It’s a universally acknowledged truth that great music never sounds out-of-date, and Count Basie is remarkably evergreen. His “Old Testament” band epitomizes the big-band swing era-the rhythmic, harmonic and melodic devices that made 1930s America dance. But in practice that band epitomizes swing itself. “Count Basie took the Kansas City blues and made it happy,” Tony Bennett once remarked, perhaps summing up the enduring appeal that makes a collection like the eight-CD Classic 1936-1947 Count Basie and Lester Young Studio Sessions the Lord’s work.
On this album, Was (Not Was) explores various blends of funk, rock, dance and pop styles with delightful results. There is much quirky humour in a song like I Feel Better Than James Brown, an addictive tune with a hypnotic beat that pays tribute to James Brown's masterpiece I Feel Good. The lyrics are just priceless! Unusually for Was (Not Was), they also explore the dark side of life in Maria Novarro, a powerful song with a nervous beat and disturbing lyrics about domestic violence: "In the city of Angels, there's no mercy and there's no tomorrow for Maria Novarro …". Adding to the charms of this multifaceted album is Leonard Cohen who contributes the main vocal on Elvis' Rolls Royce over a jazzy background. The next track Dressed To Be Killed is a jerky rap number with lovely sax infusions, whilst Just Another Couple Broken Hearts is a mellow ballad.
Lee Perry may have grabbed all the glory and Niney Holness all the accolades, but what did they ever do for singers…bar burying their vocals in clever production? Which is why the sadly neglected Sonia Pottinger was often the artists' preferred choice. Culture first entered the studio with the producer for their third album, Cumbolo, and this successful partnership continued over another three full-length records and a clutch of singles. A fourth album, Black Rose, was planned, but never reached fruition, and in 1993 Trod On finally saw the release of recordings made during that period. Pottinger's love of vocalists is obvious from all her production work.
Fragile are a long running fusion band from Japan, and Phantom is my first encounter with the group, a mere decade after its initial release. Fragile are from the modern school of Japanese fusion, where the technical ability is astounding, and the compositions are strictly a foundation to support that. Rather than the other way around, which would be my preference. It's a tough genre to break new ground, as many before them have tread similar paths with varying results. So it was with much surprise that the opening two tracks caught my attention. Indeed this is inventive fusion, and as expected, the playing is exemplary, in particular the guitarist. However, as the disc continues on, ear fatigue begins to set in.