Frenchy’s Fracas

General Description
Artist/Band: Groove Armada
Album Title: Soundboy Rock
Year: 2007

Steady quality!
 
How I Got Into This Music
Ahh, Groove Armada.. Lemme think for a bit.. Yep, TV on as background filler while messing about behind my PC (I so really need to get a life, sigh..). Sand Dunes was the track that turned my whole brain upside down: weird and haunting chorus, wacky lyrics and.. Hold on! The title of the track wasn’t Sand Dunes, it was At The River.. So the final thing with that song was the unbelievable use of the trombone, outtasight!
Anyways, first album I listened to was Goodbye Country, Hello Nightclub from waaaay back in 2001.
The album still is an exciting piece of work, with the Dutch favorite My Friend; that one became a big hit after being used as the theme for a beverage ad. After that came the not so great album Love Box and then I kinda lost track of them. But now this new album’s out and I couldn’t resist giving it a try..

Album info at Answers.com || Google Search for reviews of this album || More on the band at || Watch their stuff at

Tracks that got my attention:
Get Down ft. Stush
First track released as a single, didn’t work for me in the beginning but now, it’s one of my favorites! Nasty vocals and the great energizer bunny beat..

The Things That We Could Share ft. Simon Lord
Man, the intro really sucks, I wanted to skip this one, but… Sixty seconds into the track and you get rewarded with an excellent, almost typical Groove Armada, Great Summer Feeling - man-o-man!

Save My Soul
Retro 80’s vibe, great breackdance feeling mixed with soundscape chords in the background.

What’s Your Version ft. Jeb Loy Nichols
Sweet and husky (sounds like a softporn title, but I digress..) vocals by mister Jeb Loy Nichols remind me a bit of Mozez - lovely!

Paris ft. Candi Staton
The monster opening with the strings is brutally beautiful - vocals done by Legendary Diva don’t impress me that much.

Love Sweet Sound ft. Candi Staton
Much better vocals by Legendary Diva! Great groove, great vibe!

The Girls Say ft. Rhymefest
Interesting, a great mix of Missy Elliott and Outkast with a great girl chorus.

Drop That Thing
Nasty beat, love the dance energy - great potential for being annoying, but that really depends on your listening mood.

Song 4 Mutya ft. Mutya Buena
Mutya’s eyes are something that make my knees go all weak and such.. Ex-Sugababe gone solo and doing okay on this track. Eyes or no, it’s mostly the track that gets the job done and it’s surefire production to create a great summer hit!

What’s Your Version (Reprise)
Wow, the laidback guitar.. I like this one better that the sorta original track!! Dreamy, just floating in the clouds, dreamy..

Feel The Same ft. Angie Stone
I hate this track.. It’s like a permanent intro, you keep waiting for the payoff, but you’re just stuck in this intro.
I love this track.. The vocals, miss Angie breaks my heart, as always, loveitloveitloveit!!

Conclusion
I’ve been playing this album for a coupla months now and it doesn’t get boring. The balanced production of different styles and approaches to the tracks is some Serious Stuff. Groove Armada do what they do best: making music they want to make. I didn’t mind Love Box being done in a way that I didn’t enjoy, I accepted the fact that these guys just do things their way.
Maybe the next album will suck lemons, but I will always check out what this band delivers.

Rating:

Share This

General Description
Artist/Band: Lewis Taylor
Album Title: Stoned, Part 1
Year: 2004

Quality musician..
 
How I Got Into This Music
Last.fm again, one of the album tracks caught my attention and I just had to get hold of this album. Never heard of Lewis Taylor before, this is one of those pleasant surprises.

Album info at Answers.com || Google Search for reviews of this album ||

Tracks that got my attention:
Stoned, Part 1
Ooh.. that intro with that mellow guitar thingy, love it! Almost falsetto voice’s really trippin’. A solid funky-funk track.

Positively Beautiful
When you listen to this track, you understand that mister Marvin Gaye is one of his biggest influences. It’s eerie how he emulates the late great soul man’s style. However cliched this might sound: it’s not a simple rip-off, it’s a tribute. Coz if it was a rip-off, I’d burn this album like sun with a bad ulcer.

Lewis IV
Incredible buildup on this track. That voice cuts through stone. And the bombast chanting halfway is right on the edge of my tastebuds

Send Me An Angel
Man, when the vocals kick in, I get goose bumps..

Til The Morning Light
A nice drive along the interstate with a beautiful sunrise for a view.

Shame
Just a little too pretentious, but okay. Some parts of the song remind me of that Stereophonics track Maybe Tomorrow.

When Will We Ever Learn (pt. 1)
Heavy on the soundscape keyboards, less of the funky bass and guitars. But it’s excellent bath music (from personal experience..) - it’s a bit of the French spaced out music style wrapped around a classic soul song. And that last bit at the end, with the Beach Boys choir? Sheer Beauty!

Loving U More
Damn! Again, when he starts to sing, I just break down, feeling this natural high of glowing joy (yes, the valium hasn’t kicked in yet..). This is such a traditional feelgood track, that it should be a bit corny, but somehow, it’s not. Can’t explain it, sorry.

From The Day We Met (pt. 2)
Excellent second part.

Lovelight
Funny to hear this one being covered by Robbie Williams; dunno if it was a success for him, but this track is a classic Pop Song. A nice hook, easy lyrics for the sing-along crowd, works like a charm! The twist is the slightly annoying electro effect in the background, but you get used to that too.

Conclusion
Not one of my Favorites, but a great Reload. Why? Coz, it’s not an album that rocked my world or my soul. But it’s a damn fine work of craftmanship: this is a Great Pop Album and that’s not a disqualification.
There are so many great walk-in-the-park, hang-at-the-beach, my-turn-to-make-breakfast, I’m-stuck-in-traffic-need-a-good-tune tracks on this album that it’s quite weird this didn’t turn out to be a million-seller.
It’s a frigging shame no major talent hasn’t snapped up this guy to produce/co-write their album, coz tracks like Loving U More, Stoned and Positively Beautiful are grade A productions. Lewis Taylor is a very talented artist, playing most of the instruments and writing his own lyrics (I’m jealous, yes..) - this guy makes interesting music.

Rating: (sweet discoveries..)

Share This

General Description
Artist/Band: RH Factor (Roy Hargrove)
Album Title: Hard Groove
Year: 2003

I’m sooooo slow on the uptake..
 
How I Got Into This Music
I didn’t.. Ehm.. Gotta be honest, I didn’t get into this music after a coupla tries and for quite a while I didn’t think much of it. First time I looked this album up, was after I heard Roy Hargrove play on the Think Twice version on Erykah Badu’s Worldwide Underground album. I found this Hard Groove album, and it just wasn’t working for me.
Then I got a chance to see him perform live at the North Sea Jazz Festival this year and again, it didn’t click - I was kinda underwhelmed. Last month I thought about the album again and I gave the album another listen. Hmmm.. Huh?

Album info at Answers.com || Album review at artistsdirect.com

Tracks that got my attention:
Hardgroove
Title track. Haunting movie score music, with Pino Palladino doing the nasty on bass

Common Free Style ft Common
One of the more balanced and dedicated rappers in the business doing an ok freestyling performance

I’ll Stay ft D’Angelo
Bass line reminds me of Quincy Jones, heh.. The vocals? First coupla times I heard this track, I thought someone was ripping of D’Angelo, but I was wrong: it’s the Man Himself! That guy’s incredible, even though the track\’s not that strong

Pastor T
Funky, jazzy instrumental

Poetry ft Q-Tip, Erykah Badu and Meshell Ndegeocello
This is the song that convinced me that this album’s worth paying attention too.. The recipe: add one of my favorite rappers, mix my all-time favorite bass player in it and add just a splash of a great soul diva - the result? Wow.. Wow.. Wow..
Love Badu’s chant!

The Joint
Powerful instrumental, Roy Hargrove’s horn is doing its subtle work

Forget Regret ft Stephanie McKay
Brittle yet strong vocals by a great singer. And that horn section, yummy!

Liquid Streets
Very smooth and lovely atmosphere

Kwah/Home ft Anthony Hamilton
Weird setup: starts out as one type of song and switches to another one after sixty seconds. And after two minutes, another setup all over again. All are ok by the way..

How I Know ft Shelby Johnson
This song.. Ohwow.. It’s such a simple song, but I’ve been dreaming about this song since I started paying attention to it. Can you imagine falling with a woman just by hearing her sing? Possible. Without even knowing how she looks? In this TV era, not likely, but it sure as hell happened to me
This track makes many a grumpy-grey rainy day make way for a smiling sunshine kinda day.

Conclusion
Still can’t understand how I neglected my duties: should’ve picked up on the quality of the album the first time I heard it. But hey, I screw up sometimes, heheh..
Roy Hargrove’s adventure into more mainstream sounds of funk, soul and Real R&B is a successful one. The more jazzy instrumental pieces allow new listeners to get a taste of that side of the musical spectrum.
The collaboration is what stands out on this album: great musicians making great music.

Rating: (better friggin’ late than never..)

Share This

General Description
Artist/Band: Edie Brickell And New Bohemians
Album Title: Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars
Year: 1989

Paul Simon’s a lucky bastard?
 
How I Got Into This Music
Well, way back in ‘89 this great single was hitting the charts called Circle and it just broke my heart, still does. The album was the first or second CD I’ve bought when I finally got enough cash to buy me a stereo set.

Album info at Answers.com || Google Search: Other reviews of this album

Tracks that got my attention:
What I Am
First hit single of the album. It’s her brittle voice and the nice smartypants lyrics: enough contrasting and confusing words and sentences to get everybody’s attention.
Philosophy is a walk on the slippery rocks.
Religion is a light in the fog.

And of course, the chorus - annoyingly catchy..

Little Miss S.
The village idiots in her bed
Never cared that her eyes were red
Never cared that her eyes were dead
In the hours that her face was alive
It was the thing just to be by her side

Very powerful words..

Air Of December
A lil bit overproduced, but the intro’s still nice and that fret-less bass, yummy!

The Wheel
The childlike style of singing grabs your attention, love these lines:
All your thoughts are in another head,
Your dreams are sleeping in a different bed.

Love Like We Do
Or was this her first hit single? Damn, can’t remember.. [googling.. googling.. ah!] Nope, this one was released later on.. Anyways, love the guitars, the summer feeling and always that very fine balance of her vocals making me ecstatic on the one hand and ready-to-stomp-on-little-puppies annoyed on the other

Circle
Oooooooh.. Very delicate.. And very smart writing - turning the theme around at the end? Great work:
When I’m all alone it’s the best way to be.
When I’m by myself nobody else can say…

Me, I’m a part of your circle of friends
and we notice you don’t come around.

And I just love that closing:
Halalalalalala

She
Here’s where the balance tips off to the annoying side..

Nothing
Lyrics are excellent, can’t tell you how many times this one’s lifted my spirits

Keep Coming Back
Short and sweet

I Do
I want someone to follow who doesn’t lead the way
I want someone to listen who won’t repeat what I say

Great wish list, heheh..

Conclusion
Over the years, I’ve neglected this album off and on; it sometimes gets me all calm, relaxed and invigorated and.. sometimes it just bores the living hell out of me.. And that contrast, that delicate balance is why I still love this album.
It’s not one of my favorites, but it really is an impressive collection of Real Americana singer-songrighter tracks.

Rating: (memory lane..)

Share This

General Description
Artist/Band: Platinum Pied Pipers
Album Title: Triple P
Year: 2005

Real Soul, real R&B
 
How I Got Into This Music
Another discovery through the folks at Last.fm. It was love at first sight.. ehm.. hearing? Well, you know..

Album info at Answers.com || Google Search: Other reviews of this album

Tracks that got my attention:
Shotgun Intro
Another track that triggers association with Kanye West, but doesn’t succeed to annoy me like mister West does..

Deep Inside
Great set of ingredients: Prince’s Controversy, a pinch of Zapp and a dash of Cameo

Stay With Me ft Tiombe Lockhart
That beat and those keyboards: nice! Miss Lockhart does an excellent job too on the vocals!

Fever ft. Neco Redd
Just the intro of this song gives me the shivers!! Then Neco Redd’s voice just gives you that all-time classic Rhythm And Blues feeling that wannebees like R.Kelly can ever achieve. Best song on the album, yep..

No Worries
Nice change of style: more of the latin vibe that’s been going around the US music scene these last coupla years. Works nicely

Now Or Never ft Saadiq, Tiombe Lockhart
It’s the guitar sample that makes this one stand out, again, a different style and very well produced

The Pee’s
Straight up rap production, I guess the wordplay is the reason why I like this song best

Detroit Winter ft Invincible
Straight up rap production again, the lady’s rap is strong

I Got You ft Tiombe Lockhart
Tiombe Lockhart, gotta check out this dame’s other work - there’s some Jill Scott vocals and attitude in her performance, love it!

50 Ways to Leave Your Lover ft Rogiers
This is the track I heard at last.fm that got my attention: a cover of one of Paul Simon’s classic tracks! Of course the bonus after this song is a sweet one: a way better remake of Lenny Kravitz’ Flowers For Zoe - icing on the cake!

Conclusion
Fantastic album, although most of the rap songs don’t work for me. I just love the way these producers set up their whole album: tight, colorful, Soul, subtle, fun and Rhythm And Blues. Great vocalists, nice variation in styles.

Rating: (adjusted)

Share This