The Congos - Heart of the Congos - Week 4

Jason:

The Congo's 'Heart of the Congos' Released in the 1977, which was a huge year for music, the Congo's first album came around the same time acts like bob marley and the whalers where gaining recognition and the clash was a few years away from creating a very innovative variation on root's reggae and traditional Ska. My biggest ...imppressions of this record are based on it'ts relaxed mood, atmospheric tonal sonic qualities, and it's near african roots sound. There is a real group cooperative quality to this album. This album has one foot in the past, and perhaps one in the future in the sense that there are some nice musical experimentations going on that go beyond the more straightforward sounds of Marley (though his songwriting sensibilities remain unmatched by anyone). Most of all, this record makes me want to be on a beach with a cold drink, listening to it in hellish Dallas traffic seems almost blasphemy.

TV on the Radio - Week 3

Jason:
Week 3: TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain (2006)
This is not my favorite TV on the Radio Record. I give that title to Dear Science. Though I am generally drawn to very complex things, I prefer Dear Science's more minimal approach because it focuses on the singing, which is really what I like about it anyway. That is not to sa...y this is not a strong collection of music. It simply has taken me multiple listens to get into. and I have found some of my favorite music that way. Return to Cookie mountain presents a good challenge, with some pretty enjoyable moments.
"I was a Lover" is a really cool intro tune. Samples, noise, and dissonant drum beats are abound in this song. The second song isn't quite as loud, but there is a huge emphasis on a loud sound.
Province has a wonderful bit of space, between the vocal layering and the spacey keyboards. Next to I was a lover, Wolf like me stands out quite strongly here.
The one thing that does frustrate me about this record is it's disorienting musical experimentation. Don't get me wrong, I am all for bands pushing their limits. This was the sort of thing that made My Bloody Valentine's album 'Loveless' both an incredibly enjoyable listen, yet completely agitating to absorb upon the first listen. The biggest difference is where that album contrasted harsh and soothing sounds, this record tends to rub harsh against harsh, whether it's the snare drums, the build up of random sounds. In fact, every time I listen to Cookie Mountain, I find new details I did not find before. As loud as it can get, these are deceptively simple songs.
The strongest part of this album and this band in general in my opinion is the singer. His voice is extremely soulful, and he has no problem sharing vocal space with others. I have to admit, I can't understand most of the lyrics, but I like hearing the vocals, so it doesn't matter too much.
The production quality of these songs has me curious to see this band live. It seems hard to differentiate between pre-recorded samples and what gets played by the band.
overall the songwriting is quirky, pretty fearless, but never does so to sacrifice an enjoyable sound. there is a lot of good energy.

Kris:
Week 3: TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain (2006) - This may very well be my favorite overall album of 2006 and without a doubt my favorite TV on the Radio album. This is TV on the Radio's third album after 2002's OK Calculator and 2004's Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes. This album involved expanding the lineup from the... original trio of Tunde Adebimpe, Kyp Malone and David Andrew Sitek to include Jaleel Bunton on drums and Gerard Smith on bass and keyboards. Smith recently died of lung cancer at the age of 34, which is something I am still coming to terms with as of this writing. The songwriting on this album is phenomenally deep, cryptic and presented with such diversity that it is bound to be an album that you keep coming back to because of. It makes me think of trying to crack open a bond to get to the marrow within. That is how worthwhile knowing an album like this is to me. As a few notable points in personnel go, this album also features David Bowie performing backup vocals on Province and Blonde Redhead's Kazu Makino on Hours. If you are looking for something to get you awake and going in the morning, go with Wolf Like Me, although you might find yourself hitting down the gas a bit more with that one.

Parlament - Mothership Connection - Week 2

Kris: Week 2: Parliament - Mothership Connection (1976) - If you were to open your wood processor and typed in F-U-N-K in a font large enough to make one letter appear on each page, you still wouldn't make it large enough to encompass the scope of FUNK going on with this album. George Clinton has been making music for a long time and he has... made a great many funky records along the way. This one, however, is very special. This is a concept album where Clinton aimed to present the listener with black people (i.e. FUNK) from the most unlikely of places: outer space. Clinton was apparently a big Star Trek fan and this concept struck him as natural. You know you are in for something different from the very start when Clinton grabs the microphone in a Rod Serling-esque voice over to explain that you are receiving a special broadcast from W.E.F.U.N.K. The station, as far I as can piece together, is extraterrestrial in nature and is the quintessential nature of FUNK (I can't type that in anything but all caps). From there comes a narrative in a language of street-talk and ghetto slang with James Brown style grooves. You've got elements of jazz, soul and rock all meshed together into the undescribeable FUNK. Give Up the Funk is also featured on this album, probably the most recognizable Parliament songs behind Flashlight. Listen to this album or you are doing yourself a disservice!

Jason: Week 2: Parlament - Mothership ConnectionAt a first observation and listen this seems like a joke record. After you spend a little time with it, very intricate jazz and funk infused skill starts to show through. If it were the Red Hot Chili ...Pepper's, no one would take it seriously (and Clinton produced their record Freaky Stylee on a side note), but the music is pretty similar.
What strikes me about this record is that it runs and feels like a concept album with a loose narrative. Clinton creates psycadelic and otherworldly characters that have entered your stratosphere to take you on a journey, loosen you up, and make you have fun! If you allow it, this record accomplishes just that.
Clinton has even created his own language. I don't know what Supergroovalisticprosifunkstication means, but I like where it's going.
Probably my favorite song is handcuffs, which is a suprise, since it totally came out of left field. It's blatant sexually humorous in nature. Though it is still suggestive, its more obvious than any other song on the record. Like the rest of the record it still gives a command.
P Funk and Give up the Funk are both engraned in the national psychee.
The length of the songs are quite a bit to digest in a casual listening sense. that being said, these are meant to keep the party going on, and on.... and on and on. and so forth.
Just remember, the law around here is you got to wear your sunglasses.
Mothership, over and out.

Sly and the Family Stone - Stand - Week 1

Jason:
My first introduction to Sly was pretty indirect. I first heard his infuence in the Black Crowes. listen to a song like (only) Halfway to Everywhere and listen to an album like Stand! and you will know what I mean. Chris Robinson has also said the first... music he was introduced to was from Sly.
I am a relative newby to funk music, but in a lot of ways it's been the next natural progression. Sly and the gang where making music in a time when popular American music was still being molded and the possibilities were endless. and you will hear his influence for decades to come!
What strikes me about Sly and the Family Stone's music is their ability to very fun, Psycaedlic, and have a few sprinkles of socially charged humor all at once. There is always a fun and positive vibe running throughout.
Sly, much like George Clinton, surrounds himself with the most talented musicians he can find, and has plenty of skill on his own to back it up! The racial makeup of the band was very mixed, and this lent to a sort of social unity within the groups output. Ultimately this is great music that can make you think while shaking your hips and throwing a party. If you don't check this out, you are doing yourself a great disservice.

Kris:Week 1: Sly and the Family Stone - Stand! (1969) - In the year of the first moon landing, Denton-born Sly Stone and his "family" put together an album that stands aside from the rest of the releases I have heard. Tracks such as "Everyday People" and "I Want to Take Your Higher" were some of the more memorable songs played at Woodsto...ck and can still be heard on radio stations today.
One of the things that I like so much about this album is the ever-present sense of humor. A song like "Don't Call me Nigger, Whitey" is largely aimed at poking fun at racial prejudices by making the lyrics of the song a reprise consisting of "Don't call me nigger, whitey. Don't call me whitey, nigger." The lyrics repeat over and over seeming to indicate that we're just not going to get anywhere if we keep up this mentality. The song "Everyday People" does more of the same, although in a slightly more optimistic style. This song was a #1 hit in the US and also spawned the phrase "Different Strokes for Different Folks," which later inspired the Gary Coleman show Different Strokes. The 13-minute jam session "Sex Machine" also has it's touch of humor. The whole purpose of the track was to give each member of the band a chance at doing a solo. The last person to participate was Greg Errico, the drummer of the band. Apparently the rest of the band was standing around him and making fun of his playing as he closed out the song. At the very end of the track you can hear the band just start laughing at the whole situation. Golden.
Moreover, the influence on this record on subsequent artists is a bit difficult to overstate. "Sing a Simple Song" was later covered by Diana Ross and The Supremes, The Temptations and even The Jackson 5. Not only that, but Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis used the guitar riff from the song in later tracks of theirs. Years later when the hip hop movement really got going, all kinds of producers starting sampling bits off this album. It's all over the place, from LL Cool J, to Ice Cube, to Arrested Development and even Jay Z.This was actually the fourth album recorded by the group, but the first where Sly put a great, almost obsessive, focus on orchestration. A greatest hits hits album was released the following year and Sly developed a cocaine habit that progressively made his work suffer.
As a bit of an experiment, I would recommend that you check this and "There's a Riot Going On" (1971). The latter album has a genius all to its own, but it is also a much darker album. That one deals with more topics of racial tension in a more pessimistic tone than this one. Even if you don't get around to checking that one out, Stand! will certainly be worth your time.