1960

Soul-Junk | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 4, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sounds Familyre
• ASIN: B002CVQ82E
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #510,676 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two years in the making, and well worth the wait..., August 6, 2009

By 

Mike Roy "M.Roy" (Raleigh, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 1960 (Audio CD)

For anyone who enjoys the rock-n-roll side of the Soul-Junk oeuvre, this album is what you've been waiting for. (Those who primarily enjoy the more beat-heavy, hip-hoppy side of his catalog might be a bit let down).

I really don't even know where to start. It's a massive undertaking (as most Soul-Junk records are) ... the lyric for the album is the entirety of Psalm 119 - nothing added, nothing left out... which in and of itself is one of the truly amazing things about the record, and about Glen Galaxy. He can sing/rap/vocalize a static piece of written material and make it sound his own and make it fit perfectly with the music he has composed to go with it. The way he breaks up phrases not only adds interest, but also seems to amplify the content and expound upon the subject matter without commentary.

The music for this album is, for me, Soul-Junk at its finest. Guitar driven, drum heavy, angular, melodic, harsh at times, beautiful at times... it's quintessential... what you might hope to get from culling a "best of" in mix-tape fashion. Daniel Smith (and everyone involved) has done a phenomenal job fleshing these compositions out. Whoever had the idea to bring the cello into the mix wins the prize for single best arrangement idea. The cello features prominently on several tracks, and atmospherically on most. The contrast between the harshness of the drums/distorted guitar with the silky smoothness of the cello is one of the most satisfying elements of the album. It never sounds pretentious, but it adds a definite air of highbrow sophistication to the otherwise almost primal attack of tempo and texture. The other expertly executed balancing act on the record is that of the dissonant and the harmonious. All Soul-Junk work has dabbled in the un-melodic. Galaxy's lineage in experimental/noise/free jazz, etc. has always been an integral part of his aesthetic. This heritage has, at times, led to some almost unlistenable passages (for me anyway) but it's a huge part of what make's his work what it is. I think the only other album to approach this level of balance was the 1942 EP, which was also produced by Smith. I'm not sure if it's Smith that brings the more melodic side of Galaxy to the forefront, or if Galaxy saves up this material for when he gets to work with Smith. Whatever the case, their collaboration has led to the some of the strongest parts of the Soul-Junk catalog.

At two years in the making, it's clear that they wanted to make sure to get everything sounding exactly as intended. The drums are prominent in a fantastic way. The mix is, dare I say it, perfect. (And what a difficult project to mix!) Smith has outdone himself with this massive project. Bombastic wouldn't be hyperbole for this album, but neither would subtle. Everything in its right place, this really may be the Soul-Junk magnum opus, but I hope not!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The one I stopped waiting for - Wow!, April 24, 2011

By 

Kyle - a fellow citizen - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 1960 (Audio CD)

I've been a fan since the first Trumans Water show at the old Casbah. When Glen left I followed his work with Soul Junk from the low-fi punk, through the free noise jams and into the space hop. Although I did not like every track on every release, I always found something that kept me coming back, something inspiring - the kind of feeling that comes through when you listen to work by artists who are themselves inspired.

This kept me happy enough to continue to collect, but I always hoped that someday they would get back to the guitar orientated songs that I liked best. I hoped, but I never expected it would happen. I thought they would probably go the way of Blonde Redhead and end up with some reserved totally electronic, atmospheric sound - passable, but makes you feel a little "ho hum". This is why it took me so long to get around to "1960" - Boy what a surprise! Every song in this collection is good or great, and there are 22 of them! How did they pull this off? Did Glen trip over a box of un-used songs that he had stored in his addict or what? Beautiful, Powerful, Inspirational, What I really want to say is: Thank You Soul Junk!