Back To Black

"Back To Black" – Compilation ranging from funk, to soul jazz, to dub, to jazz, to lo-fi field recordings, to spoken word pieces. Apparently this was for a museum exhibit in London. They all have similar themes with topics of living in the ghetto, violence, racial beatings, etc. Lyrics are powerful and the music is quite nice with every song giving you something to groove to. Some songs are classics and others are more unknown. Definitely worth checking out. Fcc clean, although some of the language is harsh; noted where I heard it.
My Picks: 1, 5, 6, 9, 11
Katie P. 11/16/05

1)Slow and lowdown funkiness. Wah-wah guitar and heavy bass along with laid back beat and organ/keyboard noodlings. Nice soulful male vocals.
2)Laid back midtempo with a bit of a reggae beat that chugs along. Male vocals have some nice reverb. Weird cover, but great song nonetheless. Powerful lyrics.
3)Very lo-fi drum and children's group chanting/singing in a different language. Simple and nice. Faster midtempo.
4)Jazzy piano and upright bass with brushed drums. Laid back and cool with a swinging ¾ time. Instrumental.
5)Faster midtempo yet laid back and cool funky groover. Solid bass and organ beat with nice horn accents. Infectious beat. Male group vocals on top.
6)Lowdown and funky. Hard start/stop giving it a tough feel. Keyboards a plenty along with heavy bass and horn accents. Female vocals with male backups.
7)Smooth and soulful (but in a good way). Midtempo with solid beat and full orchestration. Nice male vocals on top.
8)Soul jazz with a midtempo beat. Features keyboard and horns along with a solid rhythm section. Male vocals with powerful lyrics.
9)Slow and sparse at the beginning with echoey guitar sounds. Male spoken vocals that does not pull punches about the situation in Africa (although the track is USA). Wow! NOTE: It does use the N-word and says “black bitches” so be aware.
10)Lo-fi. Kid recounting a story and then the drums come in. Recounts a gang fight.
11)Midtempo with bluesy/soul guitar, simple beat, and female spoken vocals on top. Ooo, sexy lyrics but also kind of funny. Flute comes in. Then female spoken vocals again (2nd poem). Fun.
12)Solid midtempo soul jazz beat. Male vocals. Nice funky bass and rhythm guitar. Angry story about trying to return a can of peas and getting beat up for it. Does say “god damn” a few times.
13)Fades in with solid lowdown beat. Heavy bass and keyboards here and there. Plenty of echo effect and reggae guitar. as the title suggests, plenty of dub. Instrumental.