Saturday, October 15, 2011
Songs of The Day
Come Out and Play: This has got a pretty funky groove to it. Seriously diggin the bass on this one. I love the group vocals, it adds a nice weight to the vocals to balance the heavy groove. Love the hook "are your thoughts inside your mind wanting to be free" - what a great line. Listen to the music, people. They sound like they're just jammin, havin a good time. Groovin.
Better: I think this is an all around sweet tune. I dig the effects on the vocals and what they do to the enunciation of the hook - I find it very catchy and think it adds a lot to the groove. Roy knows how to balance his funk with mellow grooves, and I like it. The string part is very cool, and it's a nice smooth transition back into the "better days are coming" hook. Horns are great. There's a kind of corny love feel to this that I actually really dig. Solid tune.
Searching: This is such a solid tune. I love the horn especially - it's so short and sweet, but adds so much to the groove. Love the hits on the ands of the beats. The B section is great too - soft, mellow groove that sits really heavy, and right back into the light A groove. Awesome horn solo. I'm glad to finally here Roy on the vibes, but I wish he'd showed off a little longer. Great tune.
One Sweet Love to Remember: Starting off with a bass line like this, I knew this song could be nothing but funky. I really dig the rhythmic placement of the vocal melody - it's off and not where you would expect it to fall, and it just sounds so funky. Female vocalist breakin down on this one. The vocalists especially sound like they're having fun on this one. Solid groove.
Better: I think this is an all around sweet tune. I dig the effects on the vocals and what they do to the enunciation of the hook - I find it very catchy and think it adds a lot to the groove. Roy knows how to balance his funk with mellow grooves, and I like it. The string part is very cool, and it's a nice smooth transition back into the "better days are coming" hook. Horns are great. There's a kind of corny love feel to this that I actually really dig. Solid tune.
Searching: This is such a solid tune. I love the horn especially - it's so short and sweet, but adds so much to the groove. Love the hits on the ands of the beats. The B section is great too - soft, mellow groove that sits really heavy, and right back into the light A groove. Awesome horn solo. I'm glad to finally here Roy on the vibes, but I wish he'd showed off a little longer. Great tune.
One Sweet Love to Remember: Starting off with a bass line like this, I knew this song could be nothing but funky. I really dig the rhythmic placement of the vocal melody - it's off and not where you would expect it to fall, and it just sounds so funky. Female vocalist breakin down on this one. The vocalists especially sound like they're having fun on this one. Solid groove.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Songs of The Day
Domelo (Give It to Me): Well this is a nice dose of funk to start the album off. I'm diggin the upbeat funk/disco feel goin on in this groove - definitely a nice wake-me-up. Love the horn lines and how they're paralleled by the vibes - very cool. It just sounds like everyone's groovin, jamin, havin a great time, and that's always fun to listen to. The groove stays consistent, even when it switches up, which is nice. I like that there's just one phrase to the whole thing, the main focus is the groove. Final "domelo" is awesome. Definitely wouldn't be opposed to puttin my dancin shoes on and gettin down to this.
Baby I Need Your Love: This is a nice contrast from the last song. We went from super upbeat and funky to super chilled out and mellow, yet still funky. The groove on this is definitely relaxing, good to just sit back and let your mind escape to. I like that its a simple motif repeated, and though that could get annoying, keeping the song at a short length helps avoid that. Very sweet tune.
Higher: And back to funky funk we go! I'm really digging these simple lyrical motifs - you can tell that you're really meant to listen to the groove above all else. The A and B sections work really well together, which is mainly due to the fact that they are so similar, but their similarity is what keeps them funky. The hits are just ahead of the beat, which I really dig. The breakdown, synth semi solo thing is pretty cool - gives the tune a cool futuristic vibe that wasn't there before - along with the rest of the ending groove. Dig it.
The Memory: This may be my favorite song on the day, the groove is just so sweet. This is one of those grooves that continues to build throughout the tune, and when that's done properly, it's one of my favorite things. I just love the blending going on between all the different instruments - really slick stuff. This is the pianos tune, for sure, and I dig it, especially the triplet groove they go on - oo wee. Super sweet, extra funky, I love it.
Baby I Need Your Love: This is a nice contrast from the last song. We went from super upbeat and funky to super chilled out and mellow, yet still funky. The groove on this is definitely relaxing, good to just sit back and let your mind escape to. I like that its a simple motif repeated, and though that could get annoying, keeping the song at a short length helps avoid that. Very sweet tune.
Higher: And back to funky funk we go! I'm really digging these simple lyrical motifs - you can tell that you're really meant to listen to the groove above all else. The A and B sections work really well together, which is mainly due to the fact that they are so similar, but their similarity is what keeps them funky. The hits are just ahead of the beat, which I really dig. The breakdown, synth semi solo thing is pretty cool - gives the tune a cool futuristic vibe that wasn't there before - along with the rest of the ending groove. Dig it.
The Memory: This may be my favorite song on the day, the groove is just so sweet. This is one of those grooves that continues to build throughout the tune, and when that's done properly, it's one of my favorite things. I just love the blending going on between all the different instruments - really slick stuff. This is the pianos tune, for sure, and I dig it, especially the triplet groove they go on - oo wee. Super sweet, extra funky, I love it.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Album Factoids
Ubiquity Vibrations
Released: 1976
Genre: Soul/Funk/Jazz
Label: Polydor
Producer: Roy Ayers
Released: 1976
Genre: Soul/Funk/Jazz
Label: Polydor
Producer: Roy Ayers
Week 54: Roy Ayers
Prior to Saturday, I had no idea who Roy Ayers was. Fresh ears are always fun. My friend, Stefan threw me a couple tracks, and I really liked what I heard. So, why not? The vibraphone is secretly one of my favorite instruments, so I think it's going to be fun get a little funk taste of it.v I'm down to get into some Jazz/Funk ish.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Final Grade: B
I dug Fancy Footwork. It was a pretty solid album, especially in terms of dance music. Had a difficult time keeping myself still, and that is always a good thing. The retro dance/r&b 80s was pretty sweet as well - I can definitely get down with that style. But, that being said, the 80s also bit them in the ass at times, which was mainly due to them making it too literal 80s, or more specifically, 80s synth-pop. The first half of the album is really awesome, but it definitely starts to trail off the last couple tunes, to the point where I am uninterested in the final tracks. But one thing is for damn sure - these boys know how to boogie, and I dig it.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Songs of The Day
Call Me Up: This is a pretty funky tune. Makes me wanna boogie. I think the hook on this one is pretty cool - I dig how minimal it is. Groove's nice and upbeat, which I dig. Pretty much, this is a solid dance beat, which is why I'm sure it stays instrumental for so long at the end. This long instrumental ending probably works perfectly on the dancefloor, but it doesn't translate the best just listening to the song - it gets a little monotonous after a while. I think it would have been better to keep this one on the shorter side, but hey, I'm still groovin, so I guess I can't really hate.
Waiting 4 U: This song is ok. I'm not the biggest fan of effect on the vocals, or how legato they are against the staccato beat - the juxtaposition doesn't work for me. The groove on this one is a little too mid-80s synth pop and not enough early 80s r&b like some of the previous tunes. The "rap" (more spoken than anything) sounds just like Rockwell's "Somebody's Watching Me," and I wouldn't call that a compliment. Not my favorite.
100%: Pretty lame way to end the album, if you ask me. I can definitely get down with the guitar line, I think it's pretty sweet, but the groove itself is pretty boring. Nothing about it is interesting me, which is disappointing because I was digging this album and I would have hoped for a better finale. Sax sounds corny. Eh.
Waiting 4 U: This song is ok. I'm not the biggest fan of effect on the vocals, or how legato they are against the staccato beat - the juxtaposition doesn't work for me. The groove on this one is a little too mid-80s synth pop and not enough early 80s r&b like some of the previous tunes. The "rap" (more spoken than anything) sounds just like Rockwell's "Somebody's Watching Me," and I wouldn't call that a compliment. Not my favorite.
100%: Pretty lame way to end the album, if you ask me. I can definitely get down with the guitar line, I think it's pretty sweet, but the groove itself is pretty boring. Nothing about it is interesting me, which is disappointing because I was digging this album and I would have hoped for a better finale. Sax sounds corny. Eh.
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