Search - Luscious Jackson :: Natural Ingredients

Perfect blend of hip hop and pop

Mark Janovec | Hudson, WI United States | 03/29/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD, along with the Manny EP, make up the more hip-hop sounding releases from the Luscious Jackson catalog. While their last two albums (Fever In Fever Out and Electric Honey) are great CDs in their own right, they never quite captured this wonderful blend of hip-hop and pop again. They took a more direct route to pop after this. This is where I started and it's a good place for new fans to start at well. All the Ingredients are there (forgive the pun) to show you all facets of this underappreciated band. They managed to tread the hip-hop waters without losing their sense of melody and their appreciation for how music has to compliment the lyrics (and not just serve as background). But they also practiced pop-flavored songwriting without sacrificing the edge and immediacy of the lyrics. Rewind to the Manny EP for more hip-hop. Fast forward to Fever In Fever Out and Electric Honey for a smoother pop sound (Naked Eye, anyone?).Too bad Luscious Jackson is no longer around. They left a void that no one else has managed to fill."

The Fabulously Easy Disco Divas...

winkingtiger | Oakland, CA | 11/16/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"N.Y. -based Luscious Jackson are one of my all-time favorite groups, hopefully I do them justice! This is their first full-length, following the lo-fi but brilliant ''In Search Of Manny" Mini-album.It's one of their most popular, although I recommend any of their four releases. Sadly, they disbanded in 2000...



LJ is unique in that they blend so many styles so seamlessly, 70's-style funk, soul, hip-hop, pop, country, 60's-style rock/psychedelia, folk, you-name-it, they've heard it and they incorporate it. Yet their influences are not obvious and there's no blatant 'borrowing' of riffs like you sometimes see. Almost all the songs have intense, funky grooves...yet a lot of the time this album seems very relaxed and laid back. Yes, it's hard to pin down!



Opening with the ominous funk of 'City Song', the album maintains this sort of spacey, funky, rockin' tone until the final, dub-influenced 'LP Retreat' (an ode to vinyl). I love the interplay between Jill Cunniff's 'strong' melodic singing and Gabrielle Glaser's sung/spoken 'rapping'. You can always tell who's who, that's for sure! This is also the paragraph to mention Kate Schellenbach's stellar drumming. She's truly great, it's hard to create a distinctive style on the drums, but she does it! When most 'funk'-oriented groups would use a drum machine, LJ goes the opposite way...



And then there's the lyrics: brilliant, witty, totally understated. IMHO, Luscious Jackson have the best 'feminist' lyrics of any group, ever! Not that I'm a rabid fan or anything! It's just that Glaser and Cunniff are so articulate, to the point, never preachy, always witty. They only got better on subsequent albums. I'd say 'Ladyfingers' on their final album 'Electric Honey' is the best feminist anthem ever, but I AM only a man! :) Cunniff did say once that their music was for 'smart girls and quiet boys'...if you like progessive pop/rock/funk with a large dose of melodicism, that includes you, too! ;oD"

A perfect mellow album

Suttercupp | Indianapolis | 03/07/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you want to mellow out after a stressful day at work, now you're in luck. This album hits all the right chords when it comes to relaxing and just becoming one with the mellow vibe of calmness. Something you should add to your CD collection, poste haste."