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| 4th Avenue Jones - Stereo : the evolution of hiprocksoul |
| Release: | Stereo : the evolution of hiprocksoul |
|  | | MyHHHdb | |
| Released: | 2005 [ Listen to HHH from this era on Spotify ] |
| Recordlabel: | Gotee Records |
| Info: | Their first release on the Gotee label out
March 29th, 2005.
1. Jenny - intro
2. Stereo
3. Fabulous dramatics
4. Unhappy birthday
5. Overloaded
6. Take me away
7. Sorry
8. Monumental continental - featuring Grits
9. Who's watching me?
10. Caesar
11. Why
12. Rush
13. It's over now |
| Rating: | Our users rated this release: 8.3 out of 10
(Number of votes: 13) Sign up or login to submit your vote |
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| | Review: | The title of the CD is pretty self descriptive – this disc
is a refreshing blend of hip hop & rock & soul, though it’s
a little light on the soul end of the combination.
Blippy synths, piccolo snares & New Power Generation
guitars provide the musical welcome to the cd after a
narrative from a girl named Jenny who gushes about how she
loved her first stereo - the narration about how music has
affected different interviewees is a theme that repeats
throughout the remainder of the cd as a bridge between
tracks.
4th Avenue Jones is fronted by Ahmad Jones - famous for his
mid '90s hit "Back in the Day" when he was only 18. Now
he's surrounded himself with female vocalist, Tena (who
does double-duty as Jone's wife), a funk-rock guitarist:
Timmy Shakes, violinist (yes you read that correctly!)
Gailybird, Al Parker on Bass and Derrick Calloway on Drums.
It’s very difficult to classify the style of music, but
comparison to Lenny Kravitz and Prince from NPG days
wouldn't be that far off; but then there is a distinct rap
element here that trashcans that comparison.
Ahmad’s vocals vary across the tracks from a shaky, excited
yet muted falsetto, to straight-up west coast rap, to r&b
singer.
“Fabulous Dramatics” opens with a deliciously glitchy synth
line over a hip-hop beat and some sing-song rap about exes &
what a shame it is when they can’t let go of a relationship.
It turns into a hard rocker that could use a return of the
glitch synth a couple more times. Later in the track, Tena
comes in with her own rap and sailing vocals to tell the ex
to lay off of her man. The positive repartee between the
double-Jones on this track is very refreshing, considering
modern hip-hop radio-play that features male and female
vocalists trading graphic descriptions of their sexual
prowess.
"Unhappy Birthday” begins with a lightly bit-crushed '80’s
Casio synth line. The theme is an apology of Ahmad to Tena.
The best section of this song comes with a nearly reggae
rap break over top of those slightly mangled Casio synth
tones. It’s just one of the delights that creep up in this
disc in unexpected places. No keyboard player is listed in
the credits and one assumes that it’s Gailybird’s violins
being processed through some kind of weird science, to
provide these blips and beeps.
“Overloaded” starts off with another seriously lo-fi lead
but evolves into a 120 bpm head bobber that includes one of
the disc’s more memorable lyrics:
I love you. You know my pain. When I get overloaded. Your
voice is my Novocaine When I get overloaded.” Everyone
needs this kind of a voice in their life.
“Take it Away” is a serious plea to God to remove us from
this mess. This is a showcase of the unique sound of 4thAJ:
Ahmad raps with intensity - Tena soars high above - Timmy
chucks in some throw down POD-proud power chords in the
chorus section, and we’ve got that piccolo snare popping
through as well. Sometimes we get comfy down here and
forget about the struggles that others go through. This
song is a reminder that it will be so much better above -
yeah God 'take me away'.
“Who’s Watching Me” features Tena's powerful pipes and
Shakes in his best Kravitz-with-his-kunch-kap-on guitar in
the chorus. Tena’s vocals really soar and this disc could
stand to include more of her out front.
The advance release CD has disclaimers that the mix on the
CD had not been finalized nor mastered, nor the final track
order, but there are no complaints here about the results on
the disc.
It’s going to be interesting to see how Gotee markets this
CD – which section it will be placed into: Rap, Rock,
Hip-Hop, or the 4th Avenue Jones bin? Whichever it is,
buyers will be treated to something unique. Scheduled to be
released on March 29, 2005 – be there.
Scott Lake March 19, 2005
**** of 5
tollbooth.org | | source: The Phantom Tollbooth, added: Jul 11, 2006 |  |
| Review: | This jumble of hip-hop, rock, and soul seem so odd, and
indeed this album at times sounds really strange. Kind of
like “One Night in Bangkok” from the 80’s, and at the same
time celestial like Tooth and Nail’s Aaron Sprinkle. Then
there are the rap influences of Pigeon John and Grits, who
both appear on the album.
This blend of styles and distinctive characteristics of
Ahmad Jones and company make this a positively amazing CD. I
particularly like the songs that feature Ahmad’s wife Tena
like “Who’s Watching Me” and “Unhappy Birthday”.
There is an in depth story behind the journey of founder
Ahmad Jones and how he has come to this point. Much of it is
familiar territory with hip-hop artists like L.A. Symphony
and many others who endured label woes, but perseverance and
faith have again paid off.
“Stereo” is a tastefully done project that uses the street
language of hip-hop in a positive way. At the same time the
rock and soul backdrop makes 4th Avenue Jones exciting and
easy to listen to.
- Ken W. | | source: AlphaOmegaNews.org, added: Jul 11, 2006 | |
| Review: | ‘And if you don’t know, now you know!’ Deze woorden van
Biggie waren nog nooit zo waar als tijdens Flevo 2005.
Immers, wie kende 4th Avenue Jones vóórdat ze het publiek
plat speelden daar in Liempde?
4th Avenue Jones (4th AJ) bestaat echter al lang, hebben
zelfs een tijdje op het grote Interscope Records gezeten.
Maar met het album Stereo: The Evolution Of Hiprocksoul is
dan eindelijk het grote publiek bereikt. Toen ik het album
voor het eerst hoorde was ik meteen enthousiast, terwijl ik
normaliter erg kritisch ben – zeker ten opzichte van
cross-over bandjes als deze. Een vergelijking met de Black
Eyed Peas (BEP) is snel gemaakt – immers kennen beide bands
een ulti-multi-culti samenstelling en een melting pot aan
stijlen – tóch zou je 4th AJ daar te kort mee doen.
4th
AJ is namelijk méér dan BEP. Muzikaal gezien ligt 4th AJ nét
iets meer tegen de rock kant aan dan BEP dat doet, wat de
sound iets meer authentiek doet overkomen, tekstueel is het
nét allemaal wat diepgaander, nét dat beetje meer ‘real’ dan
we kennen van BEP.
Goed, genoeg vergeleken nu. Het
album geeft ons naar verluidt –de titel! – de evolutie van
hiprocksoul. Die laatste term gebruiken ze om hun
muziekstijl mee aan te duiden, en het ís inderdaad zo divers
als de titel van het album ons wil doen geloven. Gitaar
riffs, scratches, raps, zang, drums en drumcomputers: 4th AJ
is dé cross over band bij uitstek! En dat hun muziek door
deze brede inslag bijkans iedereen weet te bekoren, dat
weten we sinds Flevo! Zoals een huis-reviewer van Flevo
opmerkte: “Stiekem hoop ik dat ze de nieuwe Violet Burning
zijn en dat we 4th Avenue Jones nu eens een paar jaar achter
elkaar geboekt krijgen.” Need I say more?
Frenzy
| | source: Frans Petersen, HebbeZ!-iDentity, added: Oct 09, 2006 | |
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