Morcheeba - Charango
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Free Music Notes for Charango
Free Music Review: Music for good times and bad times
Hit: 4 Stars
Great album, 10 out of the 12 tracks have the "mellow-melodic" flow that I was looking for. The music on this album will keep you calm and collected when you get angry or when somebody breaks your heart, or you can throw it on when you want to hear something that goes down smooth.
FYI, my music preferences are hip-hop, jazz, R&B and MORCHEEBA, ya dig???
Cheers
Free Music Review: Good, but...
Hit: 4 Stars
My 2 cents worth is I hate the song "Woman Lose Weight" and I don't find it humorous. Lyrics aside, it doesn't even musically appeal to me.I still say get the CD. The rest of the CD more than makes up for one bad song. Just simply skip "Woman Lose Weight".
Free Music Review: Excellent Morcheeba album
Hit: 4 Stars
She does it again with some awesome trip-hop lounge beats. If you liked Big Calm and Who Can You Trust, you're sure to like this one. Beats and B-sides is the only one that I think doesn't compare to the typical Morcheeba (that I like).Free Music Review: MORCHEEBA GET THEIR GROOVE BACK
Hit: 3 Stars
Now, Morcheeba are one of those bands that really came in strong(1996's acclaimed "Who Can You Trust?"-an album I found too samey for myself but that everyone else loved); went pop the right way(1998's soothingly eclectic "Big Calm"); then went...downhill...really, downhill(2000's Macy Gray sing-a-long sounding "Fragments of Freedom"). Fans turned their backs on the once loungy trio. Dissed them every minute they got and then the second generation trip hop outfit was written off. 2002's "Charango" is back to silence the detractors and to help Morcheeba get their groove back. The corny Top 40 pop of "Fragments of Freedom" is reduced to zero. The languid, sexual grooves from the first two albums are back. Back in effect indeed. The near perfect opener "Slow Down" mixing Skye Edwards' smooth-as-vodka voice(ahhh...she's so, so smooth) with a tender backbeat and Dave Gilmore-like shimmering guitars. It's bewitching, chilled, and atmospheric. Morcheeba are back, people! Sort of.
The wordy yet melodic "Otherwise" is radio friendly but still charming. Not a "FOF" abomination but a pop song that still has that Morcheeba feel. "Sao Paulo" is silky. Nice and liquidly. With a Brazil-lite accent, the song is trip hoppy yet so breezy, it could be played on the beach and still sound at home. "Way Beyond" is lounge-chic while "Undress Me Now" even with it's Carpenters like rosiness is still smooth.
Most interesting though is "Women Lose Weight". On paper, it's wack. Slick Rick emulating Eminem(a rapper whom he heavily influenced) to the rhythmic parody of the Gorillaz's smash "Clint Eastwood". A dark morality tale with a sly humor. Actually, it works. Rick sounds like the Ruler again and that smoothness is still present. Even though the song is very politically incorrect, it still shows a new direction for the 'Cheeba.(Although with close listen, you'll see that the song is a parody on loving people unconditionally not literally killing an overweight woman). "Get Along" is one of the album's best tracks with Pace One of the Outsidaz rhyming in the middle while the rest of the song has a soulful yet haunted feel.
Although some missteps stumble along the way- "What New York Couples Fight About" fail to interest; the title track instrumental with Pace One is useless; and "Aqualung" sounds like cheesy movie music. But other than that, Morcheeba come back with a vengeance. No, it's not completely on par with "WCYT" or "Big Calm" but they're trying to get their name back, that's admirable enough.
Free Music Review: A Review about the Music... not about politics
Hit: 3 Stars
Jees... what's with all the political banter with some of the previous reviews -- are these activists or something? Why not talk about the album and the tracks instead of how groups "sell out" and calling their tracks "bad music". Maybe it's just not music for you or that you can understand. Charango is a solid album. I definitely enjoyed it. I was apprehensive about purchasing it until a buddy played it overhead in the music store. Once I heard it - that was it. I liked the vibe and a lot of the songs. The CD starts out slowly, dark like with "Slow Down". And it carries on in that sort of mode through the next few songs until Aqualung - but then back down into Sao Paulo... Not really a tropical track but still, lazy and downtempo - I actually liked Sao Paulo, this track.
The next two tracks didn't do much for me, admittedly - the title track and What New York Couple's.... Not the sound that I really like and looked forward to. But Undress Me Now is real smooth - the sound is great.
The Slick Rick track is definitely interesting. Definitely a joke. In poor taste? Bah, who cares. Only thing I don't care for is that it doesn't fit into the CD, IMO. But if you don't like it jush push the button and fast forward.
All in all, this CD is solid. On Big Calm level? Well, maybe not - I remember how it started out with "The Sea" -- smooth. I'd suggest Smoke City and, not to be obvious, but Portishead above this one and if you don't have Big Calm, I'd suggest getting that one before this one too. But I still enjoyed it and am glad that it is a part of my collection. It is a CD that you can pop in, play and relax to. But for this review - my real advice is to stay away from the "political" reviews and go for the sound that you enjoy.