Search - Ashford & Simpson :: So So Satisfied

Sweet As Funk Can Be

Andre S. Grindle | Brewer Maine | 05/24/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In terms of their career as solo artists and performers this is very likely Ashford & Simpson's best and most realized album up until this point and one of the best overall albums they EVER made. The previous album Come As You Are is excellent,even a classic in it's way but this is something of a different matter. The difference comes in conception rather than sound which,actually is not all that different from that of it's predecessor. The band is the same and the songwriting definately comes from the same source but this is definately definately an album lengh exploration. The body of sound and rhythm of this album is extremely dynamic and allows a lot of different musical influences to flow in and out in various places. The two uptempo songs on this album "Tried,Tested And Found True" as well as "Over And Over" are as impressive as any A&S dance song ever was and the crafted within the arrangements is pumped up to another level,each having a few distinct parts in the way the best cinema-romantic funk can and that's more or less a terms I use to define the nature of this duo's uptempo material,even as produced for other artists. What really gets your attention here are the incredible midtempo tunes that dominate the rest of this recording. The bubbling bass riffs and the black noted,minor chorded arrangements on "Maybe I Can Find It" and the amazing title song both showcase how,very much like Smokey Robinson how many jazz type chords you'll find in Ashford & Simpson's music. I don't know the names of them but there are many notes and musical phrases I recognize from a lot of the jazz music of the period. The presense of Stuff,again are part of the reason for this but there's a lot in the writing as well. "Could'nt Get Enough" and "If You're Lying" both explore heavier elements of gospel and blues,such as Valeries dramatic piano riffs at the beginning of the former song and Nick's tortured vocal delivery on the latter. "It's You" and "Destiny" are the slower songs on the album and both have a dewey,dripping sound to them and a nice slow funk bottom to them that works up to the songs on top and around it. The bonus tracks are dance mixes of the albums two uptempo tunes for those in that frame of mind. Sometimes songwriting makes the album and all the songs here are close to extrodinary. But still that isn't the best part. The arrangements here really showcase the art of funk music,long thought of as a "down n dirty" genre of music mainly designed for dancing. But much like jazz it can be said that funk functions as music that works both the mind and body and between the arrangements,the grooves and the emotionally involved lyricism of the words and vocals this album will have everybody part of you involved in it in some kind of way."