I love Neven Mrgan (as much as you can “love” someone you don’t know personally) but sometimes he is the reason that tumblr needs a Get-Off-My-Lawn-Button.
Here’s the thing with fusion jazz. Between 1968 and 1971, it was the greatest thing in music, a rare chimera that walked and talked. Then, things went bananas pretty quickly, and I’m talking rather bad bananas here. With every fusion band, you can be assured that if their first album is great (like Hendrix jamming with Miles! Wow!) albums two through fifty-five are basically seventy minutes of Peruvian pan flute.
Sheesh, obliterating basically the whole career of Weather Report, Return To Forever, several incarnations of The Headhunters and virtually every CTI Artist ever in one fell swoop would empty out my iTunes library pretty thoroughly. What should I listen to now? David Axelrod all day long? I don’t think so.
Not since Johnny Cash bumped into Rick Rubin have we been so excited about a comeback record. In what will surely be regarded as one of the year’s best albums, Gil Scott-Heron’s I’m New Here is a project that’s been four years in the making – ever since XL boss Richard Russell tracked him down at Rikers Island prison and offered to produce a new LP.
The result is an album that touches on many genres, from hip-hop and gospel to dubstep and blues. Above all, though, is the unmistakable sound of Gil Scott-Heron. His is a voice that suits age, be that on the feral blues of New York Is Killing Me or the redemptive, folk-flavoured title track (a cover of a Smog song, indie fans).
Apart from the obvious irony in the title (that guy was around when every current hip-hop wonder was just a wet stain on their father’s mattress) there are indeed some new sounds on this very blues-infused album and it doesn’t simply reiterate his past successes.
For those who haven’t heard about the man (shame on you), here’s the first part of a BBC documentary that gives a good overview of his life and his contribution to black music, especially Hip-Hop (which practically wouldn’t exist without him). Watch it and then go and find the other 5 parts on YouTube. It’s required music history.
And here is a more recent Interview (with renovated teeth no less), focusing on what he’s doing now:
