Hey all. Sorry I slacked off and didn't get to the second part of this before 2012 actually ended. Alas, there was a party to throw, music to play, friends to see, my wife to kiss, a year to say goodbye to, and another one to welcome. Still wanted to get to these last few albums before too much time passed, though, so here's my "Best Of 2012" list, part 2 of 2...days late, sure, but still with something to say...
The wintry image on the cover is quite fitting for the music within. The Menahan Street Band, comprised of members from various other NYC retro-funk bands such as The Dap-Kings, El Michels Affair, Antibalas, etc., do something different here, as they did with their first record. While the retro-funk, and particularly the vintage production, remain present, there is a cinematic element to the songs that sets this apart from much of the other music released in 2012. These guys take the listener down a dark, twisting, weary path, somewhere between Martin Scorcese and Willie Hutch.
THE surprise, out-of-left-field, underground smash hit of the year, no question. People are gonna be talking about this one for a while, and for good reason. With a list of guest stars including, but not limited to, Erykah Badu, Mos Def (Yasiin Bey), Lalah Hathaway, Bilal and Musiq Soulchild, the music here practically explodes into a technicolor jazz-funk-hip-hop daydream; it's like an update of what Tribe did in the early '90's, and even hearkens back to the early fusion pioneering of Miles, Herbie, Zawinul, etc., in that it redefines what "jazz" can mean, which, of course, is what makes it so refreshing, and even revolutionary.
One ill-informed reviewer, when writing about this album, wrote something to the effect that this group seemed like it had stumbled upon an old collection of Cameo records, was inspired by them but had no idea on how to internalize, re-create and expand upon that sound. First of all, that factors in none of the post-J Dilla hip-hop influence that underlines much of this music, and second of all, whoever that reviewer was must not have known much about Cameo either, for if they had they would have been able to better comprehend the brilliant example of modern yet reverent funk that "Myriad Of Now" represents.
Released shortly before Halloween, this is one of the more ominous-sounding records I heard this year, which is saying something in an ever-increasingly post-apocalyptic audio world. The Heavy are well-named, as they stomp through speakers with an unmatched ferocity and volume, teetering precariously yet masterfully between garage rock and retro soul. This album is less diverse than previous efforts, and focuses more squarely on the soul side of their equation, which isn't a bad thing at all. Not to this soul-minded listener, anyway.
Gary Clark, Jr. has had some pretty heavy expectations placed upon him, which, as usually is the case with impossibly lofty expectations, he will likely have difficulty living up to. His increasingly being identified as savior-of-the-blues-guitar-idiom is unfair, though he acquits himself relatively well on his debut full-length record. This isn't a perfect album; some of the songs suffer from a too-poppy production aesthetic that doesn't fit his talent, and seem especially out of place when sandwiched in between the all-out, post-Hendrix guitar noise-blues-distortion freakouts. The latter make this a must-purchase, though, especially for fans of guitar-centric music.
As usual, Numero outdoes every other reissue label in the biz, with lavish notes, packaging, and a remarkable audio restoration of tapes originally thought to have been destroyed in a fire. This album is exceptional on a number of levels, from the jazz-latin-fusion-dub tracks to the story behind them, which has ties to everything from the revolutionary socialism of the Nicaraguan Sandanistas to the oppressive capitalism of the Reagan administration. Stunning.
The Coup are back with more fight-the-power, anti-capitalist hip-hop, although this can only be called hip-hop in the most abstract sense, as the music behind Boots Riley's raps this time out sounds more like New Wave punk and funk than anything BDP or the Wu-Tang ever envisioned. Building upon the creative breakthrough of their previous "Pick A Bigger Weapon" album, this is essential listening for those who prefer their music political, uncompromising and fearless.
Brazilian soul man Tim Maia finally gets the reissue treatment he deserves, zeroing in especially on his outer-space cult soul masterpieces, "Racional Vol. 1" and "Racional Vol. 2." Maia has a unique gift for blending American soul and funk influences with a distinctly Brazilian sensibility, and is remembered in the liner notes as a larger-than-life character who pushed many boundaries and thought well outside the box of the society and era in which he lived.
The late-blooming surprise of the year, arriving in December and taking me back to the halcyon early-2000's heyday of OutKast. However, Big Boi is in his own head space here, blending indie and ambient trip-hop grooves with his tongue-twisting, in-your-face raps to achieve a new hybrid. This is a deeply personal record that, at the same time, you can still get down to, bump in your car on full blast, or simply sit back and reflect on. This has been in constant rotation for me since its release. Dig.
