat, echoing drum kick everyone associates with Regean Era rock. It also doesn’t hurt having Daniel Lanois as a co-producer either, most famous for lending his talents to U2’s most endearing work. He, too, has an inescapable ‘80s aesthetic, but his widescreen style definitely suits the ambitious, ultra-dense song-writing of Gabriel, so it’s a good pairing in this case.

You know what else was big in the ‘80s? Issues, man. Globalization was rearing its head, and people in prominent positions were all on that raising awareness shtick, Gabriel no less so than any of his musical peers. Opener Red Rain drops plenty of issues afflicting the world, the title alone a not-so subtle metaphor for the blood spilled for unjust causes. Meanwhile, gentle ballad Don’t Give Up narrows the focus closer to Gabriel’s country dealing with Thatcherism. And despite the upbeat funk of the song suggesting otherwise, Big Time is a condemnation of ‘80s consumerism. An unaware Patrick Bateman would approve if he wasn’t already a fan of Collins-era Genesis.

Finally, with world issues the hot topic of social conscience ‘80s folk, it also brought in more awareness of ethnic music. Gabriel was already a fan of such fusions, but with some pop sensibilities, he helped bring worldy sounds to Western radios in Sledgehammer (Eastern woodwinds!), Red Rain (Africa!), and Mercy Street (Brazilian forró!).

That didn’t stop him from getting his art-rock on at the end of So though. We Do What We’re Told has a meditative, rhythmic drone going for it, while This Is The Picture gets beat-jammy with Nile Rodgers and... wait, that bass tone. Could it be...? *checks credits* Laswell. Again with the Laswell. What is he, the Kevin Bacon of bass?

Tiga - Non Stop

Different: 2012

Hard to believe it was a full decade before Tiga released another standalone mix CD onto the market. After a trio of solid sets on his own label Turbo, and a stellar offering to DJ-Kicks, the Montreal native seemed primed to become one of the top jocks on the market. Then he discovered an innate talent at producing pseudo-pop music for a savvy clubbing audience, and he's hardly looked back since. He still did the DJ circuit, but it wasn't where his hype focused on, letting his artist albums do the talking for him instead. Thus, the only mix CD to his name between DJ-Kicks and this is a double-disc joint effort with Adrian Thomas called inthemix.05, which I assume is associated with the Australian website of the same name? Doesn't matter, since it's essentially a forgotten set compared to American Gigolo and Montreal Mix Sessions, and way overshadowed by all the quirky singles he was putting out during the mid-'00s.

Back to the heavyweight CD-mix jam we've ended up though, which can only signify one thing for Mr. Sontag: career reinvention! C'mon, it's how this story always goes. Trendy tastemaker makes mark on club scene with definitive DJ mixes, sustains a lengthy career with the sound, sound falls out of favor, jump on a fresher sound to stay relevant. Or, if incredibly uncanny, manages to create a new sound all on his/her own, but I doubt even Tiga could do that. Nay, he's instead fallen in with some of the biggest festival headliners around these last few years, like Boys Noize and the Mad Decent posse. Wait... he already was pals with them, back when he was the star and they were getting their breaks. Okay, never mind, this theory's the bunk.

In reality, Non Stop is nothing less than a statement on where Tiga's musical influences currently resides. Not a terribly adventurous concept then, but considering it's been such a long time since he gave us anything in a physical form, I'll take it. Like many of his sets from the past, Mr. Sontag is fearless in throwing various genres and styles into his mix, often using transitional snippets and blending tracks together for mash-ups ranging from cheeky to thrilling. Past attempts were often rather rough though, vinyl technology just not up to snuff in providing studio-perfect blends. Not so with Non Stop, every mix and layering sounding effortless and smooth – thanks, studio hands! Some might quibble it detracts from the sort of spontaneous, on-the-fly set Tiga's been known for, but I contend such tinkering only perfects the musical journey he's always taken folks on.

The music itself runs the gamut from warped AFX acid to bumpin’ Adam Marshall tech-house to tribal Lula Circus funk to thumpin’ Blawan techno, and proto-trance Homeboy-Hippie-FunkiDredd old-school rave. Yes, in that order, with all the gradual changes in tempo and genres that comes with it. Non Stop is a fun mix, all said, but then you’d expect nothing less from Tiga.

Various - Shadow: Hed Sessions 2

Shadow Records: 2002

What's that, you say? You don't care about Shadow Records' genre explorations and just want to kick back with some down low funky urban vibes? First off, props to you for being that dedicated to defunct label to even have developed such standards. I didn't even know y'all existed out there. Hell, I was surprised to find any Shadowheads even when they were in business. Folks knew of them, sure, but more as an outlet for older releases from Ninja Tune, DJ Cam, or Kruder & Dorfmeister – only hardcore fans of trip-hop and jazz-funk gave the label's massive extended roster much notice, and even then plenty of names slipped through the cracks. Goo needs more love, yo'!

Where was I going with this? Oh, right Hed Sessions. This was the sort of compilation that served Shadow Records best, focusing on the sound that made the label’s breaded butter while throwing the spotlight on acts that had fallen through the downtempo cracks. Hell, given the massive size of the that scene and all its variant genres (trip-hop, illbient, acid jazz, nu-jazz, dub, funk-fusion, abstract-step, sprockets), it’s more of a chasm than a crack producers could disappear down. Forget the obsessive techno collectors, I’d like to see someone gather all there is in this field of electronic music!

The first Hed Sessions did as the Hard Sessions did with two tracks per five selected artists. Hed Sessions 2 mixes things up a little by drawing upon more artists instead. There’s also a repeat from the previous volume, in that Saru (Steve Branson) appears again, though in remixed form. Wait, Subterra already was remixed on Hed Sessions, and now we get another remix of that track in Hed Sessions 2? Damn, pimp your own acts much, Shadow? Whatever, the dubbed out version of Suck In Love’s good stuff. Why am I talking about Hed Sessions as though I’ve already reviewed it?

By the by, Blend is on here thrice. Once offering a remix of Greg Long’s Economic Freedom, and getting remixed himself by DJ DRM in Addicted and Greg Long for All That Dub. Ah, a little ‘I remix you, you remix me’ action going on here. And for the love of dub, I hope y’all remember me mentioning Blend some twenty months ago (!) – his Echo Warrior album is exactly the sort of thing I was blabbering on about above there.

Other tracks on Hed Sessions 2 include trip-groove hoppin’ Goldiggin’ from Cordovan, jazz-funk hop of Banana Jazz Hop from Toye, floating jazz-dub vibes of Nikita’s Dream from Swirlbent, and space ‘n’ spliff turntable action of Darkness from Raging Family. If you recognize most these names, you either know them personally, or already have this CD, because this is literally the only place Lord Discogs recognizes them. Still, though walking the same paths Mo’Wax and Ninja Tune had long treaded, these are all fine tunes, definitely deserving of more exposure even if the artists aren’t around any longer.

ACE TRACKS: July 2013

*SIGH*…. So much for my hockey hopefuls. Why do I continue routing for teams that never quite make it? Maybe I just dislike the successful teams because they’re always beating the teams I like. In that case, go Tampa Bay Lightening, I guess. I’ve no quarrel with you, even supported them during their first Cup win (because LOL Calgary Flames), it’d be cool to see Steve Stamkos win a Cup early in his career, and all those goals Tyler Johnson’s scoring would be such a waste if he doesn’t win Conn Smythe. Doesn’t make me any more interesting in the NHL Playoffs though – heck, the NBA Playoffs are looking more intriguing about now. The remaining teams are all title starved, the last any of them having won a Ring two decades ago, another four decades ago (to say nothing of the zilch victories of Atlanta and Cleveland). Some long-suffering fanbase is gonna’ be celebrating and flipping cars long into the night this June! What? Oh, right, here’s ACE TRACKS: July 2013. Knew I was ignoring something.


Full Track List Here.

MISSING ALBUMS:
Mind Distortion System - He Claims To Be Not Human

Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 26%
Percentage Of Rock: 28% (though a chunk of it is technically Neil Young folksy stuff)
Most “WTF?” Track: Ice Cube - You Can’t Fade Me (seriously, those lyrics)

Another weird month, this one. It started with a couple Greatest Hits CDs, got seriously grimy with Ice Cube and Grooverider jungle, chilled for a bit with Swayzak, Kruder, and Dorfmeister, a little UK mainstream with Fatboy Slim and Gorillaz, banged it out with hard desert trance, Neil Young came in with an acoustic guitar, and ended with some mishmashed stuff at the end. Clearly the only way to treat such an erratic collection of tunes is another alphabetical playlist. Except for AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted and Steve Miller Band’s Greatest Hits, which are lumped at the end as full albums. A bizarre, unworkable contrast, you say? Heh, welcome to what it’s like listening to all this music as I have for the last couple years.

Ghostface Killah - 36 Seasons

Salvation Music: 2014

Finally, after sifting through a bunch of Ghostface Killah's back catalog, I can discuss a new album from the prolific Wu-Tang Clan member. Law of averages dictated my alphabetical stipulation and Tony Starks' ceaseless work rate would coincide with each other eventually. What even is his average, on LP per year now? He could have easily faded with his '00s fame, ready to slow down and rest easy on the rap game - no one would think lesser of him. Yet here he is again, slamming back a Shaolin Powerthirst, spitting out four-hundred fresh verses, each filled with the same fire that's driven him since the earliest days of Wu-Tang's formation. What is he, the Neil Young of hip-hop?

For that matter, what else can he rap about? He’s done the street tales, the sexy come-ons, the conscious rhymes, the battles brags, and the made-man narratives... what’s left? Horrorcore? Nerdcore? Yes! I mean, Mr. Coles already takes on aspects of slasher flicks (the ‘ghostface’ persona) and geek culture (Ironman, obviously), so why not embrace them to their logical extreme? Spin some narratives that aren’t as tied to gritty block dramas and rap jargon either, instead take on fantastical elements as witnessed in the pulpiest of ‘70s exploitation films. It’s never held The RZA back.

I don’t think Ghostface is quite willing to go so far off the macabre end as RZA did with Gravediggaz, but on 36 Seasons, he shows no problem having his own Bobby Digital moment. This is a pure blaxploitation action-thriller, a familiar story told for anyone well versed in the cinematic sub-genre. Come, sit by the fire as I weave the tale. A man comes back from time away, usually while in prison, but sometimes to serve duty overseas, or other ‘mysterious’ reasons. His neighbourhood’s changed though: streets have grown rougher, corrupt cops patrol the roads, and worse of all, his woman’s found another man in her life. Not that he blames her, as nine years is a long time to be gone, but there’s something fishy about this cat. More urgent though, is cleaning up the illicit drug game, and as the cops are on the take, the man takes it upon himself to do the deed. A chemical explosion in one such raid leaves him physically incapacitated though, forcing him to see a ‘mad scientist’ for treatment, thus forced to wear a mask in the form of a ghost. Wait, isn’t this Dr. Doom’s origin story?

Actually, the whole ‘becoming Ghostface’ part only takes up a brief portion of the album’s narrative. Also, I’m kinda’ disappointed the ‘Final Showdown’ of the story only lasts one two-minute track’s worth - it felt like 36 Seasons was building up to something bigger. There’s little else worth complaining about though. Ghostface remains as taught a storyteller as ever, the beats ooze ‘70s funk and soul, and AZ makes for an excellent rap foil throughout. 36 Seasons isn’t an essential album, but it’s enjoyable and skill for a vigilante narrative.

Various - Pulp Fiction

MCA Records: 1994

Shame I didn't get to this CD a little sooner – say, last yearish. I could’ve generated cheap traffic by piggy-backing off clickbait articles like “Hey, It’s The 20th Anniversary Of That Movie You Can’t Stop Quoting!” But alas, we're already two weeks deep into 2015, long past the expiry date of people nostalgically revisiting Pulp Fiction's 1994 release. Who cares that it came out mid-November of that year, thus making us but two months late for twentieth-anniversary prestige. Hell, as I recall, Tarantino's opus to the mush of storytelling didn't catch popular buzz until well into '95, finding more fanfare on the home video market where all us impressionable underage Gen-X types could finally watch it. And hoo, what a movie to behold, making not a lick of sense but strangely captivating as Hollywood stars waxed bullshit over obscene circumstances.

Plus the music! Wow, where did ol' Quentin find all that awesome music? His personal record collection apparently, turning many of his flicks into as much a mixtape as they are ‘70s genre-sploitations. Of course, with over two decades to study his methods, having rare, odd, and perfect tunes’ become the expectant norm, and unfortunately nothing’s made quite the impact that the surf rock of Misirlou did. Still, Tarantino made a style of music that had been absolutely dead for three decades hip again. That’s quite an achievement, and though it didn’t resurrect into a reinvigorated scene, it did create a new generation of crate divers digging a little further into obscure musical cul-de-sacs. Erm, not me though – I still had ‘techno’.

So the surf rock is primarily what Pulp Fiction’s music is remembered for, and for good reason. Beyond the killer opener, at least a third of the music on this soundtrack is in that style. Another significant chunk is taken up by dark, bluesy country, though not always specifically from that scene. Heavy rockers Urge Overkill do a cover of Neil Diamond’s Girl, You’ll Soon Be A Woman, and then-newcomer Maria McKee goes full-on whisky folk, but every track has that ‘outlaw’ feeling that Tarantino loves writing into protagonists. Not so much always the ‘bad guys’, as he’s featured his fair share of vigilantes too. More like desperados, and can you think of any sub-sub American culture that was filled with those sorts than the outlaws of the country? Sure, the surfer nation! Nothing caught that vintage American West desperado spirit like freeloaders taking on the mighty waves of the Pacific Ocean, risking life and limb to prove Man was undefeatable in the face of his Mother Nature’s fury. Well, the music suggested as such.

Look, I’m just waxing bullshit here for the sake of my own ego (like a Tarantino movie!). Even if you haven’t seen Pulp Fiction (!), you’ve probably seen a parody or two, and know its music and culled bits of dialog from those. You don’t need me telling you to check this out, because you already have, even if only by cultural osmosis.

Ghostface - The Pretty Toney Album

Def Jam Recordings: 2004

This is the exact moment when Ghostface Killah surpassed any need of Wu-Tang association as a hip-hop talent. Following The Pretty Toney Album, it was clear Mr. Coles was on a totally different level as a solo MC compared to his Clan fam’, and could carry on a successful career without them should he so choose - yep, Wu-Tang breakup rumours were rampant at this time. Fueling that gossipy narrative was the fact nary a Clan member nor their second and third tier MCs have guest verses on this album, a first for any of the group's solo LPs (RZA and True Master did contribute a couple productions though). It led to ridiculous amounts of speculation over whether there was beef between Ghost and Wu-Tang, which he immediately quashes with an opening mock interview skit, but it'd be a few years before it finally simmered away.

There was another factor to all the talk, however; with The Pretty Toney Album, Ghostface was the only Clan member to have a standout solo album up to that point in the new millennium (though Masta Killa's debut wasn't too far ahead). Granted, hindsight's shown that LPs from GZA, Inspectah Deck, and so on weren't awful, but it seemed no one else was maintaining the creative fire that propelled Wu-Tang through the '90s like he was. Def Jam must have believed as much, signing him once his deal with Epic passed, all but cementing his status among the upper hip-hop echelon. Good thing Mr. Coles gave them solid albums and confirming their support was justified, unlike some other Wu members (sorry, Meth').

As The Pretty Toney Album was his debut on Def Jam, the album comes off like a showcase for Ghostface’s various styles of MCing. Okay, he tends to have only one style, a near-breathless stream of conscious attack filled with hyperbole and slang, but his preferred topics range from street tales, near pornographic come-ons, or persona acting. Most of his albums find him sticking to one, but not here. We get various crime sagas with Biscuits, Run (along with Jadakiss), and It’s Over, while relationship shit goes down in Save Me Dear, Tooken Back, and Push (with Missy Elliot at the summit of her powers). A few other topics are scattered about, like Ghost simply spitting fire over lesser MCs (Ghostface, Beat The Clock), plus his obligatory softy song in Love. I can’t say all of these are Tony Starks at his absolute best, but it’s a great primer if you were just getting into his music (a decade late, somehow).

And the beats? Man, you better love them old funk and soul jams, because Ghostface loves them so much, he barely alters his samples at all. At least a third of these tracks is just him rapping over the original songs from the ‘60s and ‘70s, a few tweaks and edits the only noticeable difference, though I honestly don’t know for sure. My knowledge of the soul classics is the bunk.

Prince - Musicology

Columbia: 2004

The music scene Prince had flourished within at his commercial peak was no longer recognizable, tons of young upstarts feeding the crowds with watered-down funk and drunk-dumb crowd pleasers. There was no soul in music anymore, no respect for the masters who’d laid the groundwork. Time to take the music back to its source, then - back to the old school that inspired him, with little to none of the modern trappings that plague contemporary music. And to kick off this initiative would be an advertising campaign unlike any other before, including an instantly catchy lead single paired with a perfectly charming video. Unfortunately, once the full album dropped, folks quickly realized all the media hype was just that, and were left with a disappointing product that could never have lived up to its build-up. Oh well, at least Daft Punk still earned a Grammy for the album. Wait a minute…

Yes, in an uncanny coincidence, the stories behind Prince’s Musicology and Daft Punk’s Random Access Memory are remarkably similar, although I suspect Daft Punk’s version will be talked about longer than Prince’s. When Mr. Nelson came out with Musicology, it was the first time in years the general music media showed interest in him again. Part of it likely was due to his induction into the Rock 'N Roll Hall Of Fame that same year; or maybe it was the fact his old label disputes throughout the '90s was finally subsiding, thus allowing Mr. Nelson to retain his famous performance name, and not some wonky symbol. It sure makes it easier for journalists to proclaim “Prince Is Back!”, even though he never really went away. Additionally, Musicology was a return to a major label for distribution, in this case Columbia. With everything pointing to a triumphant narrative, this album was destined to re-establish Prince as the preeminent tastemaker of all things funky and soulful, at a time when music critics so desperately wanted it so.

Yet within a year, Musicology was a distant memory, folks more intrigued by Prince’s growing free-distribution marketing instead. This, from an album that earned Mr. Nelson his first Grammys (two of them, even!) since the ‘80s. Not that those awards are worth much credibility anyway, but the point is for a collection of music that everyone pegged as an instant classic, folks instead instantly forgot about it.

Can’t say I blame them either. Hell, I bought into the hype, and aside from the titular cut, Illusion, Coma, Pimp, & Circumstance (kinda hip-hoppy), Cinnamon Girl (not a Neil Young cover), and The Marrying Kind (power chords!), I can never remember anything off here. There’s funk, there’s soul, there’s Prince, but where’s the ingenuity, the earworms, or the thrilling songcraft? In making an album that’s an ode to the music of his upbringing, he neglected to make it uniquely his. Anyone versed in classic R&B could write these tunes. With little on Musicology standing out from funk ‘n soul standards, the album quickly disappeared from public discourse.

Stylophonic - Man Music Technology

Prolifica: 2002/2003

This album had everything successful going for it. Catchy crossover tunes, variety of contemporary sounds without coming off instantly dated, general praise from every EDM magazine that mattered, and even half-page ads in said magazines filled with quotable plaudits (best: “Great album, great hair. What more do you want?” DJ Mag). And yet, only blank stares when Stylophonic’s brought up. Heck, I didn't even know about the guy, and I must have seen those ads in Muzik Magazine. Nay, Man Music Technology was a blind purchase, one that I spread the love of any chance I get. Not that it mattered, but it was the most promotion Stefano Fontana’s project got in Vancouver (um, no).

So who is this critical darling barely anyone remembers? According to his page at Lord Discogs, Stefano Fontana is an “Italian DJ and producer”; it’s all that’s written for his bio. Wow, not even love from his own marketing department? Utterly unknown laptop ambient noodlers get bigger bios (mind, those are all self-written in the third person). Man Music Technology was Mr. Fontana’s first LP – as Stylophonic or otherwise – with prior singles primarily lead-ups to this album. Almost all his compilation duty consists of DJ pool promotions, with a couple Ministry Of Sound appearances too. Success?

Getting into some actual music, Man Music Technology runs through various forms of house, electro, acid, and funk. You’d be forgiven in initially thinking his tunes were produced by other, more successful acts, as the influences from (credible) dance chart toppers runs throughout this album. Soulreply gets in on some of that loopy French house action, including samples from Chic’s Sometimes You Win. Elsewhere, Bizarre Mind ups the acid-funk into sleazy electroclash territory, while Break @ 100 BPM, It’s The Old School With The New School, and Way Of Life get into electro-funk and hip-hop territory. The latter also includes a guest verse by Digital Underground front-man Shock-G – who also offers an extra verse in his Humpty Hump persona on the same track. Damn, how much more cool can this track get, and the answer is none more cool.

All Nite Long digs into proper electro house (yes, you 2004 gits, this is what electro house should sound like, not dumb-fuck farting basslines!) and since Basement Jaxx were experts at tossing multiple genres into radio-friendly house, Stylophonic apes the same trick with plenty more tunes (Vinalstyloz, Da Symphony, Game Over) that should have gotten more radio rotation than none at all. Man, not even car advertisement deals? Help me out here, Europeans, did anything get annoyingly licensed out? Speaking of which, closer track If Everybody In The World Loved Everybody In The World is an easy contender for “Most Groove Armada Track” on this album.

Okay, I’m generally ribbing on Stylophonic here. Man Music Technology honestly is a fine LP. His sound may not be going anywhere the big boys have gone, but he does it just as capably as anyone has. Maybe he needed a better agent.

Various - Life: Styles - Coldcut

Harmless: 2004

It's a shame the Life: Styles series didn't last long. There was a clever idea going for it among all the other 'electronic producers show off their record collections' market, in that it featured personally influential songs that weren't specifically themed (afterhours, chill-out, early crate exposures). Right, mixtape action then. That’s fine, but apparently not much of interest in the overstuffed compilation market of the '00s. And now that online playlists, mixtapes, and podcasts offer much of the same, CDs like Life: Styles are all but good as dead. Damn it, I was kinda hoping to find more of these someday.

If their tracklists are anything to go by, they'd make for handy bluffer's guides to funk, soul, jazz, and '70s curiosities. Coldcut are no exception, though as the duo from Ninja Tune had a raging hard-on for all things break-beat orientated, you can expect some interesting funk choices for their contribution to Life: Styles. For instance, More and Black claim they picked up Betty Harris' There's A Break In The Road for the sole reason of the title. Yep, in their never-ending pursuit of new 'breaks' to sample and use in their DJing, they went into a slice of soul-jazz blind, thinking a fresh drum solo could be found within. Boy, have I ever done that kind of shopping before, though almost entirely based on covers rather than titles.

There’s about eight other funky tunes on here, though likely only the last two will be immediately familiar to most (The Temptations’ Power and Otis Clay’s The Only Way Is Up). I’m more interested in the funk-fusion numbers, like Chowen Few’s Do Your Thing (reggae!) and The Galylads’ Soul Sister (um, soul?), but they’re all cool tunes regardless.

There’s also quite a bit of French connection music on offer too. Richard de Bordeaux & Daniel Beretta drum up some psychedelic francophone rock in La Drogue (he, he, I think they said “hashish”), Axel Krygier goes down the trip-hop road in Taxi Nocturno (yeah, it’s not all old musics here), and early jazz ‘n electronics dabbler Bernard Estardy shows up under his La Formule Du Baron guise, though La Gigouille’s a straight-up funk jam in this case.

And now for the oddities! Well, okay, T La Rock & Jazzy Jay’s It’s Yours isn’t odd in the slightest, but the Def Jam classic sure stands out as odd in a compilation filled with music other than hip-hop – guess Coldcut wanted to show the ‘breaks’ connection? The track preceding it, Cornershop’s The Easy Winners, is certainly an odd one, a sort of future electro-funk offering from what Lord Discogs claims to be an indie rock band. Ah, they bandwagon jumped during the ‘electronica’ boom, didn’t they. But no, the real highlight for goofy nonsense is none other than Archie Bleyer’s Hernandoz Hideaway, something of a minor hit in the mid-‘50s, and all tango-camp. I guarantee once you hear that hook (even in sampled form), you’ll have it stuck there forever after.

Beastie Boys - Ill Communication

EMI Music Canada: 1994

The Beastie Boys had been in the music business nearly a decade by the time Ill Communication hit the streets, utterly thriving in the world of hip-hop where a three-piece whiteboy posse should have miserably failed. Still, ten years is more than enough time for the rap game to see change, and much had in their region: Eastcoast-Westcoast rivalries heating up, gangsta rap emerging as the new hotness, and fresh New York-based upstarts like Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, and Notorious B.I.G. challenging the old guard. And what's with this DJ Premier guy, sampling all these jazzy loops as a counter to the g-funk of the left side of America? Well shit, son, the Beasties are actual musicians. If that’s the way things are going, why not forget drum machines and raiding the past for samples? Start making your own original jams. Ain't no one doing that in hip-hop, is there? (Guru, but whatever)

And that’s what they did done. Throughout this album, you get funky Big Apple jazz licks galore, nearly a third of which are pure instrumentals. What is this, a blaxploitation soundtrack? Nah, guy, but it’s definitely a throw-back of sorts to the music the Boys undoubtedly grew up surrounded by in the ‘70s. The cheesy cop caper video for Sabotage was hardly a one-off fancy on their part; rather, part of a larger whole that is the homage to that era.

The Beastie Boys don’t let the b-boy antics fall by the wayside though. Root Down, Sure Shot, Freak Freak, and Alright Hear This find them as sharp as ever, with beats – whether sampled or played live by Mike D – keeping the boom-bap ever fresh. The star, however, has to be Get It Together featuring Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest, a perfect meeting ground of old and (then) new Eastcoast hip-hop. The Boys were clued into what was shaking up within the Five Boroughs, even if their music didn’t always reflect it.

Yet, with all these positives, Ill Communication tends to get overlooked when discussion of Beastie Boys albums comes up. About all most folks know of it is that Sabotage is the big tune (wedged between Root Down and Get It Together no less, for an excellent string of tracks!), which is unfortunate but understandable. As the Beasties had entered that ‘experimental’ stage most long-running music groups go through, there’s ample genres indulged in here. Second track Tough Guy is a pure punk freakout, and while Sabotage oozes thrash rock too, going that far off the hip-hop road must of turned some heads away. Or what about the Bhudda chant funk-jam fusion of Shambala, delved even further in follow-up Bodhisattva Vow? Who do the Beasties think they are, Banco de Gaia? Darn Tibeten muses.

As such, the musical explorations renders Ill Communication somewhat lower on the “Repeated Play-Through” totem for most. It’s still an essential part of any fan’s collection though, so if you haven’t done got on this yet, then go get her done.

Del Tha Funkee Homosapien - I Wish My Brother George Was Here

Elektra: 1991

As I continue to wait for that new Deltron album to finally drop (so... bloody... long...), it seems appropriate that I now find myself returning to Del's debut album, I Wish My Brother George Was Here (a reference to Liberace, though the point of using it I haven't a clue). All things considered, it's a surprising album to have come out in the year 1991. Gangsta rap was huge (pop rap even huger, but like hell Del would do that), so not following in his cousin's footsteps in that field probably wasn't the best option if he aimed at making a large career for himself. Then again, the issues Ice Cube often dealt with were worlds apart from the life Del was familiar with, and if there's anything Tha Funkee Homosapien prides himself on, it's sincerity of content. Either that, or he just preferred looking on the lighter side of life.

But that was for the future. At the time, ol' Cube, already sitting high in the hip-hop pantheon, was more than helpful in giving Del a running start, producing and supplying dialog (mostly banter via gangsta counterpoints) throughout this album. And just as with Death Certificate, the George Clinton and Parliament Funk influences are heavy on here (say, maybe Del and Cube are claiming Clinton's their musical brother-in-arms! ...or something). In fact, it utterly dominates Brother George right from the start. They aren't just raiding the past for samples, they're aiming for recreation of Funkadelic in the early '90s (by, um, sampling a whole bunch of George Clinton and the like). Party rap, then? I guess so, as cuts like Mr. Dobalina, Dr. Bombay, What Is A Booty, and Ahonetwo, Ahonetwo definitely encourage hand wavin' and booty shakin' galore.

Despite using beats that, ultimately, didn't require much lyricism more poignant than “Throw your hands in the air, etc.”, Del wasn't about to sell his skills short. Still being a teenager though, he wasn’t too world-wise, so despite I Wish often getting lumped in the ‘conscious rap’ side of things, there aren’t many deep insights found within. Rather, trivial tales like chilling (Sunny Meadowz), tribulations of taking busses (The Wacky World Of Rapid Transit, a tune I get a kick out of since I rely on public transportation to get around Vancouver – though the events Del describes sounds more like a trip through Surrey), and frustration over lazy friends (Sleepin’ On My Couch) take up a good chunk of the album. Other times, he’s calling out all the poseurs and “fraudulent foes” in the rap game (Pissin’ On Your Steps, Same Ol’ Thing, Ya Lil’ Crumbsnatchers), a theme that he continues to this day, though obviously back then he had much easier targets to disassemble (Vanilla Ice is spared no mercy).

This is definitely a fun album to throw on, but not really a shining example of Del’s rapping skills. Despite the early lyrical potential, Brother George is better enjoyed for the beats oozing with the best of p-funk vibes.

Miguel Migs - Get Salted, Volume 1 (2013 Update)

Salted Music: 2005

(Click here to read my original TranceCritic review.)

I must be getting old. It's the only explanation for how I somehow enjoy this CD more than when I first wrote a review for it. When was that, six or seven years ago now? My God, can one's taste in music really change that much from their late twenties to mid-thirties? I mean, I heard the rumours of it being so, the anecdotes, the old-wives' tales, but now that I've experienced it myself, I'm astounded to find the legends are true. It's not like I didn't have an appreciation for deep house when I was younger. Even in my early twenties, I enjoyed the output of chaps like Mark Farina and such. This is a different feeling though, a soul feeling, a- Oh dear, I'm turning into one of those house heads, aren't I.

Yeah, yeah, I quipped a whole bunch about that in my original TranceCritic review of Get Salted, Vol. 1, which sure makes my writing come off immature now that I look back at it (not to mention the overlong, pointless 'angle' of whether Miguel Migs should get an artist credit or not – inappropriate, leftover snark-rant regarding DJs and the spotlights they seek, t’was). Folly of youth, I guess, but it’s not like this CD’s an overlooked gem that my lack of maturity couldn’t comprehend at the time. All that’s happened is the bumpin’ funk and soul vibes that’s long been a deep house trademark now resonate stronger than they did before, and there’s any number of reasons for this other than ‘getting older’.

For instance, the music that passed for popular ‘deep house’ following Get Salted, Vol. 1’s release was, for the most part, boring as shit. Minimal deep-tech? For the love of... What happened to the funk and soul? Hell, what even happened to the artsy European flavour? But whatever, that fad thankfully came to an end, to which we now have the nu-‘deep house’. It’s... well, just boring house for the most part, like 2002-era prog, but with all the plod and a distinct lack of spaciousness. Well sure then, Get Salted, Vol. 1’s gonna sound brilliant compared to those contemporary offerings of ‘deeper than thou’ house.

Props to Mr. Migs, then, for ignoring such trends while maintaining his Salted Music label to this day. Though sporadic in releases, it still peddles in that West Coast summery disco-funk style that OM and Naked made their names on. He even released a second volume of Get Salted in 2009, though I’m not compelled to check that one out, which brings me to a final point.

Get Salted, Vol. 1 may sound better to my aged ears in the here and now compared to the then and before, but the stylistic and pacing problems I mentioned in that old review also persist, especially the drag in the middle of the set. Despite Mr. Mig’s brand of deep house hitting those classic soul notes better than most, it still has its flaws too.

Various - Heroes! Rewind!

Muzik Magazine: 2003

Muzik Magazine was nearing its one-hundredth edition and, like any long-running music publication, was straining for original content. What had once been a fun, if somewhat snarky, alternative to Mixmag, was now (then) turning into just another electronic music rag, floundering to find the next genre zeitgeist to help push papers from newsstands. And when the scene doesn’t provide such material for coverage, there’s only one thing left to do: retrospectives.

But Muzik had done a “Top 50 Dance Albums” issue just a year prior – a similar article would be redundant (to say nothing of Mixmag’s 2001 “Top 100 Tracks …Ever” list, which ranked Energy 52’s Café Del Mar tops …such innocent times). Instead, they opted for a look back at influential musicians of the dance music scene’s past; in this case, focusing on ‘80s acts that helped define club music. The article included such names as Kraftwerk, Prince, New Order, Larry Levan, Run DMC, and, um, Madonna.

One can't detail such influential musicians without some audio support though, so for that month's free CD, Muzik rounded up a number of current players and shakers and got them to make cover versions of classic cuts. I think. Maybe these covers had already existed and Muzik simply managed to gather the rights to use them here. I can't recall the specifics from that issue (its sadly missing from the .pdf archive) and I’m lazy, so no verifying the track release dates in Lord Discogs.

The CD includes thus: two covers of Prince; one of Joy Davidson (Squarepusher doing the honors – it’s not as frenetic as you’d expect); that wacky Señor Coconut having a go at Kraftwerk's Showroom Dummies; Rae & Christian getting their Funkadelic on; an almost unneeded stab at Marl Melle's White Lines by Grandmaster Flash; and hopelessly obscure duo Open Door take on Pink Floyd's Breathe. As a pet project, all these interpretations are perfectly fine, some of which you could even play out today if you're up for turning heads.

Oddly, Muzik didn't fully commit to their 'covers' idea, as few original tunes show up too, all from the relative new '90s new school of electronic music. LTJ Bukem's Music is here, though in stupid edited form. DJ Sneak's You Can't Hide From Your Bud is here, truly an important record for the filter-loop house movement, but out of place on this disc. Coldcut also shows up with Atmoic Moog 2000, though in a funkier form compared to the one I'm familiar with. And finally, Soul II Soul shows up with an exclusive track titled Soul II Soul Special. I've never been fond of the group though, so moving on.

Oh wait, that's all, isn't it. Not a long freebie, this one, and not the strongest collection of music either without the accompanying article detailing why these producers are represented here as heroes of the past. Then again, if you know your electronic music history, you likely don't need such an article to begin with.

Beastie Boy - Hello Nasty

Capitol Records: 1998

I don't think anyone anticipated the Beastie Boys having such big hits as those spawned off Hello Nasty. A fun single or two, sure, but surely their schtick was utterly dated as the '90s drew to a close. Three MCs, rhyming off each other's interplay like Run DMC was still relevant (okay, they were still around, but y'know what I mean), a bunch of wicki-wicki-waa from an actual DJ, and who ever really liked their rock and funk explorations anyway? No, the Beasties should have failed, unable to keep pace with hip-hop's over-indulgence of gangsta shenanigans and seeking the bling life. Or worse, in an attempt to reconnect with the youth, adopted nu-metal into their repertoire.

Holy hell, is it ever a good thing they didn’t give two flute loops about what contemporary audiences expected of them and simply cut loose with what they do best. If there’s any scene they did get chummy with, it was the electronic one, which had shared history with the Beastie’s brand of b-boy bombast (weren't The KLF initially just the Scottish Beasties anyway?). The lead single Intergalactic was the perfect olive branch to ravers worldwide, with big beats, quirky electro sounds, and enough ‘up to date’ retro vibes that any DJ could drop it and get a massive reaction. Small wonder Lord Discogs recommends names like Daft Punk, DJ Shadow, and Mr. Oizo on Intergalactic's page.

Oh yeah, there's a whole album more to talk about with Hello Nasty. I'm sure ya'll remember Body Movin', probably thanks to yet another goof-ball video the Boys were masters at. A third single off here was Three MCs and One DJ, which had the trio feeding off numerous scratch samples and turntable trickery from Mixmaster Mike (sort of an honorary fourth Beastie Boy). Quite a few tracks on here do this, to be honest, though more often than not it's post-studio production creating the dense sound collages of off-beat samples, thick rhythms, and indie rock leanings.

As for the rest of the album, well... Okay, there's a reason most only remember Hello Nasty for Intergalactic, Body Movin', and not much else: too much filler. Oh, it's good filler, in that you won't find yourself itching for the skip button if you're willing to take the album in full, but can any of you recall how Picture This or Flowin' Prose go? I sure can't, and I just listened to the damned album! Maybe it was one of those instrumental, psychedelic funk jams?

Despite a second half that just can't live up to the first (how could anything with such a one-two punch as Body Movin' and Intergalactic?), Hello Nasty's still a high recommendation for those diving into the Beastie Boys' discography. It may not be as ground breaking as Paul's Boutique or as stupid-fun as Licenced To Ill, but it reaches a comfortable middle-ground between the two, and propelled the Boys back to the front of hip-hop relevancy. Not bad for three white former punks.

Fatboy Slim - Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars (Clean Version)

Astralwerks: 2000

In some ways, I'm more embarrassed to have this CD than even ICP. Why should I, a grown adult, have a “Kiddies' Clean Version”? Well, it was a gift, but the tongue-in-cheek label on the cover strikes me as deliberately insulting on the manufacturer's part. This isn't just the 'Clean Version', like many hip-hop pop albums offer, oh no. This is for the children, for we at Astralwerks, we thought about the children, oh how we thought about the children. We even moved the image over a little, so the sun no longer peeks through the woman's cooch – hell, you can't even tell it's a woman anymore, much less the sun creating those rays of light. Isn't that better than our usual antics of totally replacing the cover image for stateside distribution?

Norman Cook's Fatboy project was incredibly popular when he released Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars, his prior album offering two or three ultra-mega hits that we still hear today. So that there would be a 'Clean' option for his follow-up doesn't surprise me. It's still baffling why it'd been thought of only for the kids though (what kind of teenager wouldn't get the one with crude language?).

And what major changes can we expect on this “Kiddies' Clean Version”? Star 69's been cut. Yeah, no surprise on that one. Not a big deal losing it though, as beyond the lyrical gimmick, it was a mediocre tune. There's also a slight edit of “what the fuck” in Song For Shelter, which makes- wait! Why didn't they just edit the 'fuck's out of Star 69 too, keeping the track?

Frankly, that's all I can tell's been 'cleaned up'. It's been well over a decade since I've heard the original version, so if some naughty language from Macy Gray or Bootsy Collins was edited out, I don't know anymore. Come to think of it, I don't think it matters where this album's concerned, as Halfway... is a surprisingly mature sounding effort on Cook's part compared to the rest of his discography.

Yeah, he's had his classy moments, but folks were buying up his albums by the boatloads for the big beat party anthems. Halfway... has a couple offerings as such, like Ya Mama and Drop The Hate, yet Cook sounds bored with these cuts, just going through the big beat motions. Far more intriguing (and re-playable because they aren't so dated to late '90s music) are the blues, gospel, funk, and soul offerings. And even with all the crafty beats and samples Cook throws into his tunes, the guest vocalists (including the memorable husky voice of then-soul-queen Macy Gray) help excel what could have been little more than homage to some of ol' Norman's musical upbringing.

Put simply, Halfway... is easily Fatboy Slim's most consistent album, and maybe even his best. Unlike his other albums, which have big hits and forgettable filler, these are all songs I have no problem returning to and keeping lodged in my head.

Various - Groove Armada: The Dirty House Session

Muzik Magazine: 2002

Most of the free CDs music magazines gave out often had some sort of article tie-in: year-end retrospectives, hot new genre exposes, etc. I'm at a loss as to why Muzik tapped Groove Armada for a mix CD though. The duo was between albums, and their commercial clout had significantly dwindled in the time since Vertigo, only Superstylin’ having made any kind of impact in the interim that I can remember (were they still a big deal in the UK?). Muzik itself had seen a revamp on the issue this CD came with, but nothing hints at celebrating that accomplishment here. Even the cover’s all about The Chemical Brothers, nothing to do with a ‘dirty house’ session from the London boys. Really, the only thing I remember from the April 2002 print was Muzik’s panning of Boards Of Canada’s Geogaddi - the sheer audacity of even going there, mang! Incidentally, they also gave “tulip trancemaster” Tiësto’s debut In My Memory the same score; Boards and Tijs, on the same level? Scandalous.

Alright, I’m getting bogged down in that back issue. I need to stop that, but unfortunately The Dirty House Session isn’t terribly interesting, even as a freebie. Whatever the reason behind Muzik calling up Andy Cocup and Tom Findlay for a mix CD, the duo didn't put much effort into it.

Assembled in a day, it's primarily a collection of tribal funk house, the sort of thing they claim one might hear were you to catch them at a club. Ugh, not with that kind of mixing, I wouldn't. This is Oakenfold levels of beatmatching, in that sometimes there's none at all. Might it be that they figured that's just what their audience expected of them? They'd already released a DJ mix prior to this one for Back To Mine, and were due to release one for the AnotherLateNight series as well; both tend to have chill, laid-back, mixtape vibes going for them.

Whatever. It’s not that bad. So what if the minimalistic funk-breaks of Duji’s Be Careful What You Say abruptly ends, going into the ambient ‘sleepy Ibiza mix’ of Planet Funk’s Inside All The People? Yeah, that’s a silly thing to do for your very first mix, but the tunes are fine at least.

Yes, tunes. As said, tribal and funk jams are the name of Groove Armada’s game, and though the mixing’s pants for the most part, I still vibe fine on Essa’s dubby Africans In Space (it’s like if Sandoz did house!), or a shufflin’ groove remix of Armada’s own Superstylin’. This is ‘dirty house’ though? Fine, electro house was still in its infancy, not even really a thing yet (Satisfaction only came out that same year). Folks weaned on sleazy, trashy house music that came to dominate the term ‘dirty house’ will find a decided lack of it here. No, this is all about shakin’ those hips and ass, girl. What else can you expect from a loopy funky house track called Rumpfunk?