Walter Becker Circus Money
The News Review:
- Walter Becker Circus Money
- Jazzie B goes – Great moments in British reggae
- Kardinal Offishall: Northern Exposure
- Freedom Rock
Walter Becker Circus Money
PopMatters – Jun 10, 2008
Meaning that whereas Fagen maintained a minor presence on Whack playing on and co-producing the album as Becker had done on both The Nightfly and Kamakiriad he is completely absent on Circus Money a seemingly tactical bookend to Becker’s AWOL status on Fagen’s Morph The Cat. Here Becker teams up with journeyman producer (and ex-husband of Joni Mitchell) Larry Klein. And while the album is indicative of being constructed by a member of Steely Dan Circus Money finds Becker diving headfirst into his unrequited love for reggae music a torrid affair only hinted at on Whack particularly the song “This Moody Bastard”. One can envision Becker Klein and the crack team of studio pros they employed for these sessions drummer Keith Carlock guitarist Jon Herington and keyboardists Ted Baker and Jim Beard chief among them sitting in a ganja-hued Avatar Studios in New York City listening to King Tubby’s Dub From The Roots and laughing as Becker animates the lyrics that bring such characters as the dirty-minded “family member” (perhaps a distant relative of “Cousin Dupree”?) in “Bob Is Not Your Uncle Anymore” or the philandering game show host who hooks up with a young contestant on “Door Number Two” to life before a THC-stained microphone. However before you mistake Circus Money as something directly akin to a Walter Becker Meets Rockers Uptown type of situation there is more than enough of that classic Steely Dan element imbued within these grooves to let you know whose record this is especially when you are paying attention to the lyrics all draped with Becker’s classically sardonic wit and wanton interest in May-December trysts. Songs such as the snide Hollywood send-up “Three Picture Deal” and the sad remembrance “Paging Audrey” wouldn’t have seemed out of place on Two Against Nature. Yet overall the reggae and dub influences here are undeniable on “Downtown Canon” and “Do You Remember The Name” tunes that simply revel in a tasty “Babylon Sisters By Bus” vibe that will most certainly appeal to any music lover with vinyl copies of both Katy Lied and Visions of Dennis Brown nestled side by side in their Ikea Expedit.
Jazzie B goes – Great moments in British reggae
Jamaica Gleaner – Jun 10, 2008
The 18-track album was released yesterday in the United Kingdom by Trojan Records. “(This is) an all-reggae set that still has the depths and changes of pace of a regular set but all comes back to the same happy uplifting mood” Jazzie B told British media. “Every cut on here is a guaranteed killer. “Several of the songs covered on Schooldays made British ethnic charts during the 1970s and 1980s when reggae was a force among Caribbean immigrants and first-generation black Britons. Songs in this batch include Natty Dread a Weh She Want by Horace Andy and Tappa Zukie; Warrior (Junior Delgado); Love Has Found Its Way (Dennis Brown); and Shine Eye Girl done by Barrington Levy and Jah Thomas. International charts Each of the songs on Schooldays was distributed in the UK by Trojan Records a leading source of Jamaican music in Europe for over 20 years… “Several of the songs covered on Schooldays made British ethnic charts during the 1970s and 1980s when reggae was a force among Caribbean immigrants and first-generation black Britons. Songs in this batch include Natty Dread a Weh She Want by Horace Andy and Tappa Zukie; Warrior (Junior Delgado); Love Has Found Its Way (Dennis Brown); and Shine Eye Girl done by Barrington Levy and Jah Thomas. International charts Each of the songs on Schooldays was distributed in the UK by Trojan Records a leading source of Jamaican music in Europe for over 20 years. Jazzie B whose parents are from the Caribbean made international charts with Soul II Soul in 1989. The quintet hit pay dirt with the funk songs Keep on Movin’ and Back to Life. Both songs are from their debut album Club Classics Vol I which won two Grammy Awards in 1990.
Kardinal Offishall: Northern Exposure
HipHopDX – Jun 10, 2008
Spending well over the past decade perfecting a blend of Soul Dancehall and Reggae music Kardi has created his own distinctly unique Hip Hop sound that seems to have been embraced by most statesiders. Unfortunately Soundscan has yet to reflect the inroads Kardi has been able to make in the States. While critically acclaimed his international debut 2001’s Quest For Fire: Firestarter Vol.
Freedom Rock
Washington Post – Jun 10, 2008
Freedom du Lac is online every Tuesday at 2 p. ET to talk about the latest on the music scene: alternative country alt-country pop hyphy harp-rock reggae reggaeton R and B and whatever it is that Constantine Maroulis does… Freedom du Lac is online every Tuesday at 2 p. ET to talk about the latest on the music scene: alternative country alt-country pop hyphy harp-rock reggae reggaeton R and B and whatever it is that Constantine Maroulis does.
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