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A side project from a Beastie Boy, a solo project from the lead singer of Galactic and a spoken-word project from Henry Rollins.
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BS2000, Simply Mortified (Grand Royal)
To get into the right frame of mind, think extremely lo-fi, a drum machine, a Farfisa organ, a Casio keyboard, and add in a song that pays homage to Fabio getting smacked in the face while on a roller coaster. Think of the music that played when hot dogs magically danced across screens at drive-in theaters, and the cheesy '60s tunes that blared as scenes segued. Add a touch of Beastie Boys, and poof! You have BS2000: Beastie's Adam Horovitz with pal Amery Smith, Beasties' tour drummer. The disc's 20 songs are goofy, childlike, danceable in spots, and spotted with humor. Also prevalent, however, is the feeling that you're on the wrong end of the joke. Chances are, without the Beastie affiliation, most
critics would dismiss this as a cute little effort that lacks substance. And for the most part it does, sounding like a couple of guys trying to figure out a few songs on their grandmother's piano, and recording it for posterity. Sure, they've got the drum machine down, and playing a few notes and chords over it does result in some fun, but with 20 songs, and an average duration of two minutes per song, it's like short-attention-span performance art. Once a groove is established, it's almost over, and thus the sense that you've been cheated, or jerked around. I usually like the wacky and avant-garde stuff too, but for some reason, BS200 is just not doing it for me. Maybe it's the lack of substance.
Theryl "Houseman" de'Clouet, The Houseman Cometh (Rounder Records)
The frontman for Galactic steps out on his own with a stellar mix of New Orleans style funk and soul. With a voice like velvet sandpaper, the Houseman is no stranger to the funk soul scene, having been at it since the '70s. And on this disc, whether the tune is an up-tempo number or a slow-stirring ballad, his voice grabs the spotlight and doesn't let go. It's neither a silky smooth sound, nor a gravelly bellow that comes from overindulging in cigarettes and booze, but rather a fine line between the two. Whereas the Houseman could simply belt out parts of songs, he judiciously uses restraint, almost teasing the listener into a frenzy. And he's got incredible talent behind him as well.
Guitarist June Yamagishi can funk it out with James Brown-style chord work, or rip a jazzy solo a la George Benson. Bassist Cornell Williams pretty much writes the book on funky bass lines here, while drummer Jeffrey "Jellybean" Alexander keeps a beat tighter than a new pair of shoes. The Houseman's bandmates from Galactic show up on a few tracks, along with various horn players. Also found are sample tracks from the late percussionist Michael Ward, who had a hand in writing some of the songs, and was well known in the New Orleans music scene. Together, the whole disc is a beautiful piece of work, with the Houseman's voice as the focal point. The Houseman Cometh shows us once again the power of funk and soul, and stands as a must have disc for the year 2001.
Henry Rollins, A Rollins in the Wry (Quarterstick)
On the first track, titled appropriately, "Intro," Rollins explains his stint to the audience at Luna Park, and says bluntly, "I'm like a New York mugger. I telegraph everything I'm going to do. If you get mugged by me, I should have your watch. If I piss you off, you should have seen it coming 20 minutes ago, and left already." For those not familiar with road-warrior Rollins, he's essentially a rock-and-roll Renaissance man, having performed in bands, written books, starred in movies, formed his own publishing company, to list but a few accomplishments. His relentless energy makes the Energizer Bunny seem like a wimp, and whenever you deal with him, you get the real Rollins, all the time. There's nothing even slightly phony about him. That said, what's the spoken-word Rollins like? He's blatantly funny and engaging, and though he's not on a mission like Lenny Bruce or other political comics, he does make interesting points along the way.
His delivery isn't as polished as a comedian's, but there's something genuinely appealing about his straight-ahead, in-your-face presentation. Whether talking about the joys of air travel, rainbow flags in west LA, or waiting in line at Rite Aid, Rollins rambles, sometimes going off on a tangent before coming back to make a point. And you can almost sense his mind running at 200 miles-an-hour trying to tie the story together while including all significant points. Rest assured, he brings the story together, and along the way you laugh with him, and I'm not talking light chuckle here, but big belly laughs. Perhaps because of his unpolished delivery, it's a disc that's worth listening to several times, at least to catch the jokes, but also to witness the evolution of Rollins as a performer, something that started long ago and will hopefully continue for some time to come.
More Henry Rollins: Interview, CD Review (Get Some Go Again)
March 2001
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