Search - The Cinematic Orchestra :: Every Day

About 35 years too late.

MrAmeche | Charlottesville, VA USA | 08/21/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Admittedly, I thought "Motion" was an interesting little record, but a novelty at best. Real musicians playing electronic music constructed from old jazz samples. Fair enough. It sounded great driving around the city late at night, if nothing else. "Ascenseur pour l'echafaud" it was not, yet I could appreciate its mood and atmosphere.



"Every Day" is a sad and curious record, and one that will be painfully obvious to to anyone with a even a cursory knowledge of jazz music. "Mastermind" J. Swinscoe doesn't play any instruments here, so all that we're left to go on is his compositional talent. This consists of building ten-minute opuses around Jam-Band-101 bass vamps, milking credibility out of guest vocalists Fontella Bass and Roots Manuva, repeating the same two tired chords over and over, and considering the occasional odd time signature his idea of throwing the listener a "curveball." In short, nothing that hasn't been done before and with more taste and skill. Critics and reviewers love to point out that there are "real clarinets and horns" on the record, like it's some sort of musical revolution.



"If Coltrane was alive, young and contemporary... He would be doing stuff like this." Absolutely blasphemous. Are you out of your mind? Coltrane was about pushing the envelope, finding spiritual peace through music; his last records are some of the purest forms of artistic expression and integrity. J. Swinscoe is nothing short of a hack who would like you to believe that there is something inherently unique in having "live" jazz musicians play his music, like a modern-day Gil Evans. Funny, I thought this had been going on for over a century now.



Here are three records that Swinscoe doesn't want you to know about, because they're just a few examples of real musicians he shamelessly pulls from. Note the original release dates:



Alice Coltrane: "Ptah, The El Daud" (1970)

Herbie Hancock: "Sextant" (1973)

Pharoah Sanders: "Thembi" (1971)



Do yourself a favor and buy these exciting and unique records instead.



I give this record two stars for the musicians (who admirably made it through these sessions without falling asleep) and notably, Luke Flowers' drumming, that's it. What's perplexing is that Amon Tobin, one of the most incredible and brilliant electronic artists today, shares a place on Ninja Tune with this guy."

Sweet!

n8 | 06/14/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Not the standard, this album explores the uncrowded space of non-radio tunes. If you have an open mind toward music I recommend it. If you like listening to hip-hop that repeats on the radio every hour then you should look to the next Shakira album..."