Search - Rae & Christian :: Sleepwalking

A Breath of Fresh Air.

Andrew M. Schirmer | Seattle, WA USA | 04/08/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"While I am not famillar with "Northern Sulphuric Soul," I found Rae & Christian's sophomore effort to be a breath of fresh air in the world of tired, over-produced hip-hop. "Sleepwalking" has Rae & Christian showcasing a truly eclectic group of vocalists: The Congos, Tania Maria, Bobby Womack, The Pharcyde, and Kate Rodgers (check out Aim's "Cold Water Music" if you like her). However, the true beauty of this album lies in the music. "Sleepwalking" is flawlessly produced, and finds the Mancunian duo relying more on their own musicality than samples (only three are used). "Blazing The Crop" is one for the backyard barbecue, a refreshing summer instrumental. The Congos' vocals are a bit 'castrotti' for me, but I still enjoyed "Hold Us Down." Bobby Womack astounds in "Get A Life" and "Wake Up, Everybody" respectively. The blissful sax-infused trip-hop of "Not Just Anybody" caresses your ears, while Kate Rodgers soothes and seduces -- like a Singapore Sling on a hot day. "Ready To Roll" and "Trailing In The Wake" are two fine instrumentals in their own right, no less interesting than any of the vocalised songs. So why, you may be thinking, does this get three-and-a-half stars? Both tracks that feature the Pharcyde stand out like sore thumbs. I'm sorry, but this group (after changes in lineup -- no more FatLip!) can never live up to the standard set on classics like "Bizarre Ride II" and "Lacabincalifornia." They come off sounding old and tired. Rae & Christian do their best to rectify....but the end result is not so satisfactory. Tired of hip-hop? Pick up "Sleepwalking." 3.5 stars"

Soporific

E. A Solinas | 03/08/2001

(2 out of 5 stars)

"After their tremendous debut on Northern Sulphuric Soul and last year's absolutely slammin' Blazing the Crop dj set on Mixer, Rae & Christian's second studio release is a serious disappointment. There are some good beats and pieces, but the parts just don't add up. The hip hop tracks featuring Pharcyde just sort of meander without really going anywhere. In fact, after a few listenings they get monotonous. Which is inexcusable given the dope magic these guys have worked with the Jungle Brothers and Kriminul on their own and other Grand Central releases. The trip-hoppy downtempo tracks featuring Kate Rogers, Tania Maria and Siron also come up short. None of them are horrible, just nothing new there. The first Bobby Womack track isn't bad, and it's nice to hear him given the Rae & Christian treatment, but like so much of this album, the song just never takes off. This seems to be more and more of a problem with producers these days. They get an old-school legend like Bobby Womack or Roy Ayers (on Planet-e's new compilation The Good Good 2000 Black) into the studio and really don't know what to do with them except let them scat a few lyrics over some looped beats. But let's not be too harsh, the album isn't unlistenable, it's just not exciting and certainly not what you'd expect from the two producers who pioneered the Brit-Hop sound. Grand Central remains one of the most essential labels to emerge in the last decade and as long as they keep pumping out killer cuts like Aim's Ain't Got Time to Waste and Only Child's I've Got a Right, then Rae & Christian can be forgiven for sleepwalking through their sophomore effort."

Blazing the crop

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 06/03/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Rae and Christian suffer from some serious sophomore-slumpin' in "Sleepwalking." While their second studio release is not even close to bad -- actually it's fairly good -- it suffers from a lack of new ideas, and some Pharcyde songs that stick out like sore, bloody thumbs.



It opens with a swippy hip-hop intro, "Blazing the Crop," an entertaining little number with what sounds like panpipes. What follows is alternately satisfactory and hilarious, with everything from outrageously genteel falsettos to swooning trip-ballads featuring Kate Rogers and Tania Maria, as well as the trippy, smoldering "Trailing in the Wake."



Unfortunately, there are two songs by the Pharcyde that simply don't fit in with the smoother, mellower hip-hop. "Let It Go" and "It Ain't Nothing Like" meander aimlessly through mellow beats, sounding jagged and uncomfortable. Perhaps it would have been better back in the "Bizarre Ride II" era, but here they sound overworn. And the legendary Bobby Womack does a good job, but it feels like Rae and Christian weren't quite sure how to use his talents.



Rae and Christian broke some new ground with "Northern Sulphuric Soul," a delightful acid hip-hop album. There, they made new inroads and breathed some fresh life into the subgenre. But here, they feel like they are on autopilot... or even worse, out of inspiration.



Fortunately they do turn out some very good material, mostly the layered downtempo numbers, and the hilarious number with the Congos: "Like putting one foot right in front of the othah," in an intensely posh voice over some trippy hip-hop beats. And Rae and Christian duet well with the female singers on here, including the soaring finale with Siron.



Unfortunately, they forge no new territory with "Sleepwalking," and the album is burdened with some songs that should have been cut. Fortunately it redeems itself with some beautiful downtempo songs."