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Critiques from our Archives |
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G. Love & Special Sauce
The Electric Mile
Jeffrey "Thunderhouse" Clemens (dr, perc), Billy Conway, Dave Geller (perc)
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Media Type: CD
RATING: 7
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Clemens kick-starts this mutha with a rapid-fire swing beat in the opener, "Unified." This bombastic overture gives us a snippet of the percussive treasures within. In "Parasite," funky shuffles and multi-layered syncopated rhythms shadow G.?s rolling, bile-filled rap lines. Throughout the disc, the drums ring with such tone that they become part of the melody. |
Garage A Trois
Emphasizer
Stanton Moore
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Media Type: CD
RATING: 8
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Ignoring the implications of the trois in its name, the group formed by guitarist Charlie Hunter, saxophonist Skerik, and drummer STANTON MOORE is now a quartet. It?s all good news from there, as Mike Dillon on vibes and percussion rounds out the ensemble nicely for this debut LP. (The vinyl-only trio EP Mysteryfunk was released in ?99.) With Moore?s deep groove on the bottom and Skerik?s otherworldly tones up top, Emphasizer?s ten party-time instrumentals reach down to New Orleans, then rocket into outer space. It?s a special treat to hear Moore?s Crescent City take on the album?s two Latin rave-ups. |
Gene Krupa
The Forman School Concert
Gene Krupa
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Media Type: CD
RATING: 5
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Released by Krupa supa-fan Bruce Klauber, The Forman School Concert captures the legendary drummer three years before his passing. Although in the autumn of his years, Gene certainly still swings, delivers tasty solos, and radiates joy. This "newly discovered" performance is a rarity originally pressed as a benefit souvenir LP of a concert featuring Krupa aided by able regional sidemen. It?s less than prime stuff for Krupa, and the recording quality is amateur, so casual fans should bypass this one. But diehard disciples will want to leap and log on to www.jazzlegends.com. |
Ghost
Hypnotic Underground
Junzo Tateiwa
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Media Type: CD
RATING: 8
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Creating progressive epics like Snuffbox Immanence and Tune In, Turn On, Free Tibet has been demented child?s-play for Japan?s freak phantasms, Ghost. A loose-knit collective who?ve released seven albums since the early ?90s, Ghost are the Star Trek travelers of Japan?s experimental scene. Hypnotic Underworld begins almost amorphously, recalling the Krautrock of Amon D??l, with drummer JUNZO TATEIWA slowly raising the intensity from gentle rim work to fiery rolls, accompanied note-for-note by searing guitar, wailing soprano sax, and keyboard madness. Further tracks explore the outer reaches of speed-jazz-metal, California psychedelia, Brit-prog folk, and even a Syd Barrett cover. Absolutely fascinating. |
Giovanni Hidalgo & Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez
Traveling Through Time
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Media Type: CD
RATING: 7
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Like a triple-x video, Traveling abandons exposition and gets right to the hot stuff. No grand concepts here. But the mind-blowing workouts within will make drummers salivate. It?s a self-produced hour of duets/solos from two cutting-edge Latin masters. Torrid stuff! You may want to hide it in the sock drawer. www.elnegro.com, www.giovannihidalgo.com |
Glassjaw
Worship And Tribute
Larry Gorman
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Media Type: CD
RATING: 7
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Although there?s enough "nu metal" these days to fill an entire record store?s shelves, it would be a misnomer to finger Glassjaw as one of those who are simply trend-following sheep. Extracting their heavy sound from underground hardcore, the act features a raw, indie style, gently polished by major-label wax. The dancing foot- and stick-work of LARRY GORMAN is satisfying, tasteful, and deftly captured by veteran producer Ross Robinson. From the China-smashing intro of "Stuck Pig" to the up-tempo, melodic "Radio Cambodia," there are plenty of punches, accents, and kicks to make Worship And Tribute an engaging listen. |
Global Village Orchestra
Globalistics
Afra Mussawissadeh
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Media Type: CD
RATING: 6
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Throw together ten musicians from eight different countries, and you might have a muddy musical mess. The fact is, this tri-continental orchestra is a PC critic?s dream, given its stock of diverse and capable performers, including Iranian kit percussionist AFRA MUSSAWISSADEH. There is something deep and moving here, brought out by vocal chants, tenor sax, violin, mournful wind-instrument passages, and throaty percussion, such as ghatam and darbuka played by vocalist Behsat Uvez. As "Gravity," "Blue Wedding," and "Yaschlik" slide across EuroAsian-African borders, tiny pregnant percussive bursts dance to these melodies without being too invasive or predictable. There?s beauty in this complexity. |
Godsmack
Faceless
Shannon Larkin
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Media Type: CD
RATING: 8
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From the pounding toms that open "Straight Out Of Line," Godsmack?s latest is filled with plenty of mid-tempo chunk and nice hooks. Their new drummer, SHANNON LARKIN, does a terrific job playing off the guitar riffs, accenting and using creative fills to connect them. Larkin lays it down when it counts, but also adds interest by varying the beat along the way. His playing on "Re-Align" and "Make Me Believe," for instance, consistently lifts them to another level of sophistication. The combination of Larkin?s contemporary-metal groove and power, along with strong technique that draws on his roots, gives his playing a distinctive approach. |
Green Day
Shenanigans
Tr? Cool
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Media Type: CD
RATING: 6
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Although better recognized for his antics (losing toes from falling cymbals, setting his Slingerlands ablaze) than his actual performances, TR? COOL?s playing has dramatically improved over the last decade, which was gorgeously captured on 2000?s Warning. Their latest, Shenanigans, is a B-sides/rarities comp that spans the act?s entire Reprise career, sometimes harking back to those earlier periods when Tr? was less inventive and consistent. While "DUI" is a hilarious polka cut and "Scumbag" is a fiery, bouncy pop-punk track, covers like The Ramones? "Outsider" and The Kinks? "Tired Of Waiting" are average at best and don?t do the collection much justice. |
Greg Ellis
Kala Rupa
Larry Gorman
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Media Type: CD
RATING: 6
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West Coast percussionist GREG ELLIS has steeped himself in the rhythms of India, the Middle East, and North Africa, and his debut recording welcomes the listener to grooves and patterns from the other side of the globe. Using exotic instruments such as the riq, the tabla, and the udu, Ellis paints sonic landscapes that become a fusion of disparate elements. (Narada) (www.vasmusic.com) |
Greg Howe/Victor Wooten/Dennis Chambers
Extraction
Dennis Chambers
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Media Type: CD
RATING: 8
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This all-star fusion trio go way off the musical hook with excellent, high-energy instrumental compositions and chops to match. Chambers goes ballistic on the intro of the title track, and never lets up from there. Along the way, the band blasts a fresh new hole through ?70s-era Tony Williams track "Proto Cosmos," and Chambers unleashes a maniacal solo on the Latin-flavored "Contigo." There?s some serious funk going down on this disc too, and as always, Chambers is impressive with his infectious feel and brilliant creativity. |
Greg Osby
Symbols Of Light (A Solution)
Marlon Browden (dr, perc)
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Media Type: CD
RATING: 8
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On this fascinating union of jazz and string quartets, Osby the iconoclast again offers a welcome alternative to the retro jazz crowd. Drummer Marlon Browden rises to the unusual challenge. With little traditional "comping" to depend on, he responds with a gritty, swirling pulse. There?s plenty of tricky interplay between quartets, yet Browden manages to propel and interact without cluttering the thick texture. It?s a fresh, surprising sound with a strange, shadowy beauty. (Blue Note) |
Gregory Beyer
Metallica: An Inside Look At The Drum Styles Of Metallica
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Media Type: Book/CD
RATING: 7
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An Inside Look is a superb analysis of Lars Ulrich?s drumming. The nineteen songs presented here?a veritable Metallica?s Greatest Hits?are broken down into sections of verse, chorus, pre-chorus, solo, etc. Analysis and commentary are added throughout, providing excellent insight into why and how Lars chose his parts. The accompanying CD is excellent, with a studio band recreating the featured music. Each drum track is played "solo" at a slower tempo as well. Two minor complaints: First, there are no complete drum charts in the book. And second, the playing on the CD, while clean and accurate, is most definitely not Lars? or the band?s. Still, for the serious Metallica fan, this is a slam-dunk of a drum book. (Cherry Lane) |
Gruvis Malt
...With The Spirit Of A Traffic Jam
Skot McPhail
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Media Type: CD
RATING: 7
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It?s no wonder this six-piece fusionoid outfit dubs their mix of hip-hop, jazz, funk/metal, and astral lounge "futurock." Crammed with Motown-ish horns, wandering vocal lines, DJ scratches, and rolling retro keys, these songs twist and rotate in their own chaotic orbit. Drummer SKOT McPHAIL must have the percussive equivalent of moon boots, because his rubbery swing feels, half-time backbeats, and intricate jagged-edged grooves keep things grounded. Not even the tricky 11/8 feel of "Aggression" sends him spiraling off course. This solid, eclectic debut signals greater things to come. |
Guillermo E. Brown
Soul At The Hands of The Machine
Guillermo E. Brown
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Media Type: CD
RATING: 9
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Assimilating the nutty programming skills of Kid Koala, the combustible set work of Jack DeJohnette, and the feverish hand drumming of Weather Report?era Manolo Badrena (as well as WR?s cosmic melodic approach), GUILLERMO E. BROWN is a musician on fire. His brilliant debut cuts through diverse, deconstructionist jazz styles with an original touch. |
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