[CD of the Week- Incubus "Live At Lollapalooza 2003"]
Usually I am not impressed by live CD's. They either sound like they were buffed up by producers after they were recorded in order to correct mistakes or bring nothing new to the originals that are available on the original studio albums. Incubus' "Lollapalooza" CD is one of the few that has impressed me. Although some songs stick verbatim to thier studio recordings thier are surprisingly good jams throughout the CD which include covers of Lionel Richie's "Hello" and Shudder To Think's "X-French Tee Shirt". Although Brandon Boyd's voice goes a bit too nasal at times, he proves that he is certainly not a singer whose vocals are a mere product of ProTools and sounds very good throughout the CD. The same goes for the rest of Incubus who sound great jamming and adding new parts to old songs(especially new bassist Ben Kenney of The Roots fame). If you want to pick up this CD it's an online only deal and can be ordered on Incubusbootlegs.com. It also includes a brand new song titled "Pistola" which sounds very good and gives us a good idea of what's to come February 10th when thier new CD is released.Grade- B+
[CD of the Week- Bubba Sparxxx "Deliverance"]
[CD of the Week- Outkast "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below"]
In 2003 Rap/Hip-Hop radio has been terribly dull, even worse than when Cash Money and Bad Boy Records ruled it. Plagued with nothing more than tailored made party anthems "Right Thurr","Shake Ya Tailfeather","Never Scared","Get Low", etc. it's been about all money and no art. Cue Outkast to return and shake things up a bit with a double disc that's as daring as it is creative. The first half is Big Boi's "Speakerboxxx", which is a continuation of Outkast's brilliant "Stankonia". The second half is Andre3000's "The Love Below", which is kicker and possibly the thing that will disappoint loyal Outkast fans and radio listeners who will both be turned off by the CD featuring almost zero guests and more crooning with less rapping. It's hard to say which is better because, although they are titled as Outkast, they are very different CDs just with the same moniker. "Speakerboxxx" is a pulse-pounding, funky, electronic affair that only goes stale when guests such as Lil Jon and The Eastside Boyz appear on the awful "Last Call". While "The Love Below" is a journey into the soul-funk territory that was dominated by Prince almost 20 years ago. "Speakerboxxx" is much more easy to swallow and a bit more enjoyable while "The Love Below" is not an album that you'll be able to fully appreciate with just a few listens, it will have to grow on you before it can be appreciated. Both CDs have great beats, Big Boi's mixing funk with techno and Dre's mixing funky with jazz and are both good in thier own right. It does feel as if both CDs are missing something, that being thier counterparts and it can't be said that this is another "Stankonia". But in a year of less-than-stellar CDs this certainly ranks as one of the best and hopefully will cause a wake up in Hip-hop/Rap to be more creative. In any sense these CDs are certainly worth your time and should be heard by everyone that has a keen ear for creative, innovative music. Grades- Speakerboxxx- B+, Love Below- B+, Albums- B+
