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Album Review
by SashaS
6-6-2003
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| Junkie XL & killer guest-list of singers |
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Junkie XL: 'Radio JXL: A Broadcast From The Computer Hell Cabin'
(Roadrunner)
Junkie XL fights the WMDc syndrome
In his shorter-name form of JXL, Tom Holkenberg remixed Elvis Presley’s ‘A Little Less Conversation’, for a footballing ad originally, that became a huge hit and put Junkie XL on the world map. Some 10 months later we get his own album and it is – full of stars. And, rather good.
‘Radio JXL: A Broadcast From The Computer Hell Cabin’ is an album that features a list of well-known artists of diverse musical background, vintage and persuasion. JXL asked 20 people and all his first choices said – yes. Thus, we get a parade of artists as varied as Chuck D (of Public Enemy) and soul-legend Solomon Burke, Robert Smith (The Cure) and Peter Tosh (reggae giant), Dave Gahan (Depeche Mode) and Terry Hall (ex-The Specials), among many others…
The album works because it doesn’t force its guest vocalist to be anything else but themselves in a different musical setting. JXL is a lover of music – his professed influences include Gary Numan (helming ‘Angels’ here), Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ and Trevor Horn (producer of Art Of Noise, Grace Jones and Frankie Goes To Hollywood).
‘Intro3PM’ is a ‘jingle/trailer’ that is succeeded by Saffron (of Republica) who takes us on a ride with seriously cyber-funky ‘Crusher’ and later returns for ‘Spirits’ and ‘Beauty Never Fades’; Peter Tosh (co-founder of The Wailers with Bob Marley) gets to chill on a dance-up reggae tune ‘Don’t Wake Up Policeman’ with brill dub-touches. Revisit to the reggae, i.e. ska, with Terry Hall handling ‘Never Alone’, simply pales in comparison, probably due to the distant and detached delivery.
‘Reload’ with Dave Gahan and ‘Perfect Blue Sky’ with Robert Smith are almost homages to the men’s work although Gahan’s track is far superior to the Smith’s one. We then get the ‘golden tonsils’ of Solomon Burke marshalling some killer-grooviness on ‘Catch Up To My Step’. The greatest surprise on the album is guest appearance of Grant Nicholas of Feeder, a bloody average Brit-band by any account, who supplies a rather emo-cum-ballady vox on ‘Broken’.
Junkie XL has taken on WMDc (Weapons of Mass Destruction of Culture) and demonstrated that you can make a great album without selling your soul to the Profit God. Junkie (a reference to his studio addiction in spite of being based in Amsterdam) stubbornly follows the dictum of his XL appendage that stands for ‘Expending Lyrics’. Holkenborg does a fair bit for taste, perspicacity, mind-set and ‘arse-shaking’.
8/10
SashaS
6-6-2003
Junkie XL’s album ‘Radio JXL: A Broadcast From The Computer Hell Cabin’ is available now on Roadrunner
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