A couple of reviews that just missed the last issue of Tablet.
Sorry to say I was unable to catch the Digable Planets at Bumbershoot this year (though I did catch the re-formed Pharcyde).
Digable Planets, Beyond the Spectrum:
The Creamy Spy Chronicles, Blue Note
It's hard to believe 12 years have passed since the Digable Planets released the platinum-selling, Grammy Award-winning Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space), but time flies in the world of hip-hop. Now the trio, including Seattle's own Ishmael "Butterfly" Butler, has re-formed and Beyond the Spectrum arrives with a well balanced combination of greatest hits, like "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)," and non-LP tracks. Fans of harder-edged beats may find these jazzy, low-key jams a little soft, but to my ears they've held up well--as well as those of Gang Starr and the Dream Warriors (if not better).
Click here for my review of Shabazz Palaces - Black Up.
Irving Fields Trio, Bagels and Bongos, Reboot Stereophonic
And now for something completely different...Reboot Stereophonic is a non-profit collective dedicated to the preservation of obscure Jewish music. This 1959 recording is their first release, to be followed later this year by Gershon Kingsley's Jewish Moog. For the most part, Bagels and Bongos leans towards the latter, with the exception of "Havannah Negilah," a Latin take on the wedding traditional. Incredibly, the original LP sold two million copies and spawned several sequels. If Martin Denny's your man, then the 90-year-old Fields, who still performs regularly, should be right up your tiki-bedecked alley.
Image: AMG (Beyond the Spectrum album cover).
Digable Planets, Beyond the Spectrum:
The Creamy Spy Chronicles, Blue Note
It's hard to believe 12 years have passed since the Digable Planets released the platinum-selling, Grammy Award-winning Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space), but time flies in the world of hip-hop. Now the trio, including Seattle's own Ishmael "Butterfly" Butler, has re-formed and Beyond the Spectrum arrives with a well balanced combination of greatest hits, like "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)," and non-LP tracks. Fans of harder-edged beats may find these jazzy, low-key jams a little soft, but to my ears they've held up well--as well as those of Gang Starr and the Dream Warriors (if not better).
Click here for my review of Shabazz Palaces - Black Up.
Irving Fields Trio, Bagels and Bongos, Reboot Stereophonic
And now for something completely different...Reboot Stereophonic is a non-profit collective dedicated to the preservation of obscure Jewish music. This 1959 recording is their first release, to be followed later this year by Gershon Kingsley's Jewish Moog. For the most part, Bagels and Bongos leans towards the latter, with the exception of "Havannah Negilah," a Latin take on the wedding traditional. Incredibly, the original LP sold two million copies and spawned several sequels. If Martin Denny's your man, then the 90-year-old Fields, who still performs regularly, should be right up your tiki-bedecked alley.
Image: AMG (Beyond the Spectrum album cover).
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