Customer Reviews

1, 2, To the Bass

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a Smooth Jazz album from Stanley Clarke. It does start off with a Rap/Bass duo with Q-Tip;but after that it's pretty much Smooth Jazz/Funk. It's hard to give a Stanley Clarke album a poor rating,because Stanley is such a phenomenal Musician and one of the best Bass Players in the world. Stanley does(as usual)lay down some amazing Bass lines,but they are far and few between on this album. There is one track "Touch",which is a Live track with Stanley playing Acoustic Bass,and it's great;but I don't know why it's on this album.

I really feel that Stanley's die-hard Fans would be overjoyed to hear him do a Jazz/Rock Fusion album again like "School Days" or "Journey To Love", or even an album like the band He and Lenny White put together in 1999 "VERTU" which is a great album! I don't know why Stanley made an album like this or what he's trying to do? Stanley has so much Creative Talent;and to make a "POP" CD is definitely in my opinion taking a step backward.

It's "MUSIC" that's most important; not Money and Marketing.

As a longtime Stanley fan, and a person who has seen him live more than a dozen times, I found this uninspired effort to be most disappointing.

Stanley seems to have forgotten the importance an interesting rhythm section plays in carrying the melody. The drum and bass rhythms on these tunes are repetitive and unimaginative to the point of being hypnotic. Although Stanley plays well (of course) his solos lack the type of phrasing that would indicate his intention to convey a feeling with his playing, rather than blurting out some really fast stuff. No lagging behind the beat; no laying out for a measure; just the blurt!

If you listen to some of his earlier work, the drum work is noteworthy, and the bass rhythms are worthy of imitation. Such is not the case on this effort. The fact that he plays the bottom on very few songs is indicative that he has forgotten what the bass' primary function is. Other bass virtuosos, namely Marcus Miller, seem to be able to pull off both aspects of playing without causing the other to suffer. Whether its lack of motivation, or creativity, Stan seems to have lost his way, and we are the poorer for it! I regret having heard this effort. It saddens me.

Next time, Stanley, work from the inside, out.

I'm a big fan of Stanley Clark and I believe in telling it like it is. If you like watered down radio ready garbage then this is the cd for you. If you like something that really shows Stanley's talent don't waste your cash on this one. I'll be selling mine real soon.

...is the general vibe this record presents. Even my co-worker sitting next to me upon hearing the first few tracks verbalized my thoughts on this recording. Coincidence? I don't think so. It sounds more like Stanley recorded this out of obligation to his fans(and perhaps his record company?) rather than being genuinely inspired to make music. Nothing sticks out on this record in my opinion. Truth is this record fairly reeks of smooth jazzism and bedroom music, something I'm sure old school Stanley fans would find disdainful. No edge, no excitement, and no grit. And that's about it folks. But one word does come to mind when describing 1,2 to the Bass...conservative.

Think twice before buying this album if you are interested mostly in listening to stanley's chops. Even the standard virtuoso bass masturabation song, "bout the bass" is quite subdued compared to his older material. in fact, it's probably one of the weaker tracks here - the solo's sound rather empty and the electronic drums become annoying after 7 minutes.

This album, as you can kinda tell from the cover, is going for a much more laid back, easy-listening, smooth jazz approach, which i found to grow tiresome after a while. If you're looking for for the fun and energetic stanley, you'll probably get that feeling too.

That said, i also think it's a good idea for stanley to have gone in another direction, though i can't help wishing that there was perhaps one fusion song for old times sake. Anyway, this has some great songs nonetheless, in particular "hair", "touch". i was skeptical when i heard that one song had oprah winfrey reading a poem, but it's actually well done and very moving (no seriously, no pun intended). There's also some terrible moments, namely "where's the love". it took much will power to listen through that entire song hoping to hear a solo, only to be disappointed.

Especially when it comes to a genuis like Stanley. He can arrange and perform any type of music that comes into his mind. His depth of creativity you cannot anticipate, comprehend or duplicate....so the option is to truly appreciate. This CD clearly demonstrates Stanley's progression into this particular music era, and he blends all of his experience in the "movie" world into this CD. Many of the songs have a certain "fullness" with strings that perhaps I just never noticed before.

1, 2 is really cool, "Where is the Love" is well done (although I didn't care much for the female vocals) "Anna" (She loves the good life) is so AWESOME I can't stop playing this one, "Bout the Bass" is the show, so you know in certain terms that he's still the man. All of the other material on this CD is exceptional and he utilizes some of the best musicians throughout. But what would you expect from greatness...other than the BEST!

This was worth the wait!

For me one of the best songs was 1 2 the BASS and Just Cruzin' the rest you can forget it!!! Stanley, my friend you are so talented, what did you do before recording this CD?

I never understand people who want an artist to do a record like one they did 20 years ago. Stanley could have made another fusion record and sold about 50 copies.

"1, 2, To The Bass" is a selection of tracks that reflect the diversity and range of Stanley Clarke, as he is TODAY!!!

If you still live in the 70's, bell bottoms, velvet paintings and all, first you should check your calendar, and then you probably shouldn't get this record. But if you are a person who can embrace a diverse range of music that reflects the modern musical culture(and then some), plus some blazing bass licks, this is the disc is one should check out.

When I first heard this album it was loaned to me by a local musican/DJ who had a weekend funk/jazz show on the University Of Maine's WMED radio station. It had just came out then and basically I heard bits and pieces of it in the car,doing chores around the house,etc. I really wasn't that tuned into it in a serious way. One thing about this album is,considering the relatively long wait between this and Clarke's previous album could be something of a commentary on Stanley Clarke himself:this album is definately geared towards musician's musicians. The instrumentation is adventurous,exciting and moody all at the same time was well as being extremely fluid technically. But what's new with Stanley right? All the same one thing hasn't changed either;he doesn't often emphasize his abilities as a composer in the same manner as his equally prolific musical partner George Duke. Therefore Clarke often shines more in that respect in interpreting the songs of others as well as bringing in guests to emphasize that. Here he delivers the best of both worlds. It's musically diverse for sure but the important thing is that it represents his instrumental ability of his own while also revealing his gift for melodic playing by utilizing singers and cover material. Stanley injects a healthy dose of "jazz-hop" style into the title song featuring rap scatting courtesy of Q-Tip. There are echoes of some of Miles Davis's comeback work in the early 80's in the lumbering funk style here too. Many of the songs such as "Simply Said","Los Caballos" and "Just Cruzin'",the latter an homage to Wes Montgomery and George Benson all showcase Clarke in slick midtempo settings often accompanied by an orchestra as well as his band. "Where Is The Love" is an excellent vocal number with Glenn Lewis and Groove Theory's Amel Larrieux's trading off on Donny Hathaway and Roberta Flack's parts on the song and interjected a lot of gospel influenced vocal theatrics as well. One of the best songs here,and also it's funkiest is "'Bout The Bass",a bass extravaganza for Stanley featuring a production that is not only Timbaland/Neptunes friendly but also bearing that influence out with Shango/Grand Mixer DS.T style 80's hip-hop effects:it pulls together two eras of hip-hop based funk. Stanley himself shows up on vocals on a cover of Graham Central Station's "Hair" and does a fine job on both fronts,maintaing in every measurable way the hard groove of the original. "Touch",another bass oriented song recorded live is long and a tad showoffsky in places,focusing on Stanley's abilities as a fusion jazz musician and improvisational player. "I Shall Be Moved" is a very ambitious piece and another highlite. Over a longing jam fron Stanley set to Maya Angelou's poetry,as well as being narrated by Oprah Winfrey in an appropriately intense style it's a fine not to the spiritually Afrocentric jazz/funk/poetry musical scene of the 70's that spawned Gil Scott Heron,The Last Poets and the entire hip-hop movement later on. It's not the sort of thing you'd expect to hear during this millenium even on a jazz album and comes as a very exciting surprise. Because of the fact Stanley recorded very infrequently in the 90's this album was a bit too abruptly released to be a huge success and in fact is a bit long winded and eclectic even for Stanley Clarke. But when viewed in a context it's certainly one of his most successfully ambitious and thought provoking albums both musically and,where applicable lyrically.

This is an exceptional album from Stanley Clarke, and was well worth waiting for. It's certainly more diverse than his previous material, but it all hangs together very well.

Stanley's bass playing is outstanding on many of the tracks. The acoustic bass solo (Touch) is particularly good. I saw him perform it live at the Barbican in London (as part of the Vertu tour) and this was every bit as awesome. Sheer genius ....

Other favourites are 1 2 to the bass, Where Is the love, Anna, Los Caballos and "I shall not be moved". Watch out for the excellent string arrangements on tracks like Los Caballos.