Coldcut - Philosophy (1993)@flac

COLDCUT

Coldcut are DJs Matt Black and Jonathon More. Matt is an ex-computer programmer and biochemist, and Jon was an art teacher and silversmith. Both have roots in the London DJ scene, and first met in December 1986 in a record shop.
'Say Kids, What Time Is It?' kicked off the UK DJ sampling scene, the release itself being heavily sampled by others, including MARRS on 'Pump Up The Volume'.
In 1988 'Doctor in The House', featuring Yazz, hit the charts. Yazz went on to have the biggest-selling 12-inch of that year with 'The Only Way Is Up', produced by Coldcut.
'People Hold On' reached number 11 in the charts, featuring Lisa Stansfield on vocals, and another star was born. As with Yazz, Coldcut then went on to produce her first solo release, 'This Is The Right Time'. You know the rest.
Among a host of other credits are an amusing collaboration with The Fall, and remixes for acts as diverse as INXS, Blondie, The Eurythmics and The Orb, plus work for TV and radio.



REVIEW

Shades of Steely Dan, Sade, Herb Alpert, Henry Mancini, and a cast of thousands are built onto backbeats paying respect to Blue Note Jazz and Reggae influences. The whole is threaded through with an undertow of the wackiness that characterises Coldcut's earlier output. Matt and Jon have uncovered yet another viable vocalist in Janis Alexander. Whether she will follow in the footsteps of Lisa Stansfield to ultra-meganess remains to be seen.
Philosophy opens with an easy jazz interlude in which some of the sample ornaments seem a little gratuitous. (I later found out that this is because they used to support a vocal melody now removed). Four lazy swingy songs follow: 'Chocolate Box' is a simple tune based around a four-chord sequence descending in semitone intervals, cleverly arranged to hold the listener's attention. 'Pearls Before Swine' is a very fine tune penned by Janis. Understated would be an understatement when describing 'Is This What We're Living For'. 'Leaving Home' is cool, with nice vibes, sax and bv's. Very, very easy listening.

The mood is broken by an obvious attempt at commerciality, called 'Dreamer', which was the most recent single. Following that is 'Peace And Love', with a gospel arrangement befitting such a title.

The album gets back on course with the pleasant 'Kind Of Natural', which fades all too quickly, just as you're getting into the bass and organ work. A cool jazz piece, 'Angel Heart', follows, with an insinuating 6/8 feel.
Unquestionably the major track on the album is a reworking of the classic 'Autumn Leaves'. This is distinguished by a lavish yet restrained, original live string arrangement (more about the derivation of this later). I loved the helicopter sound! (soundonsound.com)




The duo's disastrous major-label debut was worry-free acid jazz made even more palatable by vocalists Ade and China's canned, predictable delivery. The album did produce a minor legend in Mixmaster Morris's remix of "Autumn Leaves". (AMG)




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01. Philosophy [3:06]
02. Chocolate Box [5:43]
03. Pearls Before Swine [5:50]
04. What We're Living For [4:38]
05. Leaving Home [4:22]
06. Dreamer (Ecu mix) [6:24]
07. Peace & Love [5:22]
08. Kinda Natural [5:14]
09. Angel Heart [5:35]
10. Autumn Leaves [5:51]
11. Sign [6:14]
12. Fat Bloke [3:13]
13. Dreamer (Crazy Swing Mix) [3:53]
14. Bare Leaves [4:13]




Vocals - Janis Alexander
Organ - Paul Rabiger (tracks: 6, 8, 9)
Piano - Paul Rabiger (tracks: 2, 3, 10, 14)

Producer - Coldcut
Mixed By - Coldcut (tracks: 1 to 11, 14) , Jeremy Allom (tracks: 1, 5 to 7, 10) , Paul Rabiger (tracks: 2 to 4, 8, 9, 13, 14)



Label: BMG
Released: 1993
Catalogue: 74321164262




Codec: Flac
Compression Level: 5
Quality: High


CD-rip by alekow (EAC and Flac)
Covers Included (400dpi)







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