Customer Reviews

100 Degrees & Rising

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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I had never even heard of incognito until I was lured in by Amazon's "people who bought Count Basic bought"...well, you know. I have over 1,000 CD's and this is some of the best best music I own. Everyhing about this CD is great, especially the Joy Malcolm vocals. This woman can bring me to tears! I can't say enough about the inspired, yet hook-laden songwriting, the deep orchestration, and the pure musical joy of this group. If you like soulful, jazzy, upbeat music, this is a must!

From the huge sounding orchestral intro to "Where Did We Go Wrong" Jean Paul "Bluey" Maunick and company serve ample notice to the listening audience that this is no ordinary soul album. Bluey writes real songs and his gift for crafting gorgeous melodies, funky, Latin-flavored rhythms and setting it all to some of the most lush arrangements is proof that someone still makes music with a true passion for the art form, popular music is all the better for his mere existence. While current black pop wallows in the mire of cartoonish male crooners, tired & silly hoochie-fied female performers (can you say GLORIFIED PROSTITUTION?) and black radio programmers play it so safely that they actually think the garbage of the past few years (are ya'll listening Jill, Alicia, Angie et. all?) is "new soul"!
What a travesty! Here to save the day are true music makers with actual talent, that play instruments and arrange huge, gorgeous pieces of soul paradise! "100* And Rising" was released almost 7 years ago, but virtually nothing has come out since then to rival it. Every track here is flawless, the dance raver "Everyday" incorporates live, jaunty horns for a boundless, energetic feel, "Too Far Gone" is a REAL ballad sung by a man and woman with warm, accomplished voices that actually complement each other, not just two wannabees singing all over each other (hear that KeKe and Avant?) and the instrumental "After The Fall" has become a jazz classic that fairly drips with melodies and terrific band interplay, buliding from an understated guitar solo by Bluey to a great synth solo and trumpet figure that builds to a stunning crescendo, breathtaking!
Picking any one or two tracks from this is impossible, but my current fave, the spicy, Latin jazz/funk of "Barumba" just brings tears to my eyes, you'll play this one over and over and over.
If you don't own any Incognito, first of all, shame on you, secondly, stop what you're doing immediately and go buy "100* And Rising", it's money well spent. Besides, isn't it time you stepped up and heard some real music? The finer things in life aren't limited to wine, food and clothes, there's also Incognito!

In 1995 a bit of an earthquake occurred in the world of Incognito fans: the band's fourth album, "100 Degrees and Rising," was released...and Maysa Leak was nowhere to be found! As it turned out, Leak -the distinctive voice behind Incognito hits "Don't You Worry Bout a Thing" and "Deep Waters"- was off making her solo debut. But considering the group's artistic ascent began with Maysa's arrival, where would this leave Incognito? And would Maysa fare as well on her own? Luckily for fans, both projects panned out: Maysa's self-titled album was a gorgeously-crafted work of art that both capitalized on and branched out from the musical styles Incognito fans were accustomed to, and Bluey had enough top-notch songs onhand to make a fantastic Incognito record even in Leak's absence.

The most noticeable change is the arrangment style. While there are still horns aplenty, strings take more precedence on "100 Degrees," creating a lush and warmer sound than the group's previous work while still maintaining their authentic 70's sensibilities. A Stevie Wonder influence can be heard fairly clearly on the record, especially in the hardcore funk of "Roots (Back to a Way of Life)" and on the richly-chorded ballad "Too Far Gone." "Good Love" and "Spellbound and Speechless" offer up classic Cog grooves, while the disco-happy "I Hear Your Name" and the club-ready "Everyday" (the latter of which ended up being the album's significant hit) rank among Incognito's best dance numbers. We're also treated to four exceptionally strong instrumental cuts: the breezy, lite jazz "After the Fall"; the frenzied flamenco number "Jacob's Ladder"; the grooving and futuristic "Millenium," and the stunningly gorgeous Bossa Nova excursion "Barumba."

So how do the replacement vocalists measure up? Frankly, Pam Anderson does a respectable job of trying to fit into Maysa Leak's shoes; her fiery and soulful vibrato, sounding like energy itself, is a sharp contrast to Maysa's smoother stylings, so her presence on "Good Love," "Roots," and "Everyday" marks a bold new sound for Incognito. Unfortunately, a lesser vocalist by the name of Joy Malcolm is given more chances in the spotlight...and while she's a technically adept vocalist, hitting every note she goes for on the lush ballad "Where Did We Go Wrong" and creating pleasant enough moods on "Spellbound and Speechless" and the title track, her voice is lacking in color and individuality. Luckily, Incognito's always-superior production and arrangements manage to create memorable moments where her mediocre vocals couldn't.

In the end, the only shortcoming to be found with the record is the absence of Maysa Leak, something no one can be held responsible for from an artistic standpoint. That said, the warm and infectious "100 Degrees and Rising" showcases one of today's strongest jazz/soul outfits in top form.

For those of you who have not come across Incognito before, you are missing out! I first came across this band after the release of 'Tribes, Vibes and Scribes' (with the very catchy lightweight opening track 'Colibri'). This album is a few years and couple of releases later, and it's a wonderful mix of styles. It opens with rhythmic, plusating strings (REAL ones, mind you - another great thing about this band - why have canned-strings and synth-brass when you can have authentic instruments?), and just gets better and better. The soprano sax playout between two of the tracks is awesome, and the layering of sounds on the final track ('Jacob's Ladder') takes some beating - check out the stylish quick bass playing and growling Rhodes solo. If you're just starting out, try something earlier first (either 'Tribes, Vibes and Scribes' or the excellent 'Positivity') then, just when you think you've categorised their style, let this one hit you on full volume. Yeehaah!

We're in the mid 90's now. Smooth jazz is in our face and people all over are actually calling it that now. Jazz-funk has a new name too:acid jazz. And everyone from the Brand New Heavies to Jamiroquai are making a killing with it all over Europe and even America. While their music was aimed more at the club scene overall Incognito kept the funky train rolling throughout the 90's. During the decade the released a new album every year or two,toured frequently and made a name for themselves as an outfit with a lot of professional and musical integrity and consistancy. Also,they were'nt afraid to throw a good dose of adventure into their studio centric sound either. This album basically represents them when all of their influences,from mellow jazzy pop to their house disco/funk hybrids. Just about any kind of club you could imagine who liked funky music with a strong groove could easily find a place for this band not only on their dancefloors but blaring from the speakers in the backround of everything else. So they were just in a win/win situation on their end of things at this point

Maysa of course isn't present on this set so the vocals are dealt with from the equally powerful lead AND harmony vocies of Joy Malcolm and Pamela Anderson. The first three cuts "Where Did We Go Wrong","Good Love" and the title song are more spare,heavily arranged and orchestrated numbers-again the more Sade end of their sound. The opening percussion solo to "Roots (Back To A Way of Life)" let you know in ONE INSTANT your in for polyrhythmic "united funk" heaven-and from the ethnically conscious lyrics,the complexities of the vocal harmonies and the chomping rhythms that's what you get from start to finish!. "After The Fall" harkens back to Bluey's George Benson guitar stylings while "Everyday" is another of their jazz/house styled disco-funk jams,married of course to a terrific song. "Too Far Gone" is a wonderfully unique song-a semi acapella rendering of a Stevie Wonder/Manhattan Transfer type melody accompanied only by revered rhodes piano. "Spellbound And Speechless" and the uptempo "I Hear Your Name" are strong standouts too-both showcasing their great understanding of the pop-funk/soul angle of what they did with their strong melodies. The retro bossa nova (your average Brit funk club kid LOVED that stuff as I do) of "Barumba" features some great French dialog thrown in.

"Millenium" and "Time Has Come" mix it up a bit with some hip-hop/jazz styled "nu funk" of the type you'd hear on the final Miles Davis album Doo Bop. "Jacob's Ladder"...now if Incognito never made another album after this it would likely be their magnum opus. African dance polyrhythms,more jazz guitar from Bluey,lightening speed slap bass licks and that great psychedelic soul string orchestral thing of theirs all added into a potent EWF/Santana inspired instrumental. With everything put together this is not only a great contemporary funk release but also is assembled in the method of an old school funk album-a range of up and midtempo numbers,some vocal,others instrumentals and some with little more than vocal chance. It also shows the strong link that jazz and funk always had outside of one sprining from the other in the first place. That is musicians listening carefully,trying for a better sound every time and working off the others strenghs and weaknessess. Overall a highly recommended album for fans of Incognito and/or the whole acid jazz/funk revival in general.

I remember seeing the video for "One Hundred and Rising" back in the days and really liked it, and the album was nice. "Barumba" could be longer.
great vocals!

Incognito really brings it on this album, man. 9/13 tracks hits a classic with me!!!! This is really for the 21 & up crowd that appreciates REAL MUSIC, Period!!!!!!!! My 3 favorite tracks are:

#2-Good Love--Joy Malcolm rips this tune apart!!! Bluey makes this song classic!!!

#8-Spellbound and Speechless--What can I say??? A real R&B song with funky, upbeat sounds.

#11-Millennium--Bluey lays down a smooth jazz track with a litte sax on the side

I love this album to death!!! No disrespect to Maysa, a true vocalist by herself, but Joy Malcolm gives her a run for her money. But overall, a classic album indeed!!!!

This in my opinion is one of Incognito's best CD's. "Good Love," that song is just phenomenal! And though Maysa was absent from this album, Incognito didn't miss a beat...they kept on moving along with great vibes, horns, beats and other vocalist! Great album.

Well, I know what I like...and I don't like this...I LOVE IT !!!
The suave finesse of fusing R&B, funk,jazz,and Brazilian/Latin sounds from this British group is a testament that music like this is truly food for the heart, mind, and soul! I bought their 1992 release Positivity and I positively continue to enjoy it to this day...While, 100 and Rising may not have the same sound as their 92 release, times have to change, and they did for the better on this 1995 project. This is material for grown ups and those who appreciate the finer things in life (in a non-materialistic way)! You can NEVER mistake this sheer brilliant artistry for the bubble gum [stuff] out there right now infesting the pop airwaves! Younglings, take a lesson, this is REAL MUSIC !!!
For those who like this genre of music I also highly recommend another British funk-jazz fusing group called Matt Bianco that incorporates some of the hottest Latin sounds and influences around !!!

One of the first CD's I ever brought. And I'm glad I did. Bluey and company raised the standard of what soul music should be. I love "Millenium" and "I hear your name". Definetly not your average R&B group. Buy it and jam on!!