Tag album review

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Album Awesome – The Roy Hargrove Quintet’s Earfood

Jan 22, ’09 1:18 AM

[Edit: So it seems that this never posted properly. I’m reposting it again, all fixed up. Enjoy!]

So I decided to go with my idea to write album reviews of albums that, while not necessarily new, are either new to me or just so damn amazing that I just have to share my opinion of them. On the plate for today is The Roy Hargrove Quintet’s latest release, Earfood.

Album art for The Roy Hargrove Quintet's Earfood

Now, as with every release by Hargrove, it’s his trumpet tone & technical skill that really shine here. Let’s take a moment to revel in that tone. Buttery, a bit dark, but not to the point of being muted. Definitely a player who has his own sound, but you can hear a blend of Clifford Brown & Miles in there.

As for the album, it tends to alternate between mid– and uptempo pieces & ballads, which I’ve always found to be a great program for a jazz album. I won’t examine every tune, but “I’m Not So Sure” and “Strasbourg/St. Denis” are two favorites among the uptempo numbers, and “Starmaker” is definitely my favorite amongst the ballads.

So, final opinion is that this is a great outing by a really tight group, one of the best around today in jazz. Hargrove has really nailed it with this one.

You can snag it at iTunes & Amazon & help me out.

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Album Awesome – Jurassic 5’s Feedback

May 25, ’08 2:31 PM

Cover art to Jurassic 5’s album “Feedback”So I stumbled across Jurassic 5’s 2006 album Feedback, and it is hott. Yes, that needs two t’s. I’m still in the middle of listening to it & I felt the need to blog about it. Most professional reviews of the album panned it, and while it is not as killin’ as Power in Numbers, it is an awesome album to be sure. It suffers primarily from the groups loss of DJ Cut Chemist, who left the group to pursue a solo career. But rappers Marc 7even, Chali 2na, Zaakir, and Akil, plus remaining producer DJ Nu-Mark. Added to the fold are two top-dollar producers, Scott Storch (famous for 50 Cent, T.I., Lil’ Kim, and the Roots) and Salaam Remi (Fugees, Nas, Ludacris, Joss Stone), and while they’re certainly good, they don’t quite capture the J5 feel.

That’s ok though, ’cause we still get some great tunes out of the mix. Stand out tracks include the first cut, “Back 4 U”, which is straight up J5, with Chali 2na makin’ it happen (he’s my favorite rapper of the group). “Brown Girl”, the third track, has a nice groove to it, featuring some nice vocalizings, with “Gotta Understand” following with a slight Kanye West flavor to it (complete with Curtis Mayfield sample). “In the House”, one of DJ Nu-Mark’s major contributions, is a straight homage to the Sugar Hill Gang, really bringing that old-school pocket back. Right after that, “Baby Please” hits, and while if you’re really observant you might hear some Neptunes influence, it really just feels like a hot live band backing the group. The horn– & guitar-led groove really keeps it going. The single, “Work It Out”, which features the Dave Matthews Band doesn’t quite work, but it’s a cool idea & kudos to DMB for broadening their horizons. “Get It Together” has a sort-of old blues feel to it, with the honky tonk piano & the tin can vocal hook, works well with the almost dub bass & pocket drums. “Canto de Ossanha”, an instrumental Latin flavored track, brings the album to a close without any rhymes at all, but it’s got a great pocket to it, and feels like a live group (which it may or may not be.)

All in all, a solid effort. Again, it doesn’t quite rise to the heights of Power in Numbers or Jurassic 5 LP, their debut, but definitely worth picking up.

You can snag it at iTunes or Amazon.com and help me out.

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