Stanley Clarke - The Toys of Men
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Stanley ClarkeEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2007-10-16
Music Label: Heads Up
Soundtracks:
- The Toys Of Men
- Cosmic Intervention
- Jerusalem
- Back In the Woods
- All Over Again
- Hmm Hmm
- Bad Asses
- Game
- La Cancion De Sofia
- El Bajo Negro
- Broski
- Chateauvallon 1972 (Dedicated To Tony Williams)
- Bass Folk Song No. 6
Free Music Notes for The Toys of Men
Free Music Review: The Master Raises The Bar
Hit: 5 Stars
This may very well be Stanley Clarke's finest album to date. Although the album displays a variety of styles each track is superb. Beginning with the title track which begins with a Fusion feel and eventually transitions into a more traditional Jazz sound. All Over Again is a vocal track written and sang by Esperanza Spalding that is so good it should be given air play. Clarke has a few solo tracks with just him and a Victor Bailey acoustic bass and these are the reasons I say he raises the bar. Two of them are a Blues laiden solo where you can feel the emotion and intensity conveyed by Clarke through his instrument. Another is a Flemingo influenced solo where Clarke explodes toward the end with a frenzy of slaps and chords that had me wondering if I just heard what I thought I did, it was incredible. Another incredible track is just him and the drummer doing an electrifying Funk aruption. Another track which is a more traditional Jazz offering but features Clarke's ability with a bow. The entire album is just a spectacular showcase of Stanley Clarke's virtuoso mastering of the bass guitar. And you can't forget to mention the talented musicians on this album who supports him in this outstanding piece of work. The Toys of Men should become Clarke's new definitive album unseating School Days from i'ts many decades on that throne.
The Toys of Men Poster
It has been somewhat of a frustrating run for fans of uber-bassist Stanley Clarke's legendary, genre-defining '70s work. After establishing himself as the world's premier four-string jazz-rock maestro with his work in Return to Forever and solo albums such as School Days, Clarke altered his focus by churning out middling commercial funk pop and soundtracks. They diluted his status as a talented musician whose fleet-fingered style and elaborate picking technique influenced a generation of bass players. But he's back now, with an anti-war-propelled set that is an encouraging and convincing return to form. The opening 11-minute, six-part suite, featuring fiery fiddle from the intriguingly named Mads Tolling, sounds like prime-era Mahavishnu Orchestra, and also highlights Clarke's frantic yet precise staccato technique on his instrument. It alone is worth the price of this disc, but the remaining dozen tracks emphasize Clarke's intentions to prove he's never lost his touch. He shifts between acoustic and electric settings, inserting stark solo and duo interludes that spotlight his prodigious talent between longer work-outs with his tight group. "Bad Asses," where he is accompanied only by drums, sizzles with thumb-numbing, lightning-hot funk and "Chateauvallon 1972 (Dedicated to Tony Williams)" finds Clarke in fusion territory again working a sizzling, dramatic slow riff as powerful and vital as anything he has done in decades. Long-time admirers now have an album that indisputably proves Stanley Clarke hasn't lost a step as the foremost bass player of his generation. --Hal HorowitzJazz Music CDs
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