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Post by jp on Jun 17, 2018 21:50:07 GMT
harold alexander - sunshine man (1971) That's fucking Madlib! Racist. |
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Post by Tuckerman on Jun 18, 2018 11:03:06 GMT
Willie D - Controversy
Bit late with this, sorry Karl.
Lyrically, it's a bit laughable, but, Willie delivers them convincingly and the flow is actually pretty good. Elsewhere, I really like the production on it. I don't think it sounds that dated at all and gives the whole record a nice vibe. I also didn't find the beats tiresome at all. These are the kind of beats that I really like in this sort of music.
I think quite a lot of the tracks outstay their welcome, pretty much any of those that go over three and a half minutes.
My favourite track is probably Put The The F'in Gun Away and I think the worst track is probably Willie Dee.
All in all, a fun little album - 7/10
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Post by forever on Jun 19, 2018 20:48:20 GMT
I thought long and hard about my choice, I had half a dozen records I wanted to inflict. I was thinking of finally unleashing some early ALICE MOTHER FUCKING COOPER upon you all, but TBH I'm not so sure you guys could handle it. Had plenty of soul records I was thinking of, though we've already had some along those lines so wanted something a bit different. Another problem is JP Maddix, the cunt has rated every album ever on RYM & I couldn't bring myself to pick something that he's already heard. So instead, I've gone for the ridiculous. +back.jpg) This is Willie D (goes by the name Dee on the debut), a member of the the infamous Geto boys. I came across this artwork years ago & thought WTF? Willie D all oiled up like a wrestler, a policeman, a half naked woman & a member of the KKK, the artwork spoke to me & I rushed to soulseek to pinch a copy. It's Hip Hop from 1989, so it is very primal sounding & production wise time hasn't been too kind to it. However it's Willie's character that really sold me this. He spends most the record rapping about how fucking huge his cock is, but when he isn't letting us know about his penis he's letting us know what he thinks of bald ass hoes, Welfare Bitches & his thoughts on the Klu Klax Klan. He raps with this sort of lisp too which adds a ton of character to his storytelling. But Willie is a pioneer, an early example of a rapper who was badass enough to share his spotlight with a female rapper, "I Need Some Pussy" is the absolute highlight & features "Choice" who proudly boasts that she has a pussy "'about the size of Bolivia". I'm not expecting this to end up being anyone's favourite hip hop record, but I hope you guys get some entertainment out of "Controversy". Songs from the record can often be heard echoing around sidcup as copy's of this record are in half a dozen royal mail vans where Willie has become a cult hero. Here's an infamous Geto Boys album cover, Willies on the left, in the centre is member Bushwick Bill who had just been shot in the eye after an argument with his mrs. They pulled Bill out of the hospital room just to get this wonderful shot for their album cover. :format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-6727929-1466100096-9221.jpeg.jpg) A bit late with this one, sorry. I'm embarrassingly white culturally and my knowledge of hip hop is limited to say the least, so I was intrigued to check this out. I thought the album started really well with the first couple of songs in particular reminding me of the kind of beats that Ian Parton used to rip off for The Go! Team's tracks circa Proof of Youth. It tailed off quite quickly though, with the synth intro to 5th Ward sounding like one of Kunt & The Gang's lesser minor internet hits and Bald Headed Hoes having me in tears of laughter on the train to work. I got some comedic value out of the main lyrical themes in the second half of the record but don't reckon I'll be referencing it on Bumble any time soon. Definitely a couple of songs worthy of going onto a playlist though, Fuck the KKK chief amongst them. 5.5/10. |
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Post by titchjuicy on Jun 23, 2018 11:50:23 GMT
Apologies for the very late Willie Dee review. Been a bit of a shit few weeks and I spent too long on the noughties album poll thread.
I can't believe I didn't know this already. I claim to have good knowledge of hip hop's golden age, but clearly not good enough.
Like others have hinted, I like the production. It's of it's time (or perhaps of a time a year or two earlier)but it doesn't sound cheap or even that basic. The late 80s was a time when hip hop production had started moving in different directions. James Brown samples had become a big thing from the likes of Eric B & Rakim and Public Enemy, De La Soul and The Jungle Brothers had started taking things in other directions and Jazz sampling had begun to show on records by Gang Starr and Stetsasonic, This album is typical of the production that came before those developments but it's done really well and sounds classy to these ears.
Lyrically it's a mixed bag. Some stuff wouldn't sell now just cos of the content- Bald Headed Hoes for one. Although it is fucking hilarious. "You remind of that monkey licking bitch, Grace Jones" 😂 But Fuck The KKK is great lyrically Perhaps not quite Chuck D but a clear step up from typical lyrics of only a couple of years earlier (with very few exceptions).
I wonder if this didn't register bigger at the time because sonically it was typical of a slightly earlier sound (despite being done well) and things were moving so fast in hip hop then, but it's definitely a worthy album and i enjoyed it. 7/10
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Post by Deleted on Jun 23, 2018 11:58:57 GMT
NIce work guys! Off topic but I was just on a ryanair flight with the sugarhill gang  jp I’ll post my review probably a week late. Probably should give yours 3 weeks as everyone is so far behind plus the World Cup happening don’t help Basically anything to delay kevin’s pick |
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Post by krburg on Jun 23, 2018 18:35:00 GMT
NIce work guys! Off topic but I was just on a ryanair flight with the sugarhill gang jp I’ll post my review probably a week late. Probably should give yours 3 weeks as everyone is so far behind plus the World Cup happening don’t help Basically anything to delay kevin’s pick Fucking prick |
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Post by titchjuicy on Jun 27, 2018 11:47:10 GMT
Harold Alexander
Both JP's description and the blurb on allmusic.com made me excited to hear this. It sounded right up my strasse.
Jazz/Funk - check
Experimental - check
Tight rhythm section - check
JAZZ flute- double check
But for some reason it left me feeling flat. The first few tracks seemed to just drift into each other without anything to really distinguish them. The rhythm section, while tight, just seemed standard and boring. I certainly wasn't hearing anything experimental.
Mama Soul changed it up a bit, but i found the weird 'experimental'vocal tics annoying more than interesting. Same goes for Clean Up (the last track).
The only track i really enjoyed was thw slower one- Aquilla.
I gave it four listens through hoping something would click but it didn't. Not a bad album, but nothing exciting for me.
6/10
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Post by titchjuicy on Jun 30, 2018 6:26:27 GMT
Only two more picks to go on round one.
Kev must be shitting himself that this dies before he finally gets to choose.
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Post by forever on Jul 22, 2018 20:40:06 GMT
well despite the fact willie d has killed off the album club, i'd better post my pick as it must be long overdue now. i had several options i was considering ranging from some american primitivism that i've been getting into big time lately to some hard bop jazz. just as i thought i'd made my mind up i discovered this album only a couple of weeks ago. it really hooked me in and sounded so fresh despite being 47 years old. it took me a while to get my head around it as the opening track sounds like it could be the theme song to a cheesey 80s quiz show initially but then kicks into this amazing groove. i'm still exploring jazz funk as a genre but this has to be one of my favourite albums i've heard so far. the flute heavy tracks get pretty far out at times and some of the vocals are almost captain beefheart esque in places. the track "mama soul" is by far the standout and has caused me lots of "what the fuck are you listening to" comments from my girlfriend but i adore it. i always kinda judge an album on how cool the cover art is too and this cover is pretty fucking cool. there's not much known about harold alexander from what i can gather other than he released a handful of jazz funk albums in the early 70s and disappeared but he'll go down as one of the greats for me.
ladies and gents, i present to you.... harold alexander - sunshine man (1971)Are we still doing this? It must be almost a month since I listened to this but I liked parts of it. The term "background music" has horrible connotations but jazz-funk is almost always the kind of thing I would rather hear live or at least at a club night rather than trying to concentrate on it, but Mama Soul stood out for the bit where it breaks down the electric piano and the rhythm section. |
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Post by Columbia_rocks_man on Jul 23, 2018 13:31:59 GMT
I have a pile of reviews to submit, sorry guys, but barny's god-damn awful selection really knocked my enthusiasm for this project. But I'm dusting myself down and preparing some piping hot takes.
I recon next time round we should draw a line at 1990 onwards for album choices. I feel things have been too 1970s dominated.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2018 14:33:01 GMT
the best decade ever! Fuck you and your 90s music!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2018 14:38:40 GMT
Think I've delayed my review long enough to warrant Kevin never getting a pick for eternity
I liked this quite a bit, sounded great outside in the sunshine, at home on my PC not as good. I've a feeling this is the sort of record that if I bought a copy and stuck it on the turntable whilst chilling the fuck out I'd enjoy it a lot more. Could do without the annoying vocal track, but apart from that it's a solid jazz-funk record which I'm glad I've heard. Not much else to say, I find it hard to talk to much regarding Jazz records, they either click with me or they don't. This one did, so nice one. 7.5
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