Search - Andy Smith :: Document II

Great mix of funk, old school hip-hop and soul

10/20/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I recently got the first document from a friend and soon after it was the only cd in my player. When I found out document 2 was coming out I had to get it. Just like the original document album, this mixes well known (black sheep -the choice is yours) and totally unheard of tracks (serge bainsbourgh?? with french vocals) seamlessly. The tempo stays pretty consistent throughout so if you can handle the changes in music from song to song, for example Jack Jones (a vocalist from the 60's kinda like Tom Jones) singing about how he'll never fall in love again with a great beat behind it to Eric B & Rakim and the beat stays pretty much the same. I'm not a big fan of current day hip hop (Jay Z, 50 cent, etc.) but can get into the old stuff if presented correctly....this is the way for me. He used more hip hop in this album than in the original but it's all good. If you want to try something different and cool, try it!"

Andy Smith shows there's life after mixing for Portishead..

fetish_2000 | U.K. | 08/19/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There are a million different 'Eclectic' Dj Mix albums out there, with some truly exceptional efforts that stand head and shoulders above the rest. Grandmaster Flash's "The Official Adventures of...", 2 Many Dj's "As heard on radio soulwax", Peanut Butter Wolf's "Jukebox 45", Coldcuts seminal "70 Minutes of madness". So listeners are spoilt for choice, so for another Eclectic Dj Mix album to deserve recognition, it's going to truly have its work cut out for it. Does this album deserve your time or hard earned??...



Dj Andy Smith is the official warm-up Dj for the band "Portishead's" Live shows, but seeing as Portishead haven't made a new album since 1997/98, he sure as hell won't be able to use the portishead name to sell his album, so he going to have to sell it on his own merits. And thankfully this is a truly distinguished effort on his part.



"Kate Bush's - The Man with the Child in His Eyes", opens the album beautifully, to open with an Kate's Bush's blend of Exuberant Alternative Pop/rock is a risky choice of sure, but Kate's soaring vocals negate any worries about her inclusion here. Before leading superbly into "Craig G's" beat Heavy Hip-Hop of "Welcome to the game", which (apart from the excellent genre transition), is a head Noddingly agreeable track, and demonstrates Andy Smith keen ear for a Groove, and ability to surprise with his track selection.



"Three Dog Night's - I Can Hear you Calling" is a one of those tremendous Soul-Shouter Funk orientated 45', that immediately catch the ear, even if you've never heard the track before. And it's here, that you realise that Andy Smith has a sincere love for old Soul / Funk grooves, which feature heavily throughout the album. "DJ Bomb Jack's" hard stepping Hip-Hop instrumental "Big Beat No.3" reminds us that Funk/Soul aren't the only hip swinging grooves here. But the real surprise is that he chooses to follow this excellent track with 'Serge Gainsbourg's" sleazy lounge-Jazz "Requiem Pour un C", unexpected...yes, but it's so confidently dropped in the mix, that you don't even realise until a minute or two into the track, thats it's been mixed in.



This isn't the first time I've encountered the "Quantic Soul Orchestra" in a Dj mix album, and the reason why, is probably because of the fact they sure know how to put together a stylishly Upbeat Soul-referencing track, which would a highlight in any mix, but even that pales in comparison with the golden Age rap brilliance of "Ultramagnetic MC's - Give The Drummer Some" a track or two later, and let there be no doubt, that this is one of the most astonishing tracks of freewheeling and Witty East coast Rap ever made, stands out like a diamond in the rough, on a album littered with musical highlights.....Andy Smith drops this track safe in the knowledge, that nobody is going to hear this track without making a appreciative comment.



"Barbara Acklin's " 60's Northern Soul track "Am I The same Girl?" reintroduces Andy Smiths love of Soulful Groove, and she wears her Smooth & Sensual singer/songwriter credentials very well, and this is the track that Andy Smith (masterfully) chooses to finish the mix out with, but thats not before Andy Drops "Eric B & Rakim's" streetsmart raps' in "No Omega", confident, self-aggrandising, & a sense of bravado....not since 'Al Capone' had a strugglehold on the underworld, these two (Eric & Rakim) mix complex wordplay with peerless technique on the turntables (in their day), they were the blueprint for "Jay-Z's" extravagant vocal boasts, and with good reason to....but this tracks a killer.



If you've had your fill of Dj eclectic mix albums of the last year or so, or you've never been sold on the idea of Funk / Soul / Old-skool Hip-Hop mixed with obscure musical nuggets, then (as much as it pains me to say it) this probably won't convince you. And no amount of Varied tracklistings, Crowd Favourties and exceptional mixing is going to change your preception. but if your still in the market for such an album, and your looking at possibly purchasing this, then I implore you to do so, I have no reservation in saying that this is an exceptional effort, and easily rubs shoulders with the similar Dj albums that i mention at the beginning of the review. If fact if you do enjoy this a much as I did. Then you should probably try sourcing the (considerably) more expensive & harder to find first volume in this tremendous series of albums."