Living Colour is Chair men of the board
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS: Living Colour’s The Chair in the Doorway drops Sept. 15.
After being more or less discovered by Mick Jagger in the late ’80s, Living Colour’s flurry of colored braids and screeching guitars quickly became part of the American musical consciousness. The group’s double-platinum 1988 debut Vivid, which featured hits such as “Cult of Personality” and “Glamour Boys,” mixed funk metal, hard rock and socio-political lyrics and made it one of the era’s most popular black rock bands. Many fans felt the group saved its strongest work for 1990’s Time’s Up, but neither it nor 1993’s Stain lived up to commercial expectations. Frustrated with poor album sales and ferocious infighting between band members, Epic dropped the group and its members retreated into hibernation.
Continue reading “Living Colour is Chair men of the board”
(Photo by Bill Bernstein)
The title of Killer Mike’s new compilation album featuring local MCs is a little misleading. After all, many of the artists who appear on Underground Atlanta — like recent XXL cover boys OJ da Juiceman, Gucci Mane, Shawty Lo and Soulja Boy — are household rap names who have received plenty of national exposure. Still, the two-disc set is charming and solid all the way through, and features highlights from such lesser-known talents as Rich Kidz (”Bowling”) and Prynce Cyhi (”Don’t Go Outside”), as well as winners from veterans including Pastor Troy and Trillville, whose “I Be Off Dat” recalls the group’s crunk-era glory. Killer Mike pops up periodically, usually to great effect, on such tracks as “N*ggaz Down South (Remix),” which also features T.I. and honorary Atlantan Bun B. A project like this is long overdue, and Mike’s ability to unite this diverse group of folks demonstrates his wide-ranging influence around these parts. (SMC Recordings) 4 stars out of 5
Michael Jackson’s death and the 50th anniversary of Motown Records’ founding has renewed focus on the pioneering Detroit label, making Smokey Robinson’s latest solo CD, Time Flies When You’re Having Fun — his first in three years — well-timed. Though Robinson’s name is practically synonymous with the imprint, its signature soul and pop sounds are nowhere to be found on this work, which skews toward contemporary R&B and smooth jazz. Tracks like “Love Bath,” “You’re the One for Me” and “Time Flies” are particularly overproduced, but most everything here is department store elevator-ready. Robinson’s cover of Norah Jones’ “Don’t Know Why” immediately indicates what demographic he’s pursuing — one that’s old, wealthy and unadventurous in its tastes. So perhaps it’s not fair to compare the album to the earlier, innovative entries in his catalog. Nevertheless, finding something to appreciate about such a lifeless, passionless CD is a tall order, indeed. (Robso Records) 2 stars out of 5
If hip-hop were a track meet, it would be hard to find a four-man squad that could beat Slaughterhouse. Composed of critically respected but commercially unheralded underground MCs Joell Ortiz, Royce da 5′9″, Crooked I and Joe Budden, the group’s self-titled debut serves mainly as a platform for each man to attempt to one-up the others through punchlines, dexterity and flat-out velocity. Lyrically, there are about as many hits (”Where’s your head nigga?” raps Crooked I, “I got the guillotine”) as misses (”Nothing to hide,” puts in Royce, “the jimmy covers up my Tommy Lee”), but much of the fun is simply listening to them spit outrageously fast. Some critics have complained that there is little unity here, that the album feels like four combined solo efforts rather than the work of a cohesive group. Fans of pure, old-school one-upmanship, however, likely won’t find anything superior this year. (E1) 4 stars out of 5
Dallas Austin’s new album/movie 8Dazeaweakend is simultaneously whimsical and pretentious, silly and inspired, groundbreaking and clichéd. Telling the semi-biographical story of a privileged socialite whose parents have her on attention deficit disorder drugs, it preaches the perils of Ritalin but pretty much begs to be enjoyed while high.
Though his debut Should Confusion was released near the beginning of the decade, Staten Island, N.Y., singer/songwriter Brandon Patton didn’t put out his second album, Underhill Downs, until now, owing to his steady gig as bassist for nerdcore rapper MC Frontalot. Patton’s music doesn’t have hip-hop beats or sci-fi references. Rather, Underhill Downs is heavy on acoustic guitar and computer-effect driven atmosphere. The album is full of smoothly produced, heavily overdubbed tracks that vary between lovely, sad and slow (”Look Up” features a chant of “worry, sleep, worry more”) and lovely, sad and slightly less slow (on “Ashes and Stains” the narrator wonders, “When will my life start to imitate art?”). Though inspired by the unraveling of a long-term relationship, the album doesn’t trade in self-pity, and Patton often seems to be attempting to dig himself out of an emotional hole with these songs. No telling if it worked, but as art the album succeeds. (Merlin Pool Music) 4 stars out of 5
Serving as the soundtrack to Dallas Austin’s new film of the same name, 8Dazeaweakend tells the story of a confused, trust-funded Atlanta girl who decides to party her brains out over the weekend before going in to see a psychiatrist on Monday morning. The album is full of electro-influenced hip-hop songs layered with electric guitars, almost all of them featuring big, energizing hooks. Austin doesn’t just produce but writes, sings and plays keyboard on many of the tracks, and he’s backed by a diverse cast, including George Clinton, Big Gipp (Goodie Mob) and Colin Munroe. The retro-minded work features a lot of vague talk about peace, love and happiness, as well as samples of acts like Steve Miller and Electric Light Orchestra. (The raved-out rendition of Miller’s “Serenade” works surprisingly well.) There’s nothing especially deep or contemplative here, but as a party record it can’t be beat. (Universal Motown) 4 stars out of 5
Classically trained pianist Matt Kanelos has made his living for years on New York City’s jazz circuit, but more recently he picked up the guitar and started singing. The result is his gorgeous, uplifting debut with the Smooth Maria, Silent Show, which features elements of slowcore, jazz and rock. Tales of yearning, sadness and small triumphs slowly unwind on these deliberate, densely textured tracks. Most are five minutes or longer and feature subtle harmonies, airy piano solos and even, on final track “Sing,” a coda borrowing from a Protestant hymn. “You know your image it still stands on my shelf,” he sings on highlight “When You Walk It Makes No Sound.” “You know that I always loved you more than myself, but I couldn’t show you.” Silent Show is the triumphant work of a craft-conscious musician who has quickly found his footing as a singer/songwriter. (Earthling Hello Music) 5 stars out of 5
Ocean Eyes is the second studio album from the Postal Service — except no one in that group had anything to do with it. Actually, the work comes from Owl City, a project helmed by Owatonna, Minnesota’s 23-year-old Adam Young. By aping the Postal Service’s Ben Gibbard’s trademark “Who, me, glum?” vocals, and producer Jimmy Tamborello’s jingle-jangle synth sound, Young became a MySpace sensation in a short period of time, won a deal with Universal Republic and moved out of his parents’ basement. While Ocean Eyes tracks like “Hello Seattle,” “Cave In” and “Umbrella Beach” are contagious, pure pop specimens that waste no time reaching full sprint, the lyrics (”Golf and alcohol don’t mix/And that’s why I don’t drink and drive”) are mostly throwaways. But as blatantly derivative as Ocean Eyes is, it’s difficult not to fall for the disc — if only because Gibbard and Co. haven’t released an album since 2003. (Universal Republic) 3 stars out of 5
Maino’s story is an inspiring one. The Brooklyn rapper emerged from 10 years in prison for a drug-related kidnapping to start his own record label and eventually sign a deal with Atlantic. If Tomorrow Comes is his long-awaited debut, and occasionally it is inspiring, too. Assisted by gargantuan production from folks like Swizz Beatz, G.Q. Beats and Just Blaze, tracks like “Million Bucks,” “Back to Life” and “All the Above” are exhilarating chronicles of his unlikely success story. But the work quickly falls off a cliff, abandoning the inspirational tone in favor of well-trod pop-rap concepts — about how he runs with criminals (duh), how he enjoys making pornographic films (gross), and how he dreams of killing his baby mama (wait, what?). If Maino were doing anything unique with cadence or pacing this could be overlooked, but he isn’t, and so If Tomorrow Comes feels like an opportunity squandered. (Atlantic) 2 stars out of 5
Acclaimed Orange County, Calif., rapper Awol One has long hovered beneath the commercial radar, and Owl Hours is his second collaboration with Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, producer Factor. The album focuses on the chaotic last few years of Awol’s life. “Only when you’re really drunk is when you smoke/Counting down every day until you croak,” he rhymes on “Glamorous Drunk.” The dark territory is fertile terrain for Xzibit, a longtime friend of Awol’s who took some time off from pimping rides to executive produce the album and offer his brutal, furious flow to highlight “Brains Out.” Though that song concerns suicide, the album doesn’t end so bleakly. The final track, “Sunset Sandwich,” finds Awol getting his act together and deciding he has plenty to live for. It also explains the album’s title: “Write as much as I can/Got to step to the plate and be a man/Workin’ late, owl hours.” (Fake Four) 4 stars out of 5
