El-P – Cancer4Cure

“Producer, label CEO, and rapper” is how you normally list El-P‘s credentials, and while those dense, fascinating, and funky beats he creates keep that “p” word in the lead-off spot, his 2010 announcement that his Def Jux imprint was going “on hiatus” meant “rapper” moved up a notch. Some would say “own worst enemy” should be worked in there as well, as he seemed more the “spiritual CEO” of the 2010-2012 underground rap explosion, “losing out” on a time where Def Jux had a shot at being Def Jam, and here he is focusing on his wordplay and metaphors while producing killer Killer Mike albums (R.A.P. Music) for other labels. So maybe Cancer4Cure isn’t just one of those too-cool, Def Jux-ian titles that rolls off the tongue, but a metaphor for why this vital blast of purpose exists, and why, for artists like El-P, “winning” isn’t everything. Support for this comes from an old Groucho Marx quip (“I wouldn’t want to be part of any club that would have me”) which becomes a mantra during the supreme grinder “The Jig Is Up,” and while the now more full-bodied producer/rapper is talking about a fiercely confrontational, one-on-one relationship in this instance, the massive “True Story” is the macro-version, dropping “I shoulda stayed asleep/Wakin’ up can get you killed” and recalling a time when irony carried more weight. Be it about getting bumped to the majors or any other kind of coerced sellout, “Sign Here” is the paranoia clampdown supreme with tight loops suggesting a small interrogation room as El-P repeats “tell me what I want to hear” until the listener feels violated. The main character in the slow robot called “Stay Down” is “dressed to the nines like a target” while the cryptic closer “$4 Vic/Nothing But You+Me (FTL)” wakes to “another showdown with the woozy and the conscious” before proudly declaring “You cannot thrown me in the briar patch bitch/That’s where I live.” It would be unfair to pigeonhole Cancer4Cure as a conceptual album speaking on the state of hip-hop, because its “stay true” and “all that glitters is not gold” messages extend way beyond, but since it is the man’s craft, this is a much more exciting attack than calling out offenders by name, or offering those old-school imitation albums that the competition often settle on. Cancer4Cure is about hip-hop like Glengarry Glen Ross was about sales, but these great works transcend their industries, offering solace and inspiration to anyone who would prefer a satisfied mind over a Cadillac Eldorado, or in current terms, an Escalade.

Read more at All Music Guide

Donal Fagen – Sunken Condos

Morph the Cat wrapped up an alleged trilogy in 2006 — a trilogy that only became apparent when Donald Fagen‘s three solo albums were boxed in a set called The Nightfly Trilogy in 2007 — and Fagen then busied himself with live performances, something he avoided at the peak of his popularity in the ’70s and ’80s. With Walter Becker, he took several classic Steely Dan albums on tour, he became a frequent fixture at Levon Helm‘s Midnight Rambles, and, in 2010, he became the ringleader of the Dukes of September, a superstar blue-eyed soul revue featuring Michael McDonald and Boz Scaggs. All this high-octane rhythm can be heard on Sunken Condos, Fagen‘s 2012 album and easily the liveliest solo album he’s released since The Nightfly in 1982. Much of that is due to a pronounced emphasis on rhythm. Sunken Condos doesn’t ease on its groove, the way the otherwise excellent Morph the Cat did. Sunken Condos crackles with energy even when things are smooth; witness how “Memorabilia” and “Weather in My Head,” jazzy funk numbers both, never succumb to lite comfortable grooves, as Fagen and his peerless band keep pushing at the contours of their rhythms, letting the music breathe. And that addition of space is a marked difference from much of Fagen‘s work since Gaucho, when he began to place an emphasis on precision over feel. Certainly, Sunken Condos boasts an immaculate production and there is not a note out of place but it is unmistakably a feel album, one where it’s a pleasure to hear the band play and to hear Fagen play with his delivery, sculpting his phrases with an impish glee. That Sunken Condos also contains his sharpest songwriting in a long time — whether they percolate like “I’m Not the Same Without You” or sweetly sigh like “Miss Marlene,” the tunes are immediate the way the songs on Steely Dan‘s 2000 comeback, Two Against Nature, were — is no coincidence. Long a master of obfuscation, Fagen plays it straight on Sunken Condos, tightening his songwriting and letting his music swing, and the results are an absolute joy.

Read more at All Music Guide

Erykah Badu – Worldwide Underground

The so-called “EP” that will make many Erykah Badu skeptics wonder what’s going on is actually 15 minutes longer than What’s Going On. Why would any musician want to call a recording of such length — 50 minutes, to be precise — an EP? The fact that Worldwide Underground is being referred to as an EP makes it apparent that it isn’t intended to be considered the true follow-up to Mama’s Gun. You also find out throughout the course of the disc that the loose, spare arrangements aren’t likely to generate a stream of tidy, four-minute Top Ten hits. As easy as the disc is to slide into, it’s far and away the least commercial R&B release of the year. Written, produced, and performed by Freakquency – a seemingly ad hoc group consisting of Badu, James Poyser, Rashad “Ringo” Smith, and R.C. Williams – along with a revolving door of guests, the whole thing goes down more like a weekend jam session than an endlessly labored-over, polished project. For the most part, this is a good thing. Both “Bump It” and “I Want You” are over eight minutes in length, leaving plenty of space to establish relaxed atmospheres that are built on uncomplicated rhythms, twinkling keyboards, and vaporous textures. “Back in the Day (Puff)” and “Danger” are the two most single-oriented tracks; the former’s essentially a more filled-out version of one of the extended pieces in miniature form, while the latter is the toughest sounding of the whole batch, with punchy, synthetic horn jabs and Badu‘s most animated vocal. A new version of “Love of My Life” caps off the disc in fine, fun style, with Badu paying tribute to the all-female, old-school trio Sequence, with the help of Angie Stone, Bahamadia, and Queen Latifah. If Worldwide Underground isn’t to be taken as seriously as Baduizm and Mama’s Gun, so be it; but it only goes to show how apprehensive the powers that be are in allowing their platinum artists to deviate from what’s expected.

Read more at All Music Guide

Cody ChesnuTT – Landing On A Hundred

If you’re of the opinion that soul music in the 21st century lacks the authenticity of its golden late 1960s / early 1970s period, then Cody ChesnuTT’s return is the news you’ve been waiting for. Ten years after his debut – the sprawling, 36-track The Headphone Masterpiece – the Atlanta, Georgia-born musician is finally back with one of the year’s most joyful albums.

It’s also considerably more concise than the lo-fi experiments conducted in his bedroom for his debut – clocking in at just 54 minutes instead of 90 – and far more luxurious. Though that record may have helped thrust him into the limelight – partially due to The Roots’ inviting him to join them on a cover of its standout, The Seed – it only hinted at the expansive territory addressed here.

It does no harm, of course, that on both the spirited opener, ‘Till I Met Thee, and Love Is More Than a Wedding Day, ChesnuTT sounds like a dead ringer for Marvin Gaye at the height of his powers, his voice capable of communicating laidback warmth and tender passion as Philly-style strings swirl around him.

Elsewhere, Under the Spell of the Handout throws a little blues into the mix before slipping temporarily into a shuffling, funky mood, while Don’t Wanna Go the Other Way is more urgent, one of the few tracks in which the production betrays the album’s contemporary origins.

Where Is All the Money Going? is similarly upbeat and maintains the genre’s tradition of protest, but ChesnuTT isn’t afraid of reducing the tempo. Don’t Follow Me adds lashings of reverb to create an almost oppressive atmosphere, his voice comfortably and affectingly reaching for high notes with little of the extravagance of many modern day soul practitioners.

Make no mistake: it’s not perfect. I’ve Been Life’s shout out to “Africa, you can live again” is perhaps a little hackneyed, while Everybody’s Brother and What Kind of Cool (Will We Think of Next) are a little too close to Terence Trent D’Arby. Overall, though, this is a long overdue, welcome comeback.

READ THE ORIGINAL REVIEW at BBC

We’re excited to put some guruuve new tees out there for ya’ll. If you like ‘em, show us some love. They will be available at the next Deer Valley show til they sell out. A special promotion to thank guruuve girl for the design of our new site.

]]> http://www.mountaintownmusic.org/mountain-town-music-limited-edition-tees/feed/ 0 http://www.mountaintownmusic.org/peoa-concert-series-this-week/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=peoa-concert-series-this-week http://www.mountaintownmusic.org/peoa-concert-series-this-week/#comments Mon, 30 Jul 2012 20:22:09 +0000 mtntownmusic http://www.mountaintownmusic.org/?p=1162 Just a note to let everyone know that the show scheduled for the Woodenshoe Park Stage in Peoa has been rescheduled.  Fastback Freddy will play on 8/24 in Peoa, rather than this Friday.  Sorry for the inconvenience.

-James

Beats Antique will be gracing Park City with their presence at Park City Live on Tuesday night.  The show kicks off as an official after party for the String Cheese concert at Deer Valley.  So, for those of you who want more music, fun, dancing, and a party to remember go out and buy your Beats Antique tickets today!

You can purchase tickets in a number of locations including Park City Live, or the following website:

http://smithstix.com/events/item/root/beats-antique-july-10

Everyone at Mountain Town Music is stoked for this even that promised to deliver a cultural night full of belly dancing and eastern-influenced vibes. Grab a friend, bring a crew, but whatever you do BE THERE!