Sonic Slab Review Revue (Part 1)

Went to the Seattle Public Library (main branch) the other day.

The SPL is amazing and the main branch itself is an architectural marvel. One of the rad things about the library system is the music that is available for cardholders to take out and one of the rad things about the main branch (apart from the unique aesthetic and architecture) is the treasure trove of compact discs that are housed there, with nearly an entire floor dedicated to music alone. While there the other day I hit that treasure trove hard. Thought I'd review some of these discs on the Warlock. Don't think any of these are exactly brand new or cutting edge by any means, but either way here's a batch of some CD reviews....

Method Of Defiance-Jahbulon So there's this dude called Bill Laswell who's a pretty prolific musician. He got started in Detroit back in the day and was hip to the Stooges and the MC5 as well as Parliament/Funkadelic and the dude's pretty much been running and gunning since then. He's worked with Motorhead, Tori Amos and Herbie Hancock, to name a few. Method of Defiance is Laswell's reggae project out on his record label of the same name (method of defiance technologies). The album features Laswell on bass, Dr. Israel and Hawk collaborating on vocal duties, P-Funk's Bernie Worrell on keyboards and a guy I'd never heard of (Guy Licata)on the drums. Honestly I wasn't too hot and bothered by this album. I was a big Dr. Israel fan when I was first getting into dancehall but maybe I've outgrown some of his Brooklyn-Swag for a more authentic Trenchtown sound. Don't really know what to make of Hawk, and Worrell's trademark thick minimoog sound is nowhere near this recording. They keys sound dim and flimsy to me. Sorry, dudes.

Lee Scratch Perry/Bill Laswell-Rise Again I like this one better. Alot of the same collaborations as on the Jahbulon record, this one plays like a more focused project, which is strange because it is essentially the same crew (Laswell, Worrell, the dude Licata--and many other guests including Sly Dunbar) backing Lee Perry rather than doing their own stuff. Maybe I just prefer LSP to Dr. Israel and Hawk, although both dancehall vocalists are featured on Rise Again as well. The Perry/Laswell record came out a year or so later and you can hear the group's more-polished sound on Rise Again. Perry himself checks in with his standard genius-meets-nonsense vocal delivery. He's been doing it a long time and is not necessarily breaking new ground, but his collaboration with Laswell and company provides Perry with a fresh platform, and his presence is always fiercely individualist, although not necessarily with a straightforward delivery. The music hits harder than on Jahbulon with Worrell's keys sitting brightly out front, as they should be.

E-40-My Ghetto Report Card I wasn't really feeling this one. I had heard that E-40 was the shit and I always liked him when he cameo'd on Too $hort records but I wasn't into this 2006-released nearly pre-hyphy bay area sound. The beats were soft and the hooks were corny, what can I say. There is one song (featuring Too $hort)that's pretty awesome. It's called "Yee." It's got a booty-clapping 808 beat and some evil sounding minor chord piano shit going on. This is the trashy rap I like and I wish that the rest of the album sounded like this. For E-40's ghetto report card I give him a C-.