COMPOSITE TRUTH

Mandrill

Jazz Rock/Fusion

4.00 | 13 ratings

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BrufordFreak

The band is kind of losing its Jazz-Rock Fusion edge, drifting more into the realms of R&B Funk and Hard Funk.

A1. "Hang Loose" (4:45) solid and, of course, excellent musicianship, but nothing new or super-engaging here. (8.75/10)

A2. "Fencewalk" (5:26) sounds like the funk-R&B of WAR (or vice-versa). Great if you're into hard funk that will become PARLIAMENT. (8.75/10)

A3. "Hagalo" (2:47) Latin Caribbe! Love the xylophone-led group vocal chant-enhanced salsa! (8.75/10)

A4. "Don't Mess with People" (3:43) Again, WAR is the band that this style of song immediately reminds one of. (8.66667/10)

B1. "Polk Street Carnival" (6:06) early SANTANA-like Caribbean carnival music! (8.75/10)

B2. "Golden Stone" (7:16) with its many different motifs this one sounds a lot like a CHICAGO song. (13.5/15)

B3. "Out with the Boys" (5:10) a beautiful ballad that harkens back to some folk roots--though with a definite nod to the Broadway musical. (9/10)

B4. "Moroccan Nights" (6:43) starts out with the pronunciation of the same melody line from the previous ballad, building with bass, rhythm guitar, percussion, and banked flutes before letting a single flute take off on its own in the third minute. Alto sax is next to solo as the music settles into a seductively hypnotic slow groove--sounding a bit like Marvin Gaye's What's Going On? Great song if rather simple. (Perhaps the boys were into some serious ganja during the making of this one.) (8.875/10)

Total Time 41:56

Not as deserving to be included in this Compendium meant for true Jazz-Rock Fusion.

88.28 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; a welcome collection of solid songs from a great band though not quite the sophisticated Jazz-Rock Fusion I was hoping for.

BrufordFreak | 4/5 | 2024-9-17

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