STANLEY CLARKE BAND - The Message
Mack Avenue Records MAC1116
Stanley Clarke: guitar, bass; Beka Gochiashvili: piano; Cameron Graves, Pat Leonard, Dominique Taplin: synthesizers; Mike Mitchell: drums; Salar Nadar: tabla; Doug Webb: saxophone, flute; Chuck Findley, Ron Stout: trumpet, French horn; Dwayne Benjamin: trombone; Michael Thompson: guitar; Steve Blum, Skyeler Kole, Trevor Wesley, Sofia Sara Clarke, Chris Clarke, Doug E Fresh: vocals.
The initial rhythmic in-memoriam track to departed fellow musicians including Chuck Berry and Tom Petty features Clarke’s bass and rhythm and hip hop artist Doug E Fresh on beatbox.
Track 4, 'Combat Continuum', is where it gets interesting. It begins with a War of The Worlds-esque warning broadcast monologue to imaginary citizens and quickly launches into a frenzied climbing chordal motif followed by a repeated, insistent conversation between piano, keyboards and bass guitar. Later there is a spoken word ending with a positive message that alien visitors have come to heal the planet.
The title track features solo bass guitar from the leader, a gorgeous interlude between the chaos of the last track and the next, somewhat confusing King Crimson meets Travelling Wilberrys style pop tune, 'Lost in A World'.
Throughout the album the military precision and virtuosity of pianist Beka Gochiashvili is very prominent as a sound, although the recording of it seems to have flattened the dynamic of it somewhat, in favour of distracting keyboard squelch sound effects and frenetic drumming that goes on around, or rather over it.
Another welcome bowed bass Bach interlude next, which, conversely seems to have all the overtones that had been removed from the previous track added to it. Bass and piano duet in the following track, ‘The Legend of the Abbas and the Sacred Talisman’; a strong cantabile track which could easily be imagined as a theme tune to a film of the same name. It’s audibly clear that not all these tracks were recorded in the same session or by the same personnel, and there is no attempt to cover the difference in the production.
‘Enzo’s theme’ stands out as a clear favourite, featuring retro synth percussion and pads, excellent Steely Dan style horn arrangements and exemplary solos – the saxophone solo being cut rather shorter than expected – this would be a phenomenal track live.
Overall, this is an album of massive contrasts. The final track ‘To Be Alive’ is a triumphant hip-hop-on-the-top underpinned by soul groove replete with horn stabs and vocorder jinks, a fitting track to complete this unique album which deserves a regular revisiting.
Reviewed by Martha Freeman
Mack Avenue Records MAC1116
Stanley Clarke: guitar, bass; Beka Gochiashvili: piano; Cameron Graves, Pat Leonard, Dominique Taplin: synthesizers; Mike Mitchell: drums; Salar Nadar: tabla; Doug Webb: saxophone, flute; Chuck Findley, Ron Stout: trumpet, French horn; Dwayne Benjamin: trombone; Michael Thompson: guitar; Steve Blum, Skyeler Kole, Trevor Wesley, Sofia Sara Clarke, Chris Clarke, Doug E Fresh: vocals.
The initial rhythmic in-memoriam track to departed fellow musicians including Chuck Berry and Tom Petty features Clarke’s bass and rhythm and hip hop artist Doug E Fresh on beatbox.
Track 4, 'Combat Continuum', is where it gets interesting. It begins with a War of The Worlds-esque warning broadcast monologue to imaginary citizens and quickly launches into a frenzied climbing chordal motif followed by a repeated, insistent conversation between piano, keyboards and bass guitar. Later there is a spoken word ending with a positive message that alien visitors have come to heal the planet.
The title track features solo bass guitar from the leader, a gorgeous interlude between the chaos of the last track and the next, somewhat confusing King Crimson meets Travelling Wilberrys style pop tune, 'Lost in A World'.
Throughout the album the military precision and virtuosity of pianist Beka Gochiashvili is very prominent as a sound, although the recording of it seems to have flattened the dynamic of it somewhat, in favour of distracting keyboard squelch sound effects and frenetic drumming that goes on around, or rather over it.
Another welcome bowed bass Bach interlude next, which, conversely seems to have all the overtones that had been removed from the previous track added to it. Bass and piano duet in the following track, ‘The Legend of the Abbas and the Sacred Talisman’; a strong cantabile track which could easily be imagined as a theme tune to a film of the same name. It’s audibly clear that not all these tracks were recorded in the same session or by the same personnel, and there is no attempt to cover the difference in the production.
‘Enzo’s theme’ stands out as a clear favourite, featuring retro synth percussion and pads, excellent Steely Dan style horn arrangements and exemplary solos – the saxophone solo being cut rather shorter than expected – this would be a phenomenal track live.
Overall, this is an album of massive contrasts. The final track ‘To Be Alive’ is a triumphant hip-hop-on-the-top underpinned by soul groove replete with horn stabs and vocorder jinks, a fitting track to complete this unique album which deserves a regular revisiting.
Reviewed by Martha Freeman
