George Duke - Face the Music
George Duke
Face the Music
2002 BPM
I always have a lot of mixed perceptions about George Duke. His technical prowess and inherent lyricism musically is clear (he could hold those claims just for his stint with Zappa if he wanted to), and when he wants to make some stunning recordings -weather they be fusion, funk or soulful pop- he certainly can step up. It is tough not to love Brazilian Love Affair, or his live output with Billy Cobham.
But he also has made a rash of half-cocked smooth jazz and pop-bop excursions that become as faceless as mid-range Jeff Lorber (and Lorber is pretty boring most of the time) or watered down fusion as some of his later collaborations with Stanley Clarke bore out. His balladry is often flat out dull.
Face the Music has a little of all of that. When it works, it works pretty well, as it does with opener The Black Messiah Part II, Another Way to Look At It, Let's Roll and the dirty throwback Ten Mile Jog (which makes the three word mantra actually work as a function of its sonority and not due to its total stupidity as a theme at face value), which is over 10 minutes long. It also functions as a great showcase for some over the top playing by his rhythm section of John Roberts (doing his best Dennis Chambers) and the always-extraordinary Christian McBride (doing his best Christian McBride).
In the weaker tracks you have Chillin', which sounds like an incomplete Quincy Jones circa 1989 bed-track. It could have been good, but its only noticeable feature is a few of Dukes piano runs. And while the instrumentals are a better bet overall, the vocal cuts don't do squat.Guess You Are Not the One is one of those horribly dull ballads. Guess its not the song I want to hear George. Close to You is not far behind in terms of snoozy boringness. Creepin' , with its processed vocals and cartoonish vibe, is just a theme song for an after-school Halloween special on TV.
He is still one of the meanest clavinet players, ever. I just felt that needed to be stated, irrespective of anything else.
Face the Music
2002 BPM
I always have a lot of mixed perceptions about George Duke. His technical prowess and inherent lyricism musically is clear (he could hold those claims just for his stint with Zappa if he wanted to), and when he wants to make some stunning recordings -weather they be fusion, funk or soulful pop- he certainly can step up. It is tough not to love Brazilian Love Affair, or his live output with Billy Cobham.
But he also has made a rash of half-cocked smooth jazz and pop-bop excursions that become as faceless as mid-range Jeff Lorber (and Lorber is pretty boring most of the time) or watered down fusion as some of his later collaborations with Stanley Clarke bore out. His balladry is often flat out dull.
Face the Music has a little of all of that. When it works, it works pretty well, as it does with opener The Black Messiah Part II, Another Way to Look At It, Let's Roll and the dirty throwback Ten Mile Jog (which makes the three word mantra actually work as a function of its sonority and not due to its total stupidity as a theme at face value), which is over 10 minutes long. It also functions as a great showcase for some over the top playing by his rhythm section of John Roberts (doing his best Dennis Chambers) and the always-extraordinary Christian McBride (doing his best Christian McBride).
In the weaker tracks you have Chillin', which sounds like an incomplete Quincy Jones circa 1989 bed-track. It could have been good, but its only noticeable feature is a few of Dukes piano runs. And while the instrumentals are a better bet overall, the vocal cuts don't do squat.Guess You Are Not the One is one of those horribly dull ballads. Guess its not the song I want to hear George. Close to You is not far behind in terms of snoozy boringness. Creepin' , with its processed vocals and cartoonish vibe, is just a theme song for an after-school Halloween special on TV.
He is still one of the meanest clavinet players, ever. I just felt that needed to be stated, irrespective of anything else.
