The Roots have always been hip hop candy for musicians. With How I Got Over, they continue to blend rap, rock, and jazz in a way that will make you want to bob your head to the beat, but there's no need to get your groove on at the club with it. They set up a more tasteful groove than that.
In their 2004 release Things Fall Apart, they opened the album with an audio clip from Spike Lee's Mo' Better Blues. With How I Got Over, they open with a lyric-less melody which sounds like something out of a Spike Lee Joint. Soulful a Capella harmonies are met with mellow keys and carried on by a vessel of jazzy drums & bass. At 1:50, it's just enough time to set the mood for the rest of album. If you've never listened to The Roots before, you might not know what to expect at this point - which is okay. You're in for a real treat.
If you have been listening to The Roots for years, the first couple of tracks will neither surprise nor disappoint you. They are consistent to their sound, singing thought-provoking lyrics like "the devil want me as is but God, He want more."
The third track "Dear God 2.0" is a prayer about the terrible state of the world, spanning environmental concerns, drug addictions, terrorism, economic downfall, and technological overhaul. He sings "If I could hold the world in the palm of these hands I would probably do away with these anomalies," while the hook says "but God, I know You have Your reasons."
The album continues on to blend some soul into the mix with the title track "How I Got Over," an ode to Bobby Womack's "110th St." The first single "Doin' it Again" doesn't come until track 10, and it's a fun song, addressing their role in The Jimmy Fallon show with "Dear Diary, the fans still swear by me, even though I'm late night now like 'Here's Johnny.'"
How I Got Over is a great addition to The Roots' library. The only thing it lacks is the distraction of the random filler tracks which have infiltrated their albums in the past. This album is a great listen from start to near-finish, as the final two tracks are the weakest of the bunch. Thankfully, the first 12 are enough to make for a happy purchase. 4 stars out of 5.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Mumford & Sons "Sigh No More"
"Sigh No More" is the most exciting album experience I've had in years. A new band has the advantage of being at a disadvantage in that it has to make a first impression. That impression will either leave the listener wanting more, or never wanting to listen to them again.
Mumford & Sons came out swinging with an edgy and unique first single. Before you listen to this album, look up the official music video for "Little Lion Man." You won't regret it. It grabbed my attention immediately in that they had the sound of a full band, yet they weren't working with a full band - particularly, they were missing a drummer. Meet Marcus Mumford, a one man band in that he sings lead, plays guitar, kicks a bass drum with one foot, and a tambourine with the other. He is accompanied by three others - a keyboardist, an electric banjo player, and a stand up bassist. They not only support him with their instruments, but with their harmonizing vocals, and they're spot on.
The album begins with the title track, "Sigh No More," a song that begins slowly and strangely. When the track begins, it will make you wonder why they'd open an album with it. Give it about 90 seconds, and then you'll see the statement it makes about their band. Moving from an almost awkward old fashioned vocal folk quartet into a chunky acoustic guitar strum, it then takes a turn and becomes a powerful march, exploding with the sounds of a relentless kick drum, a Hammond organ, a thumping bass line, a banjo, and a chorus of horns. This is a marvelous introduction to a band that has really nailed the concept of dynamics, and the rest of the album does not disappoint.
The next three tracks take an interesting spin on British folk. The band is from London, and while Mumford's voice can almost sound Irish at times, the music has the unique sounds that you might hear in a London pub.
"White Blank Page" takes the number 5 spot with deep lyrical content, seemingly a jealous letter to the man who has taken the beloved woman from the writer. The album continues in deep water with it's next track "I Gave You All," with razor-sharp lyrics like "if only I had an enemy bigger than my apathy I could have won."
The single doesn't come until track 7 - a fitting move for a band that is making the statement that they are not looking to lean on their radio hit, but that they want you to understand their capabilities in full. This is also not your average radio hit. "Little Lion Man" demonstrates both humility and boldness in its lyrics, using strong language in a chorus that is repeated with an elevating purpose, until it lands in a delicate a Capella four part harmony.
Now that your attention has been solidified, they take the opportunity to present the first slow song of the album, "Timshel." The song plays out like a lullaby, but rather than putting you to sleep by the end, it builds trust the way a father calms a newborn baby on his chest. At this time, the band takes you by the hand and leads you into the darkness of "Thistles and Weeds," a blend of classical rage and an almost creepy warning. This is the first time in the album that we hear more than just a kick drum. Cymbals and bass toms provide the intensity of the most frightening part of a long journey. In the heart of the journey, Mumford belts out "I will hold on hope" until you believe him, and then offers the advice of a mentor who has made it through the thickest of despair and wants you to be prepared to do the same.
"Awake my Soul" leaves the journey behind and reminds you that Mumford & Sons is a folk band. This song takes the course of redemption in the understanding of our limitations and imperfections as people, while showing the hope in offering the better parts of ourselves as help to others.
While "Dust Bowl Dance" certainly does not sound like Bob Dylan audibly, the lyrics are Dylan-like in quantity, quality and content. This story of a young man's revenge leaves the listener to fill in the blanks with his or her imagination.
The album ends with "After the Storm," a beautiful song with a moving melody that will be sure to tug at your heart, while accompanied by loving lyrics of encouragement and hope: "There will come a time, you'll see, with no more tears and love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears."
"Sigh No More" is a perfect album. I give it five handsome stars out of five. It leaves one hell of a first impression.
Mumford & Sons came out swinging with an edgy and unique first single. Before you listen to this album, look up the official music video for "Little Lion Man." You won't regret it. It grabbed my attention immediately in that they had the sound of a full band, yet they weren't working with a full band - particularly, they were missing a drummer. Meet Marcus Mumford, a one man band in that he sings lead, plays guitar, kicks a bass drum with one foot, and a tambourine with the other. He is accompanied by three others - a keyboardist, an electric banjo player, and a stand up bassist. They not only support him with their instruments, but with their harmonizing vocals, and they're spot on.
The album begins with the title track, "Sigh No More," a song that begins slowly and strangely. When the track begins, it will make you wonder why they'd open an album with it. Give it about 90 seconds, and then you'll see the statement it makes about their band. Moving from an almost awkward old fashioned vocal folk quartet into a chunky acoustic guitar strum, it then takes a turn and becomes a powerful march, exploding with the sounds of a relentless kick drum, a Hammond organ, a thumping bass line, a banjo, and a chorus of horns. This is a marvelous introduction to a band that has really nailed the concept of dynamics, and the rest of the album does not disappoint.
The next three tracks take an interesting spin on British folk. The band is from London, and while Mumford's voice can almost sound Irish at times, the music has the unique sounds that you might hear in a London pub.
"White Blank Page" takes the number 5 spot with deep lyrical content, seemingly a jealous letter to the man who has taken the beloved woman from the writer. The album continues in deep water with it's next track "I Gave You All," with razor-sharp lyrics like "if only I had an enemy bigger than my apathy I could have won."
The single doesn't come until track 7 - a fitting move for a band that is making the statement that they are not looking to lean on their radio hit, but that they want you to understand their capabilities in full. This is also not your average radio hit. "Little Lion Man" demonstrates both humility and boldness in its lyrics, using strong language in a chorus that is repeated with an elevating purpose, until it lands in a delicate a Capella four part harmony.
Now that your attention has been solidified, they take the opportunity to present the first slow song of the album, "Timshel." The song plays out like a lullaby, but rather than putting you to sleep by the end, it builds trust the way a father calms a newborn baby on his chest. At this time, the band takes you by the hand and leads you into the darkness of "Thistles and Weeds," a blend of classical rage and an almost creepy warning. This is the first time in the album that we hear more than just a kick drum. Cymbals and bass toms provide the intensity of the most frightening part of a long journey. In the heart of the journey, Mumford belts out "I will hold on hope" until you believe him, and then offers the advice of a mentor who has made it through the thickest of despair and wants you to be prepared to do the same.
"Awake my Soul" leaves the journey behind and reminds you that Mumford & Sons is a folk band. This song takes the course of redemption in the understanding of our limitations and imperfections as people, while showing the hope in offering the better parts of ourselves as help to others.
While "Dust Bowl Dance" certainly does not sound like Bob Dylan audibly, the lyrics are Dylan-like in quantity, quality and content. This story of a young man's revenge leaves the listener to fill in the blanks with his or her imagination.
The album ends with "After the Storm," a beautiful song with a moving melody that will be sure to tug at your heart, while accompanied by loving lyrics of encouragement and hope: "There will come a time, you'll see, with no more tears and love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears."
"Sigh No More" is a perfect album. I give it five handsome stars out of five. It leaves one hell of a first impression.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Jack Johnson's "To The Sea"
Having heard the pre-album released single "You and Your Heart" on the radio, I was relieved to see that it was the opening track on the album. I think the song is rather terrible. The feeling of relief is comparable to the feeling I have about John Mayer's Continuum album beginning and ending (that is, if you have the newer edition which includes "Say" at the end) with its worst tracks. On Mayer's Contiuum album, unarguably his best to date, it's nice to be able to skip the first track (the Christmas-time department store commercial jingle "Waiting on the World to Change"), and enjoy the rest of the tracks in the order they were supposed to be without having to listen to the last track. Unfortunately, the rest of "To the Sea" leaves much more to be desired than "Continuum" did.
A friend of mine said something that goes along precisely with my thoughts of the artist, which is that Jack Johnson's first two albums "Brushfire Fairytales" and "On and On" were full of songs that could have been played on a beach-front porch and written by a surfer who felt like recording his best songs, that "In Between Dreams" was similar but included a little bit more of a "studio" sound, but that "Sleep Through the Static" was written by a guy who was now recording music just because that's what he does.
"To the Sea" makes for an easy listen, but it certainly is not great. There are two great tracks on the album: "My Little Girl" and "Red Wine, Mistakes, Mythology." With each of these tracks I found something different which makes the tracks great. "My Little Girl" was great because it sounds like Jack Johnson. The track is short (2:21) but sweet. It has a haunting and moving acoustic guitar track, accompanied solely by Jack's relaxed but genuine vocals. It ends with a simple, yet very Jack Johnson-y acoustic lead, and it makes for a meaningful couple of minutes.
"Red Wine, Mistakes, Mythology" is a fun and funky track. It guest-stars G. Love for a tasteful harmonica track which makes a musician put on that face a sweaty black blues guitarist makes during a killer lick that looks like something just doesn't smell right. The rest of the track grooves. Tasteful acoustic leads, funky lyrics & vocal harmonies, and moving bluesy piano vessels make this track a fun listen. It is without question the best track on the album, and it's hidden in track 10 of 13.
The rest of the album sounds like it was a homework assignment, or better yet, it's as if a teacher took Jack's "Sleep Through the Static" album and told him he gets a C-, but that he could raise his grade with some extra credit. Then Jack made "To the Sea" and got a B- instead. The same silly bouncy piano track is played throughout the entire album, the drums are far from impressive, and the guitar doesn't make you want something more - it makes you want something else! This is not the Jack Johnson we all fell in love with 10 years ago. This is the Jack Johnson that made an album because it was time to make another album. While most of the album is tolerable, the title track of the album "To the Sea" is a complete cuss word of a song. It belongs in the toilet. Jack picked an awful melodic hook and sang it over and over again. The best thing I can say of this album as a whole is that it was better than his last, and unfortunately, that doesn't say much. If we were in the old school, I'd say buy the cd just for the two aforementioned great tracks, but in this age, I'd say to spend two bucks and to buy just the two tracks online and leave the rest.
Like I said, the album as a whole is an easy listen, so if you're looking for background music, it's fine, but if you're looking to really listen to a good album, leave this one on the shelf. Over all, I give it 2 and 1/2 out of 5 stars.
A friend of mine said something that goes along precisely with my thoughts of the artist, which is that Jack Johnson's first two albums "Brushfire Fairytales" and "On and On" were full of songs that could have been played on a beach-front porch and written by a surfer who felt like recording his best songs, that "In Between Dreams" was similar but included a little bit more of a "studio" sound, but that "Sleep Through the Static" was written by a guy who was now recording music just because that's what he does.
"To the Sea" makes for an easy listen, but it certainly is not great. There are two great tracks on the album: "My Little Girl" and "Red Wine, Mistakes, Mythology." With each of these tracks I found something different which makes the tracks great. "My Little Girl" was great because it sounds like Jack Johnson. The track is short (2:21) but sweet. It has a haunting and moving acoustic guitar track, accompanied solely by Jack's relaxed but genuine vocals. It ends with a simple, yet very Jack Johnson-y acoustic lead, and it makes for a meaningful couple of minutes.
"Red Wine, Mistakes, Mythology" is a fun and funky track. It guest-stars G. Love for a tasteful harmonica track which makes a musician put on that face a sweaty black blues guitarist makes during a killer lick that looks like something just doesn't smell right. The rest of the track grooves. Tasteful acoustic leads, funky lyrics & vocal harmonies, and moving bluesy piano vessels make this track a fun listen. It is without question the best track on the album, and it's hidden in track 10 of 13.
The rest of the album sounds like it was a homework assignment, or better yet, it's as if a teacher took Jack's "Sleep Through the Static" album and told him he gets a C-, but that he could raise his grade with some extra credit. Then Jack made "To the Sea" and got a B- instead. The same silly bouncy piano track is played throughout the entire album, the drums are far from impressive, and the guitar doesn't make you want something more - it makes you want something else! This is not the Jack Johnson we all fell in love with 10 years ago. This is the Jack Johnson that made an album because it was time to make another album. While most of the album is tolerable, the title track of the album "To the Sea" is a complete cuss word of a song. It belongs in the toilet. Jack picked an awful melodic hook and sang it over and over again. The best thing I can say of this album as a whole is that it was better than his last, and unfortunately, that doesn't say much. If we were in the old school, I'd say buy the cd just for the two aforementioned great tracks, but in this age, I'd say to spend two bucks and to buy just the two tracks online and leave the rest.
Like I said, the album as a whole is an easy listen, so if you're looking for background music, it's fine, but if you're looking to really listen to a good album, leave this one on the shelf. Over all, I give it 2 and 1/2 out of 5 stars.
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