Inspired by a post from Dave
That second album was not nearly as raw as the first, with many hours of studio time available to Eric B., the tracks Follow the Leader, Microphone Fiend, Lyrics of Fury, and To the listeners all feature samples, but they also have plenty of keyboards, bass, and synths providing atmospheric soundscapes that add an incredible depth to the sound.
Their first album shocked the world with it's raw, sample laden, DJ style scratch mixes, the second record blasted them past the restrictions of the DJ form and, for better or worse, ushered in the producers era where we sit today (notwithstanding the incredible turntablists out there). For certain, 2 of my favorite Hip hop records of all time.
I'm not sure if musicians were hired to play the horn riff on To the Listeners, or if it is a processed sample, or synthetic horns, but I liked it from the minute I heard it. A few years later, I found out where it came from after a used record buy from the bowling-alley-sized vinyl nirvana in Saint Paul, MN, called Cheapo Records. Check out the track, and see if you can identify the lick. The original tune can be found in comments.
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nice, I added Eric B and Rakim to my collection a while back, that was after going too many years with out the record in my collection
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I need to get me more Mandrill albums & this song realy cooks. 2 thumbs up.
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Mandrill opened a concert at my college in the early '70s. (Herbie Hancock, maybe.)Nobody was expecting them, and it's fair to say nobody knew what hit them. Thanks for this blast of sugar, Cody.
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@ivy. Man, the world was just so different then. Bands were the thing for both Black and White artists. It is great we have the music to look back on, but do you think they're will ever be a resurgance? With music taken out of school's (Look what The Kashmere Stage Band did!) and the industry only interested in developing R&B front people, it looks like it might not happen. Can you tell,I'm in a bad mood. My company just got bought and I got about 2 more weeks in the music biz...
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Cody, this sucks majorly about your company. I have been in your shoes, man - for a long time I was in the magazine business, which is also headed inexorably down the dumper. I was lucky enough to segue into a business that I don't love nearly as much (financial services marketing), but one that helps me feed my family and my obsessions (music, if you hadn't noticed). Now is the time to take a deep breath, figure out what you do well that could translate to another business, and step away from the sinking ship. Maybe your new path involves distributing music in a new way, or maybe it uses the skills you've developed in a non-music way. In either case, you might be surprised (and happily so) at how this event, which right now feels like a blow, could actually end up being a positive turning point in your life. Sorry to get all cheerleader on you, but it ain't all gloom and doom.
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You will do good, man. It will take some time to get used to the new situation though.
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I will say, that pushing all the crap off my desk and starting over is pretty appealing right now. Thanks for the pep up boys.
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Sorry to hear the news Cody. I gotta ride with Ivy in saying that the creator never closes a door without opening a window (err...however the saying goes).
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It is a good thing I live on the first floor. Thanks Troy.
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That's unfortunate about your job situation. Fortunately with the interweb, people all over are recreating their careers, it just sometimes doesn't pay off for a while. As for the thing about bands being for everybody, when I was reading all the stuff I could get my hands on about James Brown after he died, they talked about how radically disco changed the field for performers like James. How people used to go out and dance to love bands, and now they were going out to dance to records. That struck me as the kind of obvious thing I missed when I read about the history of music. People like J.B. had a challenge, but still managed to do what they did well, and maybe he had to tour internationally more. Catch what I'm saying, he was down for awhile, but he came back and stayed a legend to his death (with some embarrassing divergences). You'll do alright. Nice post btw.
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You are on point contra, about bands/artists having to adapt to survive. It is the music BUSINESS (don't I know it) after all. From an artistic standpoint though, I just lament the death of the BLACK band. I attribute some of that to racism, some of it to customer tastes, and a lot of it to major record companies and the US government. I love the incredible diversity we have in the US, and the different foods, sounds , and people that make that up. It is not suitable however to globalization and international corporations. Some of the regional vibe of music has been lost and the fact that music is being removed from schools so kids can score better on stupid tests, hurts, IMO, not only the kid's, but the culture at large. If you turned on a TV in the 50's or 60's, to any given variety show, you might actually see jazz, for instance, in primetime. You will not see that today. We're dumbing down our kids and sucking the life out of the culture of our country with stupid, actually devious programs, like "No Child Left Behind." We're helping to create consumers instead of inspiring creators. Sometimes, I can live with it. When I'm in a bad mood, like right now, it makes me sick.
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I couldn't agree more, and I lament with you on the demise of the Black band. I think music and arts being removed from schools is the main reason for the rise of hip hop, because if you remove people's outlets to create, they invent (things like sampling) as a way to express themselves. But aside from the Roots, there aren't very many black bands out there. Perhaps this is the accessibility of Pro Tools and the like, that people are able to use the computer as their instrument (which isn't a bad thing), but it negates the power and community that comes from experiencing music live. I've had transcendental experiences at concerts and listening to albums, but they are both totally different experiences. I think were all just so marketed to thru such narrow channels now, that it's so much harder to be surprised by anything new. I don't know if I'm making my point, I'm just saying that I think it's much easier for people to tailor themselves (career wise, artistically, etc) into a specific group, and I think this is the death of innovation.
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Right on, Contra. I've got no problem with the bedroom rockers and hip hoppers, but that sense of communitywill be missed. Thanks for bouncing back with your thoughts.