If at first you swear in a fruitlessly archaic way to avoid the filters, then bin, bin and replace with "blasted"... sorry if it does make it in the meantime.
> I did a brief record shop yesterday with another flying visit to Rough Trade > this afternoon. Here, in two categories, are the results: > > What I did buy: > > Blaze - Natural Blaze LP - Lifeline > The album from which the excellent "Elevations" single was taken, "Natural > Blaze" seems to be a vehicle for the vocalist Jon Toney, and is a superb > double pack confirming Blaze's status as true dons of the NY soulful garage > sound. The sort of music that David Mancuso's sound system was designed to > play. A lot of it is very familiar: "Elevations" is surely just based on > "The World Is The Ghetto", and there's another one that's a version of their > "Directions" track for Spiritual Life. Blaze almost single handedly keep me > interested in the kind of music being made for Body & Soul etc. for the > simple reason that they blatantly have a lot of soul. > > Strand - Message 1 > Frictional is, alongside Sound Signature, one of the only labels I'll buy on > sight just now, and this release keeps the standard flying. Deep, soulful, > and above all, original without sounding like a wide student. There > might be a pressing fault - there's some serious noise at the end of the > second side of my copy. In any case, if this was on Planet E a lot more > would be said about it, which is a shame. > > Natural Electronics - Assimilated > 2nd of two stunning releases on Frictional. Shakir has a knack of producing > really experimental stuff yet it always sounds extremely honest, even when > it isn't particularly dance floor friendly. I thought his remix of Inner > City was a bit below par, but this is true to previous form. Shake really > deserves a bit more recognition, now - he's been at it for years and, on > evidence like this, he could rival the likes of Carl Craig for reputation. > > Moodymann - NMY Wagon > I'm waiting for a vague feeling that KDJ is beginning to tire for me, but it > never materialises. Deep, soulful, funny and with a kick drum that > overpowers the USG remix of Urban Soul's "My Urban Soul" - which is a shame, > because last night's mix tape was going really well 'til then. > > Infesticons - Gun Hill Road LP > Mike Ladd's production sounds really thin on some of this, and all in all > it's a hit and miss album. Might be a grower, but not my preferred candidate > for the "experimental hip hop album" thread. Certainly has it's moments, > though, particularly Rob Smith's "Chase Theme". The Saul Williams track is a > let down, the P-Funk type of concept is too obvious and ill though out and, as > said, the Liquid Liquid styled production sounds, at times, extremely > insipid. I bought it on sight, stupidly. > > Inner City vs E Dancer - Good Love > I picked this up from work, as I suspected I'd love it. I wish I could, but > I don't. Shake's mix is OK, but I was expecting a lot more. As for the other > mixes, the main mix on its own (I forget which one's which remix) is the > better, but the fusion of old school Inner City with new school E Dancer > doesn't quite pull off what is, in essence, a superb idea. I'm undecided > whether to return it to get the vouchers back, or file it away as part of an > ongoing tribute to flawed visions. > > What I didn't buy: > > Latest Charles Webster - Peacefrog > Top notch remixes of the old Love From San Francisco "Want Me Like Water" > track. I should have bought this instead of that Infesticons LP, fer sure. > > Remixes of the above remixes - Peacefrog > Less essential than the original remixes (excuse the oxymoron), especially > as it's only 4 mixes spread over a doublepack and I'm a tight Scot. Herbert > mix sounds good, though, so I'll keep an eye out for it coming in to work. > The others are less impressive, though the Abacus one's alright - even if > his old, talking female voice trick is a bit predictable. > > Ian Pooley on Transmat > Bizarrely impressive, for a man who's released some real cack of late (with > exceptions). Again, I'll try to pick it up at work. If I didn't buy that > blasted Infesticons LP I'd have got this and the original remixes above. > > Saul Williams LP > Excrutiatingly bad at points. Damn impressive at others (particularly the > opener). Bad outweighed good, though. > > Carl Hancock Rux - Lamentations > Nobody has it. Though absolutely every shop said they were ordering in > thousands of copies. By the time I get paid again it'll have sold out, no > doubt. > > Jonny.
