Dragon Ball Z Uncensored

[My Head Hurts 90]

Toni, Toni, Tone - Sons of Soul

Before I begin I believe it is necessary to acknowledge that this record starts with Ice Cube telling us to (New Jack) swing on his nuts. Ok, then.

All of these tracks sound like they could've been on Bust-A-Groove, which is not a knock at all because that game kicks ass (Hamm 4 lyfe). This music is somehow white and corny as fuck while also being about and featuring awesome black men, in part because they're trying to combine like every musical idea from the past 80 years. This also results in some really bizarre, disjointed parts being incorporated into whatever sound they're going for, like the breakdown in the middle of "My Ex-Girlfriend", an otherwise pleasant song, that features what sounds like a baby singing in reverse while some guy ha-bum-bum-bums a baseline underneath.

Fortunately, the hodgepodge works more often than not in TTT's favor even if all the elements aren't right. "Leavin'" is a really good example of this. It begins by relying heavily on the lamest sounding guitar riffs, but the vocals are so god damn excellent that when the guitar comes back in on the chorus I'm already feeling too good to care.

"Tony's in the Wrong Key" is a welcome attempt to pick up the pace from all the slow sexin' in the middle, but any momentum is pretty much stopped by some odd Jazzamatazz shit on "Fun". Although I also think "Anniversary" is really good, the album is just too god damn long. The songs on the second half of this record might be just as good as the first, but everyone that's listening to this album as their primary activity is pretty much spent by then.

However, the length of the album suggests that it might actually work better as extremely overqualified background music for working, dancing, or fucking, and really, isn't that what an R&B album is for in the first place? I think Ice Cube's nuts would agree.

Recommend? - Sure.

[My Head Hurts 90]

My pick for next round is Man Man - Rabbit Habits.

[My Head Hurts 90]

Mohsen Namjoo - Toranj

A bunch of good musicians flipping the fuck out. The rhythm section in particular is really skilled at fashioning something catchy that complements all the insane time signatures and singing on the album. Even if you don't like the music, the album is thoroughly enjoyable just for ride it takes you on.

A kind of Iranian Hawkwind or War, I guess, the band starts with "Toranj", a 15/4 (I think) trip into space before the singer goes nuts and starts shouting into the ether. This, as you will learn, is one of the tamer efforts on the album, especially when compared with the 200 BPM folk (?) song "Talki Nakonad" and the excellent groove that is "Dar Miane Jan".

The songs that have a stronger blues influence are probably my least favorite (Del Norvah & Jah Boraz). They don't mesh well with the jams or the singer's strengths and are generally unpleasant. I didn't like Vava Leyli, but that's probably because I need my precious 12 tone scale to like music. I guess in retrospect I didn't like the middle too much with the exception of the xylophone craziness on "Tarkem Ke..."

Still, the band's energy and willingness to experiment never leaves you bored for too long, and at the very least you'll be curious to hear what's coming next. A fun record.

Recommend: ham oot rahBAR AYYYYYYYAD (yes)

Track tier list

Dar Miane Jan, Toranj
Talkhi Nakonad, Tarkem Ke..., Ro Sar Beneh
Zolf
Del Mirvad, Vava Leyli, Jorah Baz

[ALDP]

I'll try to post my two reviews tonight. My next submission is Lifes Rich Pageant by R.E.M. I'll upload it when I've listened to the version I just downloaded and I'm sure it isn't fucked up in some way.

[ALDP]

I tried the uploader with a zip (it wouldn't upload a folder) but I don't know if it worked.

[Mike Dunn]

I thought your next pick was John Prine?

[Mike Dunn]

Or is the REM album your pick for the month after John Prine?

[ALDP]

I forgot I had made a pick. I can download a 320 version of John Prine (S/T) and upload it if we want to make some rules here.

[Mike Dunn]

Which would you prefer to be your pick? I don't have any major problem with you changing it if you want to.

[Mike Dunn]

Mohsen Namjoo - Toranj

This album is a doozy! I struggle to describe it because it has so much going on. Mohsen Namjoo mashes up traditional Persian instruments, vocals, lyrics and arrangements with jazz fusion, prog rock, 12 bar blues, disco and metal. Every song tackles a different Western style, which ends up being both a strength and a crutch for the album. The variety is nice and makes the album feel like an adventure, but I'd classify several of the songs as misfires, and some that aren't so bad on their own still feel out of place within the framework of the album.

I have to admit that when Namjoo first started singing that it was too much for my fragile Western ears to handle and I worried that I'd never be able to complete the album, but I've listened to it 4 times now and have come to appreciate his dynamic vocal range and intense delivery. I have no idea what the fuck he's saying but he knows how to belt out a tune.

Toranj starts out strong. The opening title track has a siiiick bass groove and is the most impressive showing from Namjoo's rhythm section. The beats hit hard despite the odd time signature. "Ro Sar Beneh" is an equally strong showing for the lead section, as layered vocals build over hypnotically strummed acoustic guitars. The hook is catchy, the harmonies are pretty, and the vocal runs are tight. These first two tracks are, in my opinion, the strongest on the album.

The third track, "Talkhi Nakonad" is where I feel like the album starts to come off the rails. I was excited when it started off with the traditional Persian instruments, but then it kicks into this super weird mixture of synthetic orchestra hits, chug-chug guitars and tribal drums. Everything is really unevenly mixed. The bass is completely buried, as is the drumkit, to the point where I think it might be a drum machine, which is weird and disappointing considering Namjoo's drummer is dope. Overall listening to the song is a confounding experience and I can't say I'd like to repeat it.

From here Namjoo gets into some sonic territory which, while not bad per se, doesn't really stand out in the same way that the first few tracks do. "Vava Leyli" and "Tarsam Ke" are sort of middling and forgettable, "Del Miravad" is literally "Spirit in the Sky" and "Jorah-Baz" just sounds like brown people copying white people blues music, which is my least favorite white people genre appropriation.

Luckily the album picks up steam again and finishes strong with the punchy, disco-tinged "Dar Miane Jan (Vang Vang)" and the dark, brooding ballad "Zolf". "Dar Miane Jan" is the first song on the album after the first track where the rhythm section really gets to shine. I would have liked to have heard more drums like those on "Toranj" and "Dar Miane Jan" at other points in the album, but I understand why Namjoo would want to switch it up stylistically so much from track to track. I think in writing this type of music he's making a statement about the integration of Western and Eastern culture and how it can be synthesized into something which is pleasing to both cultures and beautiful in its own unique way. Or maybe I'm just a white person projecting.

Toranj probably won't make its way into my rotation, but I'm glad to have listened to it. It was an interesting experience to say the least.

2.5/5

[ALDP]

I'll go with R.E.M. My streak of insufferable mumbly asshole singers marches on.

[MADali]

I enjoyed both of your observations on Namjoo's album. It was interesting to see a completely outside perspective.

I wasn't so worried about listeners not understanding what Namjoo was singing, because even I don't understand what he's singing. All his lyrics are old Persian poetry (like Rumi & Hafez, who are from the 10th and 11 century I think) so the farsi is difficult to understand.

However, Mohsen does sort of slip a strange reference in all this poetry. In "Ro Sar Beneh" around the minute mark, he starts singing using a very Iranian traditional vocal style, but uses lyrics from...The Doors and sings in a weird English. I listened to this song multiple times before I even realized he was singing in English in those parts.

[MADali]

So you guys uploading your albums somewhere or should i just download them myself. I like to put them in my mp3 player and listen to the offline (like an out of touch faggot).

[MADali]

My recommendation for my next album is,
Family - Music in a Doll's House (1968)

"Family" were never a successful band and in their third album, they shifted from psychedelic to country, and then they started to suck.

But their debut is, I think, underrated. If you do enjoy the album, then you should listen to their song "The Weaver's Answer" from their second album. I couldn't recommend that album, because while I think that song is their BEST song, the album itself isn't that strong.

So, my recommendation is their debut album, but as a bonus, listen to "The Weaver's Answer" if you can.

[MADali]

ALDP, if you uploaded it via zip, it seems that crap didn't work.

So I don't know, should we ftp it up, use drop box, or let anyone find whatever method they feel like listening to it?

[My Head Hurts 90]

It is nice to have them on the website, but not absolutely necessary. You can check out my shit here:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRHKFNHqNaNBSrJNs7WxoUzFN3V6J2cjE


Man Man probably won't be new to ALDP or Dunn, but oh well.

[Mike Dunn]

I've heard of Man Man but never listened to an entire album.

I have MP3s of the Brand New album. I can upload it to the FTP but I don't have the password.

[ALDP]

I'M SHIT

Sons of Soul
Tony Toni Tone'
1993

Length: 1:09:25

This album is so good that I don't know what to say about it. The band is amazing. The singers are angelic but still use a line like "blow me like a saxophone." Ha ha, yeah right, if she actually did that, you would be grievously injured! The ballads are a little boring because they're slower but on the whole, this album doesn't feel like it's over an hour long at all. On an album with infinity million hooks, the best one is where he says "I know I swore I wouldn't tell my... frieeeeeeeee-eeeeeeeeends"

3/3

~<3~

Toranj
Mohsen Namjoo
2007

I like this album because it's prog rock. I can't comment on the lyrics, which is a real plus for a prog rock group. The singer reminds me a lot of the guy from Family, who MADali just posted about. There are lots of moments of pure cheese, with Dire Straits vibes jerking off in the shadows, but that's what prog rock is for. I want to smoke opium with these guys and talk to them about 80s Jethro Tull albums. Right now I'm listening to this album on DXM and I'm pretty sure he used some English quotations about a gypsy woman and how you should light his fire. This has to be MADali's favorite band.

I don't read anyone's reviews before posting mine, so I'm hoping somebody namedrops the fucking riff in Talkhi Nakonad, because it's so... ELEMENTAL.

By which I mean it's been in a bunch of other songs.

3/3

[ALDP]

Del Miravad is the one with the riff from Spirit in the Sky (Thanks Mike Dunn), Talkhi Nakonad is the one where the aliens speak human language.

This album is admirably demented, but I wonder how heavily my enjoyment rests on having to judge the vocals by their sound with no regard to their lyrical content.

[Mike Dunn]

Are we reviewing in the same order as round 1? I.e.
1. ALDP
2. Brett
3. Mike Dunn
4. TL
5. Madali?


And now that we've started round 2, does anyone else want to get in on this action?