all rights reserved, all wrongs reversed, 1995.
143 5:49 Vaz Deferenz
142 8:05 Icct Hedral (Phillip Glass Orchestration)
117 4:31 Pancake Lizard
The latest from RDJ is a mixed bag, kind of a sandwich. A so-what and a crunchy throwaway surrounded by two real gems. Definitely maintaining the feel of the ICBYD sessions, the 4 songs are worth snatching up, but don’t rush out to buy it just to get the RDJ/Phillip Glass collaboration.
The title track is a fun, punchy little number with a real street carnival kind of feel. James brings the steel drums from Mookid and Alberto Balsam along, but they’re used here to get you up and jumpin’ in the streets. The cutesy melody laid on top makes you smile and bounce frenetically. There’s a great extended Rephlex style drum break near the end, which reemphasizes how lovely the unique melodic elements are once they’re feathered back in.
Vaz Deferenz. One song. One painful title. One sequencer. At least 6 dissonant rhythmic looping patterns. Three different time signatures. Four different tempos. Muchos noise. Richard James standing off to the side smoking and nodding approvingly, with a grin that says "Slag Off". He says he cares, but he don’t be fooled.
The Icct Hedral reworking is nice and everything, but all collaboration has been stripped out, and this version is accurately named as an "Orchestration". No electronics that I could detect, and I gotta tell you, I miss that cheetah screeching which really built the tension into the original version. I guess RDJ just hung out in the orchestra pit on this one, probably laying down under the timpani drums. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice, but it may be too nice. The only added orchestral elements that you really notice are the contra-bass trombone fat bottom hits and the little flute and piccolo trills in the refrain segment. Good fodder for getting Aphex played on the classical show at your local college station.
I really love the closer, Pancake Lizard. It’s a slow marcher, with a very royal and regal flavor. You can almost see the crushed velvet clad king of modern techno, nose elevated at the proper angle, leading the procession, much to the crowd’s approval. The entire piece is framed by some very staccato violin work and when Richard weaves some thick funk so tightly around these strings that you almost need a sonic microscope to peel it off, it’s a thing of beauty. You can’t dance to this one, you can’t chill to it, but I guarantee, you’ll like it. It left me feeling good and very optimistic, which is nice these days.
all rights reserved, all wrongs reversed, 1995.
Jeff Davis