Get to the roots of Red Snapper
Robby Raeford | Greensboro, NC United States | 10/27/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I got this album, after getting Making Bones and Our Aim Is To Satisfy Red Snapper. I love the acid jazz style of Red Snapper, and the fact that they use live bass and drums. But I was expecting bland techno from this, their first album, but I still had to give it a try. I was very pleasently surprised.One thing that Making Bones was noted for was its acid jazz roots. Many people argued this saying that "Just because they blow a couple of trombones doesn't make them acid jazz". While this is true, they obviosuly haven't heard Reeled And Skinned. This album shows off the time when Red Snapper was a jazz band, not a techno band. All of the songs have DEEP double bass, excellent drumming, and usually some type of brass. This will definatly satisfy many fans who liked the minor jazz elements in Making Bones. Most of the songs are instrumental, and MC Det had not yet joined the crew. Beth Orton privides vocals on two tracks. The song "In Deep" displays her talent as a singer/songwriter, showing off her strong and deep voice; it almost sounds like a song off of a James Bond movie. I would have loved some raps from MC Det to help fight off the usual repetitiveness of some instrumentals, but those instances are very rare. The songs remain fresh, throwing in new rhythms and instruments at every turn.Fans of Making Bones will immeadiatly recongnize the tune from The Sleepless as "Snapper" - but the song has been majorly changed. MC Det obviously does not appear, but Beth Orton does show up with some background vocals. There is some excellent layed back horn playing on this track.Every single track is excellent, and it would take too long to go into detail about each one. Lobster is a great way to finish the album, which is a long and beautiful track featuring flutes, horns, and wonderful bass. It is a great way to finish the album.This first cut by Red Snapper demonstrates their ability as a true acid jazz group. This was before they really discovered what electronic music was, and just about everything is a live instrument. If you need to convince someone that Red Snapper is truly acid jazz, play this album for them. Making Bones is merely a transfusion of electronic music and this style of music.I can't reccommend this one enough."
Track Listings (9) - Disc #1