Crate digging and interesting obscurities

Review:

http://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/album/sly5thave/the-invisible-man-an-orchestral-tribute-to-dr-dre

One of their best recent albums is "Decade", which features a small orchestra. This one is recommended for fans of David Axelrod and Isaac Hayes:

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Also recommended is "S.P.A.C.E.", on which the band goes more psychedelic recalling the first couple Funkadelic albums, or the Bar Kays work with Hayes on the soundtrack to "Shaft".

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"Live from Space" is a live version of the above album:

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James Plunky Branch is a saxophonist who started his career leading the Afrocentric free jazz group, Juju. Over the next couple years Juju became Oneness of Juju with their musical direction leaning more towards fusion and funk jazz. When inexpensive home recording tools hit the market, James self-released a series of hit and miss RnB CDs under the names Plunky and Oneness, or just Plunky. When 2000 arrived, Plunky upped his game and started releasing well produced radio freindly RnB and smooth jazz. Over the years, his concerts, many of them in Europe, always displayed the history of his career, often leaning towards jazz funk jams, rather than his more commercial output. 

There is not one particular album that really best captures Plunky's talents, and that is why the compilation "Oneness of Juju - African Rhythms 1970-1982" is the best way to explore his music. This compilation does a great job of bringing out the best in this sometimes inconsistent artist. It doesn't hurt that some of the tracks are pulled from Plunky's work with African drummer Okyerema Asante on Asante's albums.

 

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Reviews:

DJ Spooky and Dave Lombardo    "Drums of Death"

Clumsy attempts to weld hip-hop to metal produced some of the worst music ever in the 90s, the unlistenable limp bizkit for example. Thats why it may come as a surprise that this album that combines DJ Spooky with famed thrash drummer Dave Lombardo is way better than expected and then some.

Dave supplies a variety of rhythms, but often with that enthusiastic 'metal overkill' that can be annoying in the wrong hands, but it works so perfectly and ironically at the same time on this one. DJ Spooky comes through with some of the best music of his career. It doesn't hurt that Chuck D guests on several tracks sounding as strong as ever. Gary Nestler, Vernon Reid and Jack Dangers guest on guitars.

This album is an unlikely classic that a lot of people probably missed.

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We all know how the fusion fad ended up, with highly commercial recordings featuring bland predictable performances geared toward deriving cash from pop, rock and RnB fans, but that wasn't necessarily how it all started. 

Case in point, this recording ("Palais Anthology"), features high octane performances from no less than six of Europe's best fusion keyboardists supported by the ace rhythm section of Alphonse Mouzon and John Lee.  The performances on here are crackling hot with bursting at the seams creative energy. The keyboardists gleefully plug into whatever electronic gizmos they can get their hands on as they apply their fiery bebop chops to stacks of new fangled  keyboards. Early experimental fusion does not get much better than this.