Day 0882 - Make Yourself

Incubus “Make Yourself” (1999) – got it

Though I feel their last few releases have been on a slight downward turn, I am a big fan of Incubus’ first slew of albums.

Make Yourself sees them at the height of their “Nu-Metal” phase, though it seems unfair to lump them in with either that genre or “Rap-Metal” which were both starting to run rampant at the time.  They share the turntables, the “phat” bass sound and the quiet verse/loud chorus format favoured by those genres, but they inject a lot more variety, musicality and experimentation into the mix.

At the time they were one of those 'greater than the sum of its parts' bands.   Drummer Jose Pasillas III has a great groove with occasional flash (as and where required), bassist Dirk Lance brings the aforementioned 'phatness' and some funk undertones to the rock sound.   DJ Chris Kilmore doesn't just chuck in a few 'wicky wicky' scratches, or he does some of that, but also creates a whirling dervishes of noise in places and supplies ambient audio-beds elsewhere, such as on the chorus of whale-song that opens "The Warmth".   Vocalist Brandon Boyd has a great voice and some interesting lyrics and he can really stack some power in his delivery.   Guitarist Michael Einziger to my mind though is the biggest star. His range of guitar tones pushed through various effects pedals can sound almost aquatic, or clean and dancing, or fuzzed out and bombastic.

The opening track "Privilege" is a rousing rocker with a funk groove to it.  The funk vibe reappears throughout, most notably in the instrumental backing for the DJ 'battle' track "Battlestar Scraaltchlactica".   There are pleasing alt-rock ballads in "I Miss You" and the acoustic MTV favourite "Drive".    Track "Consequence" features a guitar break in the middle that is pretty much just a note run through nearly every effects pedal at once.   Then there's the djembe intro to groovy rocker "Clean".

That they manage to do all of this, constantly switching between sounds and still keep the album down to just above the punchy 45-minute mark just adds pleasure to the listening experience.

Day 0856 - New Forms

Roni Size/Reprazent "New Forms" (1997)

Roni had grown up in the musical melting pot of Bristol, home of the trip-hop of Portishead and Massive Attack, but also a lot of dub and reggae.   Roni saw gigs by Massive Attack forerunner The Wild Bunch, learned to DJ at his local youth club and formed 'Roni Size and Reprazent.

Their debut album here is an interesting mix of high BPM DnB patterns with dub, soul, jazz bass, and electro tracks.   The songs are generally built on repetitive loops that are given a good 5+ minutes to develop with vocals featuring on some tracks.

I knew the name Roni Size, didn't think I'd heard any of his music but "Digital" sounds quite familiar, so I may have done after all.

Reprazent only released one other album, but Roni collaborated with other artists, did remixes and even contributed to the interesting soundtrack to the film "Spawn" that paired up metal and hard-rock acts with electronic producers and artists.

Day 0816 - Endtroducing...

DJ Shadow "Entroducing..." (1996) - got it

Surely, one of the most impressive debut albums ever.  True, Shadow had been DJing and recording singles for 6-7 years by this stage, but this was his first full-length.   In addition to that, the record is composed entirely of samples from old records, and in addition (again) to that, the album was put together largely just using three pieces of kit: a sampler, a turntable and a tape recorder.

Shadow recorded the album in Dan the Automator's home studio which (as per entry 0811) was also being used around this time to put together Kool Keith's Dr. Octagon album.

Shadow combines everything from Metallica basslines to "Twin Peaks" dialogue, there are film scores, funk beats, synth patterns, odd noises and a blizzard of scratching.   

Despite (or perhaps because of) the disparate range of sources, and despite the longish runtime, this album sucks me in every time and leaves me wanting more.

Day 0811 - Dr Octagonecologyst

Dr Octagon "Dr Octagonecologyst" (1996)

Originally a founding member of Ultramagnetic MCs, Kool Keith started working on solo material.  He completed a couple of tracks with collaborator Kutmasta Kurt which they sent out to radio stations and local DJs.   The tracks got into the hands of producer Dan 'the Automator' Nakamura who came on board and recorded the album with the two KKs in his home studio in his parents' basement.

It's a concept album featuring (particularly for a rap album) surreal lyrics about Kool Keith's alter-ego, a time-travelling gynaecologist Dr Octagon.   Though Keith would go on to downplay the input of Kurt and the Automator on the sound of the album, Nakamura is a sorely underappreciated producer.   From his own projects such as Handsome Boy Modelling School, Lovage and Got a Girl, to his production work for bands like Kasabian and Head Automatica, to his collaborative work such as Peeping Tom, the first Gorillaz album and several projects with Del tha Funky Homosapien.

The music here is inventively produced, loaded with film samples, and cinematic production, mixing strings, sci-fi/horror cues and interesting beats.

I'd say that as a fan of the Automator I wanted to like it more than I did.  I enjoyed the music and didn't actively dislike Keith's rhymes but for some reason the whole thing didn't really 'capture' me.

Day 0759 - The Sun Rises in the East

Jeru the Damaja  "The Sun Rises in the East" (1994)

Jeru had worked with Gang Starr, and that group's DJ Premier produced this, Jeru's first solo album.  

The production and beats are probably the most interesting part of this album for me.   It almost seems to lean into trip-hop territory with moody instrumental samples backed with drum-machine loops.

The book talks about how Jeru calls out various other rap artists of the time for various perceived offences, but then I don't generally pay attention to lyrics.   Whatever is pissing off Jeru it goes past me, and musically the album doesn't really stand out for me above and beyond other albums or even other hip hop albums of the time.

Day 0690 - Step into the Arena

Gang Starr "Step into the Arena" (1991) 

Gang Starr had recorded a few demos and released some singles, but then broke up.  One of the MCs, Guru, decided to carry on the group and paired up with DJ Premier to create a new incarnation of Gang Starr.

The duo released their debut "No More Mr Nice Guy" which grazed the rap charts and caught the attention of Spike Lee.  Lee got them to revamp one of their tracks from the album for his film "Mo Better Blues" and the group went on to score a major label deal for their second release "Step Into the Arena" 

It's a nice, stripped down album, mostly beats and sparse tracks with the rhymes on top.   The only thing is, with just one MC there isn't a whole lot of variety of style.  Some of the backing tracks are quite interesting though, ranging from straight-ahead hip hop to moodier sounds almost similar to early Massive Attack.

Day 0666 - World Clique

Dee-Lite "World Clique" (1990) - got it

More than just "Groove is in the Heart".  This is an album that features guest spots from such luminaries as Bootsy Collins, Herbie Hancock and Maceo Parker.  But it is more than those guest spots too.  This is an album that grooves from start to finish.  Some of the big rollicking beats and jagged piano date the music slightly, but aside from that, it's a great mix of techno, funk and pop.

Different styles and sounds are on display, mixing live instruments and samples.  Lady Miss Kier's voice provides enough variety that I didn't grow weary of hearing the same singer throughout.

Day 0663 - Straight Outta Compton

N.W.A. "Straight Outta Compton" (1989)

We wrap up the 1980s with another classic rap release.   Oddly, this album was funded via a canny marketing move from Priority Records, who licensed and released an album by the fictional group 'The California Raisins' who had hit it big with their cover of 'Heard it on the Grapevine'.



Eazy E assembled the group of DJs and MCs, and put together an undeniable slice of gangster rap.   Whereas Public Enemy brought their 'wall of noise' and De La Soul, their pop-leaning sample-based tracks, N.W.A. just lay down sparse rhythms with some scratches and a few well-placed sounds and beats-by-Dre (and Yella) to create the backing for Eazy-E, Ice Cube and Mc Ren to rhyme over. 

The tracks are famously aggressive, packed with violence, which the group were accused of glorifying, but as they pointed out, they were just reporting on what life was actually like in their neighbourhood.  The opening salvo of "Straight outta Compton" "Fuck Tha Police" and "Gangsta Gangsta" set the scene, but the album holds its own throughout the duration.

The mix of the three MCs works really well and adds variety enough to keep things spicey across the album's runtime.  

Day 0487 - Wild Gift

X "Wild Gift" (1981)

 
Punk rock, rockabilly, mixed with almost 1950s-esque pop.  That style, with the combination of male and female vocals makes it feel like a slightly more musical take on the B-52s' sound, or something akin to the wild and woolly retro sound of the Cramps.

An enjoyable album that had my wife and I both bobbing our heads along with it.

The album was produced by ex-Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek, who also played on some of the tracks (I guess he'd have to really wouldn't he.  You wouldn't want to miss that opportunity).