GF music review club

[Guest]

Flower Boy by Tyler the Creator

 

Tough album to review this, as it's one I wanted to buy since it was released but it's always been a little bit pricey. So to see it put here for review was a nice surprise. But I have to say I have real mixed feelings about it.

 

Foreword (explicit) - the word in brackets sets up the tone of the album which is hardly surprising as most albums in the genre are language heavy. It's good a good beat to it and the vocal arrangement is quite good. This is the first track I have heard from Tyler The Creator and I get the sense that he's almost like a US version of Stormzy. Quite grimey and I'm not a big fan of that style. 6/10

 

Where This Flower Blooms (explicit) - again good beats and vocal arrangement but being grimey in style has put me off a little bit. It's like nice production in the background with a quite unpleasant man impeding on the arrangement. 5/10

 

Sometimes...(explicit) - I think you know where this is going - having listened to the album start to finish I think the whole review is going to be the same so I will make this the last track reviewed. Saying that, it's obvious that whoever produced this (and I believe it may be Tyler himself) has a lot of talent in this area but in my personal opinion he should stay in the background.. 6/10

 

A well produced album but being too grimey has put me off. Glad I didn't buy it and I don't think I will listening to any more of his vocal work. But if he has produced other artists I would be interested to hear that.

 

Surprisingly disappointed.

[Guest]

I have just started listening to Fela Kuti - Live!

 

Really like this just listening to the first track. Review incoming...but want to enjoy it first!

[Lee909]

Okay, all the linkage to Mook's latest AOW, Fela with Ginger Baker Live by Fela Ransome-Kuti and The Africa 70 with Ginger Baker,  that you will ever need...

 

 

Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/album/4YYW1Q1okABRHpSj6LMtEO?si=hAlomSaGRs-OvlvSqo1Faw

 

TLW GF Music Collective playlist : https://open.spotify.com/user/carvalho666/playlist/3k64dON6XvCI1W9GFNH8Gr?si=8-JFqjVOQ_G7ZPkZXs6EgA

 

 

Had a listen to the first 10 mins or so

Pretty interesting,not sure if i could b listening for a long time, as much as i have tried i really cannot seem to find jazz that i like in large doses.

Will deffo put this on again to hear a bit more

[Guest]

Fela Kuti - Live!

 

Having just finished listening to this first time round, the review for this is going to be quite brief as it's not an album that can be reviewed on a 'per track' basis, which is what I have been doing. This is more about the recording of the album itself.

 

I absolutely have fallen in love with jazz over the last couple of years as I used to work in the evenings until about 8pm and on Tuesdays I used to listen to a guy on the radio who would play delightful music from all over the world. He plays on BBC Radio 2 and his name is Jamie Cullum. I could imagine tracks from this band/album have probably been paid played by him at some point. The music he plays is always quite varied and jazz seems to have a whole host of sub-genres and this sound must have a place somewhere.

 

Mook, you've played a blinder here. This has me wondering if you are indeed Jamie Cullum.

 

I love the arrangements and the whole array of instruments on show. Paul Simon would have a field day here and Graceland is an album I love so much and this could sit alongside easily.

 

Thoroughly enjoyed this and I will definitely try and explore more jazz. There's a thread here somewhere I am sure...

 

Overall a comfortable 9/10. It would have been 10 but there were only 5 or 6 tracks to enjoy. All too short!

 

Edit: just a side note it is remarkable how confident the musicians must be to be able to play such long tracks live. 

[Lee909]

Thought this was a good channel,,asked some good quetions for debate,might be of  interest for Paul 

 

 

[ZonkoVille77]

Listened to Mook's selection on the way into work. Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. I had heard of Baker of course but not heard of Fela Kuti.

It's all about the rhythm section. Funky, Jazzy and very tight indeed. I'll definitely give this a listen again. Easily 9/10

[Carvalho Diablo]

Right, time to get my arse out of bed and give the AOW some fettle.

[Carvalho Diablo]

Review : Fela Kuti and Africa 70 with Ginger Baker - Live !

 

Okay, listened to this 4 times now, the first live album we've had selected by anyone in our club, never even heard of Fela Kuti before, here we fucking go...

 

Let's Start (What we have came into the room to do). First of all, I love the unashamed 70s production to this; tight, fat, loving the brass (I loathe those '00s synthy brass samples so commonly used still), there's no fucking quantising here. A great sax break pans from my left hand speaker.

The band comes out hard with a tight as fuck grooooooove (extra ooooo because it's wholly justified here and throughout this record), very precussssssive (extra sssss for the exact same reason), cowbells for the win, amazingly for such a big band there's lots of space here, affording each member a spotlight in which they can shine; there's a Fender Rhodes break, lovely natural sounding reverb.

I can feel the sweat and the soul; this track is swinging hard, like the James Brown Band these boys can really fucking play.

 

Let's Start is hypnotic and trancey, I got lost in a great sweaty groove (matron), yeh I freally fucking loved that.

 

An appreciative audience and Kuti himself takes us straight into the second track, Black Man's Cry; a touch slower tempo, a tad more staccato rhythm, I cannot understand any of the vocals but that does not matter a jot, they act as a counterpoint for the swinging music.

Lovely sax stabs and runs, Black Man's Cry is all about the swinging groove and relentless beat, the percussion and the bongo's are ace, some really nice double bass.

I'm brought to mind of some sweaty jazz club with low ceilings dripping with condensation and perspiration, small tables with icy cold vodka and lime (without the lime) and lots of ice chinking, strangers swinging and dancing and grooving in close proximity, the smell of cigars and cannabis, the music is trancey and hypnotic, just a great great vibe. Hey keys, are you ready ? Step forward, it's your turn to solo, your turn to shine...

The drums are great during the keyboard solo.

 

Ye Ye De Smell featuring Ginger Baker (a friendship thing for Ginger, who doesn't smell!). Some introduction Fela !

Oh yeh, this is really percusssssive, straight out of a Dirty Harry movie, probably a big chase sequence. The drums hit hard, lovely keys, big brassy stabs, a wonderful sounding snare. Whoa, that bass fill, let's fucking go!

I'm smiling now, just imagining Zonko sat listening to this on the train on his way to work, hahaa.

The big saxophone soars.

 

 

Big Ginger solo's about 8 minutes in, his drums sounding really great (especially for a live recording), he gives way to a Rhodes organ and then more snare, the percussion is just brilliant on this song.

Ye Ye De Smell is just brilliant, hypnotic African drums are just killer, loving the applause as Ginger comes out of his solo before the trumpets take over. Kuti decides to make an appearance late on !

Best "song" yet. Loved it.

 

Egbe Mi O (Carry Me, I Want To Die). The tempo is (thankfully!) a bit slower, funky bass and guitar, brassy stabs; there's a great mix on this record, a fantastic production job.

At around 2:30 the musicians bring it right down with a tasteful Fender Rhodes keyboard solo (Ray Manzarek would love this, no doubt). More stellar percussion and bongos around 6:30 in transports me to the film When We Were Kings and Ali / Foreman and their Rumble In The Jungle, spelling out the importance and influence of African musical culture and showcasing it to wonderful affect.

La la, la la la lar, la la lar lar, la la la; my neighbours must think I'm touched.

Probably my least favourite track of the 4 on offer so far, but still fantastic.

 

The big 16 minute plus bonus track is next, Ginger Baker and Tony Allen's epic drum solo (I mean, on paper, justt how shit does that sound ? 16 minute drum solo ? ffs...)

Anyway, they are off and immediately it strikes me that someone (finally) knows how to tune a drum kit ! Props to the engineer because the kit sounds truely great, the mix is again phenomenal and the recording fantastic; I can even hear some of the drumsticks accidentally clinking together on the rolls around the kit at abour the 2:30 mark. The cymbals are subtle but expansive, again some gorgeous percussion is ruling in the background, evoking the sounds of the jungle, of the wildlife, the insects and the heat.

Fantastic.

 

What a magnificent sweaty achievement this record is, the production and the mix are stellar, the band are out of this world, rootsy and bluesy, jazzy with an infectious incessant funky groove. What a wonderful record, just fabulous. Cheers Mook mate, loved it.

 

[TheHowieLama]

Complicated fella -- ironically as misogynistic as any current rapper could dream of. A man who knows more about racism (very little of it white/black btw) and social conscious - and the personal cost - than all of the current crop put together.

 

Great record - this is deep, deep water. He fired his sax player off this and learned to play himself.

An exercise in call and response - in 4 bar interlocking patterns that transcend. World music at its finest - before there was a name for it.

[TheHowieLama]

Such a direct connection/inspiration to the second line inspired funk drumming of Zig Modeliste here - first track breakdown at 12:00 - after the head on the 4th cut - the groove they settle in at @ 35:00 - the connection/influence on the Meters is really present, moreso than the JB's for me.

[Boss]

Tyler the Creator – Scum Fuck Flower Boy

 

Foreword – Tyler uses the word ‘drive’ as a homonym to talk about his drive as an artist. Then he talks about air conditioning to lead him to talk about his fans. The structure usually flows in a literal sense but the words have different implied meanings.

 

Where This Flower Blooms – I get the feeling from the title that this is influenced by The Black Lips “We Did Not Know the Forest Spirit Made the Flowers Grow” and in a roundabout way Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke. Frank Ocean guest stars.

 

Sometimes – A radio interlude

 

See You Again – This track is the first of the dream songs on the record. It’s a theme explored many times - the idea of nostalgia, daydreams, fantasies, infatuation, regret for the past. These are the main themes of the record and they’re all explored in this song. The sonic palette creates a lucid waking life feel. 

 

Who Dat Boy – The opening string stabs remind me of the intro to Busta Rhymes “Gimme Some More”. It’s got that B-movie horror vibe. The instrumentation morphs from John Williams-esque strings into a straining synth sound that warbles like a dubstep drop.  After the vocals start it’s straight up grime. There's a certain rawness and intensity to this one that I like. 

 

Pothole – The vocal delivery on this track is heavily influenced by Andre 3000, the phrasing, the phonetics, the placement of the words. Jaden Smith (Will Smith’s son) offers virtually no insight lyrically. He fulfils the role of the standard hip-hop sideman, repeating nonsensical shit and mumbling into the microphone.  At one point he repeats the words “watch out for the pothole” over and over for added emphasis. Unrewarding cameo.

 

Garden Shed – On the earlier theme of Outkast. This one sounds like ‘Prototype’ in the beginning. The guitar is chorused, out of tune and the notes don’t sit in the key properly, which creates a sonic dissonance. This is followed by a pitch-shifted reversed female vocal. It’s very trippy. There’s a bit where a beautiful female harmony plays “find the words to say” which then juxtaposes to a repeat of the pitch-shifted reversed vocal.

 

At a certain point, the song gives way to the sound of 60 cycle hum and what amounts to a small bit-crushed guitar solo.  Tyler’s last verse is excellent. The phrasing of the words and the timing of the delivery on the offbeat is very impressive.

 

Boredom – This is a nostalgia track. It doesn’t really go anywhere. I guess that could be the point, it’s meant to sound like boredom. 

 

I Ain’t Got Time – This track uses a sample of Dee Lite’s ‘Groove is in the Heart’, but it’s pitch-shifted into a different key and slowed down. The vocal intro is great. The trap beat in the background gives it a real sense of power and purpose. 

 

The song changes entirely halfway through to the sound of a wolf howl and the spooky early Buster Rhymes influence surfaces again. It’s got a computer game quality. A Castlevania thing that I can’t quite put my finger on but there’s definitely some computer game influence sonically and I enjoy that.

 

911/ Mr. Lonely – Another of the dreamscape tracks. He’s rapping about Beyonce, Celine Dion and even Tesla and Elon Musk on this one. At the end of the track, he starts rapping about the Magic Mirror in Snow White.

 

Droppin’ Seeds – The brass on this track sounds like a song from the movie Whiplash. There’s a ghostly theremin sound halfway through. Lil Wayne sounds coherent, which is a first. The only disappointment is that it’s not longer. 

 

November – I’m guessing November in the context of this song is a specific point in your life when you didn’t have a care in the world. It’s a song about nostalgia and memories.  

 

Glitter – Another weird drugged out track. The first verse has a Big Boi quality. This one gets better with multiple listens. The chorus is off-putting. It sounds flat, but after a couple of playthroughs, it works. The song drops at least an octave halfway through, which adds to the drug trip quality of the music. 

 

Enjoy Right Now Today – This sounds like a Final Fantasy battle song with a baby saying “ehhh” and a talkbox wah guitar. It morphs into a Final Fantasy map exploration song halfway through, and then back again. Stevie Wonders influence is apparent in the male vocal near the end.

 

Some of the tracks on the record don't do anything for me. The interludes are mostly wasted (with the exception of Droppin Seeds) and the lyrics don’t have any real perceived depth to them beyond the exploration of surface level themes. The cameos don’t add much to the tracks either (Estelle excepted) and some are just wasted opportunities.

 

Whilst saying all that, I really enjoyed it. The reason why is because I've heard something that I've never heard before. It’s the way he merges all of these influences into a cacophony of sound and somehow makes it work. It’s the coherence of the plan behind it. Tyler must’ve sat down and said “I want it to be dreamlike, I want it to be nostalgic, eerie, I want it to be about memories lost in time” and it’s exactly that. It’s uniquely its own thing and I respect that.

 

I also respect the fearlessness of it. It’s doesn’t have a safety net to protect itself. It’s out there, unashamedly. The fact that he’ll openly rap about bisexual themes in the most homophobic genre in music is a testament to no fucks being given. Any rapper that samples Can is alright by me. Thanks for sharing that with us Paul.

 

8/10 

[Mook]

Just a quick post to say if you like the live Fela Kuti album with Ginger Baker, a couple of studio albums worth checking out next are Afrodisiac & Gentleman. They're both on Spotify.

[TheHowieLama]

Stratavarius is a Ginger Baker album w Fela.

 

Zombie is the record that brought the Nigerian military onto his compound and then they killed his ma. 

 

Gentleman is really good sound - you wanna talk racist - check the cover art.

[ZonkoVille77]

I had the Fela Kuti album on yesterday when I was cooking dinner and after some time I noticed my 4 year old daughter and her friend were dancing along happily to it. Not sure about you lot but I think that's ace.

[TheHowieLama]

Pretty much says it all there. 

[ZonkoVille77]

Stratavarius is a Ginger Baker album w Fela.

 

Zombie is the record that brought the Nigerian military onto his compound and then they killed his ma. 

 

Gentleman is really good sound - you wanna talk racist - check the cover art.

 

Listening to Zombie at the minute. Brilliant.

I just read the story about the military incident. Mental stuff. He also married 27 women the mad bastard. I can't handle being married to one woman.

 

Mook, nice one for introducing me to Fela. Loving his stuff so far.

[Carvalho Diablo]

Some fascinating (and terrible) stuff, according to wki :

 

 

Chief Funmilayo Ransome Kuti, MON ( /ˌfʊnmiˈlaɪjoʊ ˈrænsəm ˈkuːti/; 25 October 1900 – 13 April 1978)^[1] was a teacher, political campaigner, women's rights activist and traditional aristocrat of Nigeria. She served with distinction as one of the most prominent leaders of her generation. She was also the first woman in the country to drive a car.^[2][3] Ransome-Kuti's political activism led to her being described as the doyen of female rights in Nigeria, as well as to her being regarded as "The Mother of Africa." Early on, she was a very powerful force advocating for the Nigerian woman's right to vote. She was described in 1947, by the West African Pilot as the "Lioness of Lisabi" for her leadership of the women of the Egba people on a campaign against their arbitrary taxation. That struggle led to the abdication of the high king Oba Ademola II in 1949.^[4]

Kuti was the mother of the activists Fela Anikulapo Kuti, a musician; Beko Ransome-Kuti, a doctor; and Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, a doctor and health minister.^[5] She was also grandmother to musicians Seun Kuti and Femi Kuti.she is regarded as a legend for notable acts as an African woman.

 

In old age her activism was overshadowed by that of her three sons, who provided effective opposition to various Nigerian military juntas. In 1978 Ransome-Kuti was thrown from a third-floor window of her son Fela's compound, a commune known as the Kalakuta Republic, when it was stormed by one thousand armed military personnel.^[14] She lapsed into a coma in February of that year, and died on 13 April 1978, as a result of her injuries.

 

Sounds like some woman. Wonder what she made of her son's polygamy ?

[Skidfingers McGonical]

There is a documentary on Netflix about Fela Kuti. Interesting watch.

 

I’m gonna give that Elton John album a 7/10. Proper 70’s album. Really enjoyed it. Felt influences from the time a lot when listening.

 

I’m gonna give DAMN a go next. Just playing catch up on a lot of other stuff as well.

 

I’ll do a proper write up once everything is back to normal. Feel all the suggestions deserve it as they have really pricked my ears.

 

Oh and that Tyler album is immense. Been blasting it for a while since Pail first mentioned it a while back.

[Boss]

I'm going to give that Tyler album a go myself along with the Kendrick one. Haven't heard any rap that does anything for me whatsoever in years apart from Run The Jewels. All the black lads I know here are pure reggae.

 

You might like Death Grips. Check out their singles on youtube, 'Spread Eagle Cross the Block' and 'Beware' would probably be a good place to start. Don't listen to their albums on youtube though because they are pitch shifted down for some reason. 

[cloggypop]

Will give it a go

[Carvalho Diablo]

Still plenty of time to get your reviews in fellas. This week's AOW was Mook's selection, Fela Kuti and Africa 70 featuring Ginger Baker - Live! It will remain on the Spotify playlist until the next AOW (mine, finally!) gets posted up around Wednesday next week.

 

Hope you're all well and enjoying the club so far. I'll try my best not to fuck it up and piss you all off with my AOW next week.

 

Maybe.

[Skidfingers McGonical]

Rattled through Kendrick Lamar, China Drum, Steven Wilson and The Monday’s today while doing a spot of painting.

 

DAMN - Gets a solid 7.9/10 for me. Only because it’s not To Pimp A Butterfly

 

Goosefair - Sounds like it’s from 1996 and I’ve seen many a local unsigned bands have the same style and not got anywhere. But you can hear a good band in there that, for me, a following a style of music of the time rather than be themselves. Feels like it’s trying to be a Green Day, of the day style for me. Dookie is one of my favourite albums from the 90’s and this just feels like a lesser record forced out by a record label. It’s not shit, but it’s missing something for me, and I think that’s the vocals. 6.78/10. Enjoyable for the most part but sounds a bit smart all the way through. It has however given me a possible idea for my next AOW.

 

Hand Cannot Erase - Production, Arrangement and Band Execution wise, this album is pretty flawless. I do take issue with a couple of important elements of it though. Lyrically it’s fine but the vocalist (I’ll do my research on a proper review) got on my tits. It’s the quintessential Prog singer from Middle Class England. Only a few before him have had me appreciate that style before. And there were times when the album would lose me as it fell like it was just being that 4 minutes longer than it needs to be for no reason other than it being a prog record. 7/10 for me.

 

Bummed - Never sat/painted woodwork while listening to The Monday’s before. Never gave a full album a listen. However have always like the well known songs. I knew they were a really good band (albeit with massive fucked up personnel) and you can hear the ideas and skills of each person playing the soundtrack to Ryder’s lyrics. Taking away the fact that Ryder’s voice is terrible on the most part of the record, it works. It’s a groovy album with shouts to the the likes of The Beatles, The Smiths, Echo & The Bunnymen and ‘baggy’ scene. It’s spacey, it’s trippy , it’s get up and dance like Bez on 10 gary’s. But what winds me up about it is the 80’s production of the drums. I’ve never liked that drum sound. But that doesn’t take too much away from the enjoyment I got listening to it. Black Grape were much better for me, but this still gets a 7.5/10.

 

After Bummed finished Blindness from The Fall came on, only just started to explore them recently really and you can see how and why Ryder works as a vocalist.

 

Tonight Matthew I shall be giving Masterplan a run out.

 

And can anyone tell me where I am up to with this please. I know Fela Kuti is to be given a whirl but stuck after that. Thanking you kindly.

[Carvalho Diablo]

Fela Kuti is the current AOW. I'll shot my AOW up next week, probably Wednesday. Still undecided about what to choose tbh.

[Skidfingers McGonical]

Sound, thought I had a few more to listen to.

 

I could do my review of Masterplan right now without listening to it to be honest.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Guest]

Rattled through Kendrick Lamar, China Drum, Steven Wilson and The Monday’s today while doing a spot of painting.

 

DAMN - Gets a solid 7.9/10 for me. Only because it’s not To Pimp A Butterfly

 

Goosefair - Sounds like it’s from 1996 and I’ve seen many a local unsigned bands have the same style and not got anywhere. But you can hear a good band in there that, for me, a following a style of music of the time rather than be themselves. Feels like it’s trying to be a Green Day, of the day style for me. Dookie is one of my favourite albums from the 90’s and this just feels like a lesser record forced out by a record label. It’s not shit, but it’s missing something for me, and I think that’s the vocals. 6.78/10. Enjoyable for the most part but sounds a bit smart all the way through. It has however given me a possible idea for my next AOW.

 

Hand Cannot Erase - Production, Arrangement and Band Execution wise, this album is pretty flawless. I do take issue with a couple of important elements of it though. Lyrically it’s fine but the vocalist (I’ll do my research on a proper review) got on my tits. It’s the quintessential Prog singer from Middle Class England. Only a few before him have had me appreciate that style before. And there were times when the album would lose me as it fell like it was just being that 4 minutes longer than it needs to be for no reason other than it being a prog record. 7/10 for me.

 

Bummed - Never sat/painted woodwork while listening to The Monday’s before. Never gave a full album a listen. However have always like the well known songs. I knew they were a really good band (albeit with massive fucked up personnel) and you can hear the ideas and skills of each person playing the soundtrack to Ryder’s lyrics. Taking away the fact that Ryder’s voice is terrible on the most part of the record, it works. It’s a groovy album with shouts to the the likes of The Beatles, The Smiths, Echo & The Bunnymen and ‘baggy’ scene. It’s spacey, it’s trippy , it’s get up and dance like Bez on 10 gary’s. But what winds me up about it is the 80’s production of the drums. I’ve never liked that drum sound. But that doesn’t take too much away from the enjoyment I got listening to it. Black Grape were much better for me, but this still gets a 7.5/10.

 

After Bummed finished Blindness from The Fall came on, only just started to explore them recently really and you can see how and why Ryder works as a vocalist.

 

Tonight Matthew I shall be giving Masterplan a run out.

 

And can anyone tell me where I am up to with this please. I know Fela Kuti is to be given a whirl but stuck after that. Thanking you kindly.

Did you listen to Uncaged by Zac Brown Band? Haven't seen a review of that yet.