I bought NEW SCHOOL SCIENCE the other day(the 2x12''), and found
it...well, quite fun! It's not a proper "album" per se, with the
exception of course being the CD version. I decided not to properly
"review" it, as my copy is just a double EP, but I just thought I give
you my feelings on it.
First off, the cover artwork, comics on the back, and the writings in
general reminded me of Funkadelic's classic GLORYHALLASTUPID album from
way back! It's obvious who Pritchard/Middleton were influenced by, as
well as the artists who designed the cover. It's ok, a bit cheesy, but
still just a "fun" release.
'may the funk be with you', is a decent retro '80's affair, but it bores
the hell out of me. You have to do something in the middle, too! It's
great to hear the muted 808 kick, but through the entire track? No. I
will say the melody is from something familiar...Cherrelle? Cameo? Mary
Jane Girls? I don't know... It put a smile on my face, though :)
'one for m.a.w.'(obviously a hint for Masters At Work?) is a nice little
"sugarhill gang"-type of groove, and will probably work for most retro
dj's, but not for the home listener i'm afraid.
'solina' is a 11 minute space age superfunk diddly influenced by the
longer stuff by Parliament/Funkadelic, and is o.k., but I gotta listen to
it again before I slam it shut!
'air drums from outer bongolia', and '3000 fuckery'...total bollocks!
'dance of the naughty knights', completely funky!(sniff sniff...)
Still, there is "funk" in the tracks, no question about it. It just
doesn't live up to that feel of tracks like 'egypt, egypt', 'jam on it',
'atomic dog', 'professor x', 'my house on the nile', 'tour de france', and
MPLS funk a la Prince, Alexander O'Neal, Cherrelle, or the
incredible electrofunk of (read carefully) 'F-R-E-A-K -A- Z-O-I-D', the
ULTIMATE electro jam.
Anyone care to dub me what's left to hear from the CD? Enquiring minds
want to know...
Derek Jordan