Funk has an interesting evolution to me. The 50s/60s had R&B that would go on to become a more repetitive and jam band oriented genre artists like JAMES BROWN and WAR are some examples but the 70s saw fit to evolve the genre into having synths, and larger horn sections, (PARLIAMENT being the prime example) however the 80s threw horns away, it was all about synths and drum machines and the synth funk of the 80s even started to incorporate hip hop, at its infancy. PRINCE, ZAPP and CAMEO are the big three of the 80s funk scene imo although some might disagree, this band can get very 80s at times but I honestly love it, every track here is just fun, the track "She's Mine" is a fun, funky 80s hip hop track and do I even need to mention the track "Candy"? Overall this album is a blast and has always been a personal favorite of mine, I wish I could go into greater detail about this album but tbh I don't know how to sum it up other then "It's good, it's fun" sorry if this is a lackluster review lol

IDRIS MUHAMMAD is has become a personal favorite of mine in recent, thanks to his smooth blending of funk and soul jazz. This album opens with the 11 minute "Peace And Rhythm Suite" a calm paced jazz track, the whole thing reminds me of a PHAROAH SANDERS song. The second track starts off really quiet some avant garde-ish things going on before suddenly changing into a danceable funk jazz tune, and the percussion really shines here, there's also some reminders of some fusion, specifically SOFT MACHINE or BRAND X. The next track is the most energetic so far and it even features a female vocalist, it's probably the most danceable track here, but I'd kinda prefer the song to be instrumental but that's just a personal pet peeve. The next track isn't super special for me but like what other people have said about this record the first side of this album is much better, although the album ends on a strong note, the track "I'm a Believer" is a funky upbeat soul tune and I much like the vocals here better. Overall a decent album, I think he has better works but this album is an enjoyable listen

Tom Waits sophomore album is a personal favorite of mine, like the debut album its really accessible for Tom Waits standards unlike the debut record this is waaaay more jazzy then folksy, sonically and lyrically this reminds me of STEELY DAN aesthetically this album feels like your in the heart of downtown New York, its very lively compared to CLOSING TIME, CL feels more like your in a bar if that makes sense. My favorite track here is probably Drunk On The Moon, I always interpreted it as a sequel to FRANK SANATRAS Fly Me To The Moon. The songwriting is excellent although I prefer other albums writing wise but overall this is a fantastic album

This album, man this album. Madvillainy is a collaborative album between the lengadry Midlib and the lengadry MF DOOM to form the even more lengadry Madvillain. At the time DOOM and Madlib were underground figures within the hip hop circuit and these artists were powerhouses DOOM making such classics as Operation Doomsday, MM...Food and Vaudeville Villain, Madlib on the other hand was mainly known for his work as Quasimoto and this album The Unseen, so to see these two together is a match made in heaven. The album is chock full with samples from lots of from genres of music making feel more abstract its great probably my favorite samples here are from Progressive Rock artists FRANK ZAPPA and GENTLE GIANT as well as the other little obscure snippets Madlib digs up, instrumentally this almost feels like a fusion of The Unseen and J DILLA's Donuts it's a sound that can only be found on a Stones Throw record, lyrically DOOM weirdly reminds me of TOM WAITS not only do they both have gravely voices but DOOM is able to tell weird stories through his abstract lyrics for example the track Meat Grinder is about his encounter with a schizophrenic sex worker its really something only DOOM could make, this entire album is a treasure and is worth every minute of your time