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Album Review
by A. Mahon
11-8-2003
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| T. Hall & Mushtaq: an hour of two lights |
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The Neptunes + L. Maffia + T. Hall & Mushtaq: 'Clones + First Lady + ... Two Lights'
(Arista + Independiente + Honest Jon's)
Different angles of urbanity
The Neptunes
‘The Neptunes Present… Clones’
(Star Trak/Arista)
When is a compilation not a compilation? When it is all-new? When it is a celebration? Or, when it is The Neptunes album ‘Present… Clones’. The boys, who otherwise work as N*E*R*D (they get credited on ‘Loser’, feat. Clipse), have roped in an impressive line-up of stars, from Busta Rhymes, Ludacris, Jay-Z, Nelly, Snoop Dogg, Dirt McGirt (Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s neo-incarnation), Kelis to Nas.
“The purpose of this record is we don’t want people to have to go buy fifteen different million albums when they want to hear our sound,” mastermind Pharrell Williams explained. “They could just go and buy one album.”
As understatements go, that’s a pretty good one. But, if you hurry you’ll get a limited edition with a DVD containing, 1. ‘Frontin’’ - Pharrell feat. Jay-Z (video), 2. ‘Hot Damn’ - Clipse feat. Ab-Liva, Pharrell & Rosco P. Coldchain (vid), 3. ‘Rock’n’Roll - Fam-Lay (vid) and 4. ‘The Eighth Planet’.
The truth is ‘The Neptunes Present... Clones’ is one essential release.
8/10
*
Lisa Maffia
‘First Lady’
(Independiente)
Lisa Maffia’s debut album is entitled after her standing within the troubled So Solid Crew but ‘First Lady’ falls short of establishing her at such a position in the UK’s packing order. The record is not that bad but the trouble is that half of it is more than ordinary. There are too many dubious ballads – ‘In Love’, ‘Life’ and ‘Always Be Your Angel’ – and too few tracks that give us the swaggering, party-attitude the band is known for.
When she gets down to her ‘roots’, it is a superb garage-pop power of ‘Super Freak’, ‘Night Crawler’ and stand-out track ‘So Solid Party’, as well as her maiden single, ‘All Over’, that was a sumptuous slice of craft. In places too derivative and she ain’t gonna take any sales from the Beyoncé’s crowd. And, way behind Dizzee’s splendiferous offering of few weeks ago. (Or the next album we review.)
7/10
*
Terry Hall & Mushtaq
‘The Hour Of Two Lights’
(Honest Jon’s)
Terry Hall, everyone’s favourite dead-pan singer with The Specials, has teamed up with a former member of musical radicals/pioneers of Brit-Asian fusion Fun-Da-Mental, Mushtaq (you should also check out for his solo effort, use Search to locate the review), to create an album that appears to be World Music but it is a way beyond it. ‘The Hours Of Two Lights’ features Polish Gypsies from East London, a blind Algerian rapper, 12-year-old Lebanese girl, Tunisia’s Abdul Latif Asili and Eva Katzler, plus Damon Albarn. (He’s their label owner.)
There is a political content naturally, with ‘Ten Eleven’, ‘A Gathering Storm’ and ‘They Gotta Stop Kicking My Dog Around’ but it is always handled with subtlety. The main strength of the recode lies in its brave musical vision. A new kind of UK’s Urban sound?
9/10
A. Mahon
11-8-2003
‘The Neptunes Present… Clones’ is released 18 August 2003 on Star Trak/Arista
Lisa Maffia’s disc ‘First Lady’ is available now on Independiente
Terry Hall & Mushtaq’s album ‘The Hour Of Two Lights’ is out now on Honest Jon’s
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