It's been a while since I've posted anything, so I figured why not jump right back in with a great tune from one of my all time favorite funk groups. The New Mastersounds have been going strong for over a decade now, but I still feel that they don't get the credit they deserve. I'm not saying they're unknown, but they surely aren't on the tip of many peoples tongues these days. In certain circles of similar music, they've been given their due, and I think that if more people heard them, they'd agree that these guys are worth it. For my money, I put them right up there with greats like Herbie and Funkadelic. They've got a great balance between the jazzy and they funky, that'll keep you on your toes.
Based out of Leeds (that's in England people), the group was formed and is led by guitarist Eddie Roberts. I saw Eddie Roberts play with a different lineup at Equifunk one year, and let me tell you, this guy is legit. He's got a very distinct and fluid sound, that's certainly rooted in Jazz. At the age of 18, he studied Jazz at Leeds College of Music and put together his first band then, The Jazz Mailmen, who focused on the music of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. That was the beginning of Eddie's career, and here we are today, over twenty years later, and there's absolutely no end in sight.
Clearly there sound has much more than one type of influence ingrained in it. There's some Meters, some James Taylor Quartet (whom I've written about in the past), and of course Jimmy Smith. What organ player isn't influenced by him. But for all the comparisons you can draw, The New Mastersounds have retained and edge and originality that sets them apart. They've got twelve albums, and a slew of singles, but their true identity can only be seen in live performances. Of course they have great chemistry, but you also get to see up close and personal, how diverse their repertoire is. Much like Soulive (another one of my favorites of this "genre"), their skill is unmistakable, but their cool factor is off the charts. These guys are good, and they've "brought it" every time I've seen them play.
Another interesting tidbit about the group, is that since 2003 they've been distributing music through their own label, "One Note Records." I'm always interested in how people choose to play the so-called game, and it's always inspiring to see those that take it in their own hands.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
AV UNDERCOVER 2012
http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-wood-brothers-cover-michael-jackson,83888/
I probably should've talked about this a while ago. But the good thing is, all the songs have been covered, and you can now have access to every video.
Watch one of the videos (I recommend the Wood Brothers one that I linked), and it will explain the AV Club's mission with this. I think it's a brilliant idea, and I've truly enjoyed it. Last year, Wye Oak did an awesome job with Danzig's "Mother." Then they did an even better cover of the Kinks' "Strangers." It was AV Undercover that turned me onto this group, and I've come to really enjoy what Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack are doing.
Though you won't "like" all the videos, I think this affords a great look at a lot of new and old bands, live, and on the spot. This is no talk show performance.
I probably should've talked about this a while ago. But the good thing is, all the songs have been covered, and you can now have access to every video.
Watch one of the videos (I recommend the Wood Brothers one that I linked), and it will explain the AV Club's mission with this. I think it's a brilliant idea, and I've truly enjoyed it. Last year, Wye Oak did an awesome job with Danzig's "Mother." Then they did an even better cover of the Kinks' "Strangers." It was AV Undercover that turned me onto this group, and I've come to really enjoy what Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack are doing.
Though you won't "like" all the videos, I think this affords a great look at a lot of new and old bands, live, and on the spot. This is no talk show performance.
Monday, October 8, 2012
SOD: Parliament "Mothership Connection"
I saw George Clinton last winter. He played at City Winery as the special guest of 420 Funk Mob. Dr. Funkenstein may not have had his disciples with him, but he gave one hell of a performance. He wasn't donning his usual eclectic hairstyles, robes, and colors, but was a much toned down version of himself. I'd personally never seen him look so plain.
But his performance was full of energy, and the place itself is small and quite intimate. Especially when it's not crowded, which it wasn't. I was right up on the front of the small stage, and exchanged a few "pounds" and "fives" with George as the show progressed, certainly a highlight for me.
But George is older now. He's less audible, less energetic, less Dr. Funkenstein. After all he's 70 and still performing. He's part of a whole cast of musicians born in the forties and fifties, still trying to make a living touring the land. Some of these performers are impossible to watch, they're simply spent. Others are parodies of themselves, mere caricatures of former glory. Some, have kept in shape, and kept their craft maintained. Those acts are always worth seeing. Bruce Springsteen and Mick Jagger (not Keith Richards) come to mind. So does Patti Smith and David Byrne. Even guys like B.B. King are still worth a damn on stage, because the man can still play and sing extremely well! Granted, he can barely walk, but he can still put on a show.
Now George can move, he can even groove. He can sing, though his voice seems to be hurting. But compared to what he was back with Parliament and Funkadelic, well it's night and day. Parliament was an influential band, the beginning of a sound. They fused soul, funk, psychedelic rock and even some jazz into a sound that you wanted to (even needed to) dance to. A sound that largely changed the direction that kind of music would take. They were an amalgam of so many different styles and themes, that they became something completely different. The album Mothership Connection perhaps best represents this.
Hailed as one of the all-time greats (album wise), Mothership Connection had a lot of players. Stacked with 17 vocalists (including Clinton and Bootsy Collins), 6 horns (with Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley who had just left James Brown's band), 4 Guitarists, 2 Bassists, 4 drummers and a keyboard, Parliament achieved a huge sound. The album has also been heavily sampled in the years since it's release, with Dr. Dre relying on it heavily to create his blockbuster album The Chronic. "Mothership Connection" the song, was the third single to come from the album, and introduces "Star Child" to the world. This is George Clintons alien alter-ego that has come to earth to bring Funk (with a capital "F") to humanity. It's all written in the P-Funk mythology, much of which is quite entertaining. It turns out George was a bit of a Star Trekkie, so he loved the idea of somehow incorporating the final frontier into his music. I'm sure glad he did.
But his performance was full of energy, and the place itself is small and quite intimate. Especially when it's not crowded, which it wasn't. I was right up on the front of the small stage, and exchanged a few "pounds" and "fives" with George as the show progressed, certainly a highlight for me.
But George is older now. He's less audible, less energetic, less Dr. Funkenstein. After all he's 70 and still performing. He's part of a whole cast of musicians born in the forties and fifties, still trying to make a living touring the land. Some of these performers are impossible to watch, they're simply spent. Others are parodies of themselves, mere caricatures of former glory. Some, have kept in shape, and kept their craft maintained. Those acts are always worth seeing. Bruce Springsteen and Mick Jagger (not Keith Richards) come to mind. So does Patti Smith and David Byrne. Even guys like B.B. King are still worth a damn on stage, because the man can still play and sing extremely well! Granted, he can barely walk, but he can still put on a show.
Now George can move, he can even groove. He can sing, though his voice seems to be hurting. But compared to what he was back with Parliament and Funkadelic, well it's night and day. Parliament was an influential band, the beginning of a sound. They fused soul, funk, psychedelic rock and even some jazz into a sound that you wanted to (even needed to) dance to. A sound that largely changed the direction that kind of music would take. They were an amalgam of so many different styles and themes, that they became something completely different. The album Mothership Connection perhaps best represents this.
Hailed as one of the all-time greats (album wise), Mothership Connection had a lot of players. Stacked with 17 vocalists (including Clinton and Bootsy Collins), 6 horns (with Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley who had just left James Brown's band), 4 Guitarists, 2 Bassists, 4 drummers and a keyboard, Parliament achieved a huge sound. The album has also been heavily sampled in the years since it's release, with Dr. Dre relying on it heavily to create his blockbuster album The Chronic. "Mothership Connection" the song, was the third single to come from the album, and introduces "Star Child" to the world. This is George Clintons alien alter-ego that has come to earth to bring Funk (with a capital "F") to humanity. It's all written in the P-Funk mythology, much of which is quite entertaining. It turns out George was a bit of a Star Trekkie, so he loved the idea of somehow incorporating the final frontier into his music. I'm sure glad he did.
Monday, October 1, 2012
SOD: ZZ Top "Hot, Blue, and Righteous"
This is ZZ Top? That was the question I asked when I first heard this song. It seems so different to the stuff I'm used to. And granted, most of that "stuff" is the hits like "La Grange" (also off the album Tres Hombres) and "Sharp Dressed Man," but this tasty treat came across my radar about three years ago. A piano player I met in a bar, had an affinity for blues rock. Naturally, ZZ Top was one of his all-time favorite groups, and when he punched this number into the jukebox, I was sold.
This is a moving song, with a slow and powerful droll to it. The vocal harmonies are great, and its a much more melodic song than I'm used to from them. In it's entirety, from the guitar solo to the lyrics themselves, is very simple, but perfectly crafted. It's one of those songs that proves you don't have to do anythings excessive to write a beautiful song. Often times, I find the best songs are the simple ones that say the right amount at the right time. They don't try and do to much, or become something they're not. They rely on a solid structure, emotionality, and honesty. There's nothing like an honest song. We don't get much of those in the pop world today. And that goes for all genre's of "popular music." Be it Country, which is full of bullshit pretenders, Rock (if you can even call it that anymore), or anything else that's mainstream. It's all fake. The performer has no connection to the music, and in a lot of instances, no connection to their own performance once they get done with the production of it (think about how much is auto-tuned, and fixed up post-performance these days). That's why songs like this will always have a place far above the rest in my mind.
This is a moving song, with a slow and powerful droll to it. The vocal harmonies are great, and its a much more melodic song than I'm used to from them. In it's entirety, from the guitar solo to the lyrics themselves, is very simple, but perfectly crafted. It's one of those songs that proves you don't have to do anythings excessive to write a beautiful song. Often times, I find the best songs are the simple ones that say the right amount at the right time. They don't try and do to much, or become something they're not. They rely on a solid structure, emotionality, and honesty. There's nothing like an honest song. We don't get much of those in the pop world today. And that goes for all genre's of "popular music." Be it Country, which is full of bullshit pretenders, Rock (if you can even call it that anymore), or anything else that's mainstream. It's all fake. The performer has no connection to the music, and in a lot of instances, no connection to their own performance once they get done with the production of it (think about how much is auto-tuned, and fixed up post-performance these days). That's why songs like this will always have a place far above the rest in my mind.
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