October 2000There are artists who are such elemental participants in the structure of contemporary music that we are obliged to notice any time they make a move. Within the various house genres we readily accept new context for established divas like Loleatta Holloway, Jocelyn Brown, or Chaka Khan. Shirley Bassey is into her fifth decade as a performer and a new compilation, "Diamonds Are Forever" on EMI UK, is poised to expose her talent to a new generation who want more from the "History Repeating" lady. Her newest buddies, The Propellerheads, are joined by a brace of equally talented musicians and producers insuring that many new punters will respond because of name recognition if nothing else. And they will not be disappointed. All Ms. Bassey's recordings are classic and there are the expected and obvious inclusions together with a couple of obscure gems. "Where Do I Begin?" is remixed by 2 step mavens the awayTEAM, "Diamonds Are Forever" is skillfully reworked by Mantronik, and The Propellerheads reinvent "Goldfinger" by injecting new musical elements and jamming. "Light My Fire" gets two treatments: Kenny Dope turns in a hip-hop version while Robin Twelftree offers a jazzy breakbeat dub. "Big Spender" is beautifully (albeit frantically) conjured up by Wild Oscar, DJ Spinna does "Spinning Wheel," Groove Armada eases us through "Never Never Never," "Easy Thing to Do" is delicately fluffed by Nightmares on Wax, and Mark Brydon (Moloko) turns "If You Go Away" into a circuit stormer. CHRIS FRANTZ and TINA WEYMOUTH are both recognized as two of these elemental mental music types; they were founding members, along with David Byrne, of the Talking Heads in 1975. After four albums and five years of touring with the band they were signed to Island Records by Chris Blackwell, who first recognized the potential this powerful and unique rhythm section had in and of itself. In 1981 TOM TOM CLUB was born. The impact from their first two singles, "Wordy Rappinghood" and "Genius of Love," is still being felt today. The recording artists who credit this group for sole inspiration are too numerous to mention and many top forty hits wouldn't exist without directly sampling from Tom Tom Club's various songs. Two decades later the Tom Tom Club have released their fifth album, "The Good The Bad and The Funky," on Ryko, now owned by their old friend Chris Blackwell. The group freshly presents their "prototypical" funky hip-hop with the twelve songs found here. The lyrical content is still foolproof: love, money, and fun. "Time to Bounce" is about fun, simple fun. Mystic Bowie is on the mic toasting out the bouncy words. "Who Feels It" is an enjoyable self-parody and homage to some of their favorite musicians including: Marvin Gaye, Skratch Piklz, Beasties, Beat Junkies, Fela Kuti, Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, JBs, Lee Perry, etc. "Happiness Can't Buy Money" says it all in the title and is a floating pink cloud of delight. Charles Pettigrew, of Charles & Eddie, adds soulful styling to "Holy Water," an urban dilemma. There are two fantastic covers on this album, one a loving version of Lee "Scratch" Perry's classic "Soul Fire" and the other "Love to Love You, Baby" by Giorgio Moroder and Donna Summer. "Love to Love You, Baby" was an import single earlier this year and is executed using their classic sound. The remaining songs are equally entertaining: "She's Dangerous," "She's a Freak," "(C'Mon) Surrender," "Superdreaming," "Lesbians by the Lake" and the caressing "Let There Be Love." A simply lovely way to wrap up summer. In the vein of sages another to acknowledge is CHARLIE WATTS JIM KELTNER PROJECT's "Airto" on Higher Octave UK. Yes this is Mr. Watts, drummer extraordinaire of the Rolling Stones, performing extremely fierce acoustic jazz with crucial house mixes by RESTLESS SOUL and MODAJI. COLDCUT turn in a lusciously languid, Valium version for all you heads out there. In all cases the complex acoustic jazz arrangements are left intact including slap, upright bass, horns, and freeform piano. NIGEL HAYES is one of those recording artists who must not want a life outside music. When he's not running his own successful labels, Twilight and Black Jesus Records, he's doing new tracks for other labels. He is better known as one half of the Soma label's CHASER, The Prophet of Black Jesus, Mutant Jazz, or Charley Brown on Guidance Records. "I'm the Instrument" b/w "Shriek (...but is it art?)" is his first appearance under his own name on Sunshine out of Vienna. "I'm the Instrument" is a full-bodied jazzy, Afro-Latin house excursion that is nicely punched up with ample doses of funky guitar licks. This one is as driving as it is beautiful. "Shriek" shows us more of the electronic noodling side of Hayes and is suited for the moody side of midnight. It was most fortuitous that DJ COURTNEY sent me a copy when she did of the first release on her new label, Contrast Music (<press@contrastmusic.com>). Nigel Hayes is set to inaugurate this new label out of Boston with "Fonkymuzak" b/w "Que Pasa." "Fonkymuzak" works an undeniable "fonky" bass line but this up-tempo jam's power lies with its tech-y overtones. This one would not be out of place around 4:00 am in one of Danny Teneglia's sexy late-nighters. "Que Pasa" kicks off with a cosmic sax solo that slowly builds with snares and strings. The breaky house rhythm kicks in about the same time as the fuzzy, squelchy, filtered bass. The feel is one of a luscious urban soundtrack with an infectious beat. Before year's end DJ Courtney's Contrast Music is set to release tracks from JUN (Japan), BROTHERS' VIBE (New Jersey), and HALO VARGA (Chicago). Courtney is in the studio now and is set to release a house EP on her new imprint. Watch for her American tour with the DJs from Icelandic group Gus Gus. This is definitely one to watch. MODJO's "Lady" on Universal/ Barclay FR is poised to be the "next big thing" if we can trust the UK hype mill. This includes samples of "Soup for One" by Chic and one cannot deny the allure of those funky guitars once they are neatly filtered. The vocals are simple blue-eyed soul that's easy to sing along with and the lyrics are strictly from a club sensibility. It's already picked up substantial steam here in this country so watch out. NATIVE SOUL featuring Oliver Cheatham "Our Day Will Come" on Afro Art UK is a standard from the late 50s or early 60s recorded by among others Ruby and The Romantics, Duane Eddy, and more recently k.d. lang. Cheatham's uniquely soulful vocal is reminiscent of Darryl Pandy meets Johnny Mathis (who also recorded the song). The presentation here is pumped up, and the song is inherently sweeping so the outcome is one of an effective peak-hour jam. NELLY FURTADO is a fresh new talent hailing from just north of here in Victoria B.C. She is a first generation Canadian of Portuguese parents. Furtado's eclectic taste in music is evident upon listening to her first single "Party's Just Begun (Again)" culled from her debut album "Whoa, Nelly!" on Dreamworks. The music is an interesting hybrid that gives one a dance-rock impression. Her vocals are equally intriguing, reminiscent of Gabrielle channelling Lady Miss Kier. There are two edge-y drum and bass mixes, one by Matthew Jonson and the other by Slip and Slide. The catchiest mix is a driving house mix by Gavo who keeps the groove moving. If you haven't experienced the 2 Step House (UK Garage) phenomenon yet, LONYO "Summer of Love" on Epic would make a perfect introduction. Unlike most 2 Step offerings that begin with a straight-up r&b song, "Summer of Love" was originally written as a 2 Step House track. The original tone is very Latin (especially with the Latin-sounding girl harmonies) and the 2 Step rhythm adds a convincing element making for a twisted cha-cha-cha. Robbie Rivera is on hand dishing up some straightforward house mixes that are nicely toned down for him. Speaking of twisted hybrids, KRUZE follows their underground hit "If I Don't Come Soon" with "Bengele" on Bush's sub imprint Boo UK. Kruze fuses their finely honed tech-house skills with an African chanting vocal that carries through the song with effective township-styled harmonies. All in all it's a very catchy tune indeed. Also from Bush is the new DEVILDFISH "Man Alive" with uncharacteristically cheeky samples from Inner City's "Good Life" put to "good" use. SUENO LATINO "Sueno Latino 2000" is dusted off by BUSHWACKA presenting the Tek Mix on Distinctive Breaks UK. This is another great example of the recent craze of Latin-tech that's going around, skillfully honed by the talented Mr. Bushwacka. Send review material to: |