Customer Reviews

All Kooked Out

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I love Galactic and the jazz/funk revival that they've led along with the Greyboy Allstars and Medeski Martin & Wood. This is without a doubt the best album to come out of that genre that I have ever heard. Stanton Moore, Charlie Hunter and Skerik have composed one of the most dynamic and fun jazz albums in recent memory. This is not the sound of a stuffy jazz club; this is the sound of a sweaty dance floor where the audience is cheering wildly and the alcohol is flowing freely. Simply put, the album's amazing. If you like any of the above bands or older Headhunters-type jazz fusion, buy this right now. You will not take it out of your cd player for months.

I endorse the comments from mlaurence of Gloucester and also add that if you enjoy the music of Charlie Hunter, especially his album Ready Set Shango, then go for this set from Stanton Moore which includes Hunter on 8 string guitar. You can just feel the live energy in this music and the musicianship from all the guys is just supreme. The video clip and extra information on this enhanced CD are an added bonus.

Sorry for the somewhat cryptic title. I may not have listened to this album enough to really appreciate it. I think I also have somewhat different standards than most of the reviewers. I have been listening to soul jazz bands since the mid-sixties. My comparisons are to some of the great Blue Note albums or to albums like Sparkplug by Melvin Sparks or some of Grant Green's great stuff. By those standards most of the music that I have heard lately doesn't really cut it. (Although to be fair, the recent releases by Mr. Sparks haven't seemed that good either.) But this album has some damn fine music on it. Mr. Moore is a wonderful funk and jazz drummer; always on the beat and always filling it in behind the band. I would love to see him live. I have this theory that God is a drummer (Jesus is definetly a tenor player). God as a combination of Moore, Omar Hakim, Jack DeJohnette and Elvin Jones. But I digress. Skerik is great on this album. Very soulful with a nice fat tenor sound and ready and able to take the harmony outside at the drop of a beat. This is the best I have heard from Charlie Hunter although I still think he has a ways to go before he is as good as Sparks, Upchurch, or Green at their best. But I guess the really cool thing about this album for me is that the comparisons are somewhat irrelevant. While they love where the music has come from these guys are taking it to new places. At times on this album they get it all together (I love the collective jam towards the end of Blues for Ben). Even when they sound a little weak (I swear there is an organ player on the album although if there is he or she is uncredited so probably it is one of the guitarists doing something dumb electronically. In any case the organ sound is one of my problems with the album-it just isn't fat enough for this kind of music)they still sound much better than anything of this type I have heard of late. I guess in the final analysis if it makes you feel good and like you wanna dance in spite of being an old white guy than it's all good. If you love this kind of music I also recommend that you get Melvin Sparks'contribution to the Legends of Acid Jazz series.

I just got this album a couple of weeks ago and the first time I put it on, I was floored by the funky rhythms that fill this disc. Accompanied superbly by Charlie Hunter on the 8-string guitar and Skerrit on sax, Stanton Moore has definitely crafted one of the sickest albums around. In particular, track #3, Green Chimneys by Monk is a personal favorite on this album.

Stanton Moore pulled together regular pals Charlie Hunter and Skerik for most of the songs on All Kooked Out. Some songs have additional horn players, and two have neither Charlie Hunter nor Skerik. This is a fairly consistantly funky jaunt through the Stanton Moore/Skerik/Robert Walter/Charlie Hunter style. "Green Chimneys" is a slight disappointment, and the last three songs seem stuck on the end. Highlights includes the opener, "Kooks on Parade", "Blues For Ben" (with mile-wide swinging horns), "Nalgas" (which is one way of saying rear end in Spanish), and "Stanton Hits The Bottle" (silly but fun). If you like anything in the funk/jazzy/jam band minigenre, you'll like this CD.

This album strips groove and funk music down to its roots to produce the one of the best funk albums ever, and, indeed, one of the best recent albums in any genre. Stanton Moore's drumming is like a mix of Billy Marin, Idris Muhammed, and Zigaboo Modlestie all in one. Charlie Hunter's playing is dynamic, a duo album with him and Stanton would be appreciated. Skerik pushs the tunes to their outer limits with some adventurous soloing. It is particuarly cool to hear him jam with Ben Ellman from Galactic. Can't say enough good things about this album, it surpasses anything Galactic, Charlie Hunter, or MMW has put out. Anxiously awaiting the follow up...highly recommended.

This is one of the best albums I have ever owned. period. It boils down to obcenely talented musicians at their finest. After nearly a year and a half of owning this disc, it is still one of the most listened to in my collection of over 1,200 discs. If you don't own it you should, nay you must. Every song is a jewel. this is conteporary jazz at it's best.

this cd apidimises everything new orleans is. he is incredible with galactic and just as good on his own. go see him live. its amazing. by the way you can listen to the whole cd for free on the galactic home page.

Already a fan of Galactic, I decided to check out the solo work of Stanton Moore, the band's deservedly-respected drummer, who is a big part of their funky sound. After listening numerous times, I've found Stanton's debut to be less spacey and rock-influenced than Galactic's music, with more of a jazzy edge in harmony and in song style as well, and more traditional jazz combo instrumentation. What isn't different is Moore's uncanny drumming abilities--his fluid ability to almost speak, or at least use his percussion instruments in a lyrical, melodic way--while at the same time keeping locked in to a thumping, thick funk groove. I like this album better than Flyin' the Koop because it's more organic (it was recorded live and is mostly effects-free), and because I think it demonstrates some great improvisation and a fresh-feeling sound.

"Tchfunkta," the album's opener, is one of my faves, with a playful opening riff and some wicked sax playing. Skerik is a great collaborator with Moore--bringing lithe chops and a generally more jazzy sound than Ben Ellman of Galactic (who also guests on a few songs here), not to mention a great sense of humor--just listen to his sax/vocal solo on Monk's "Green Chimneys." Charlie Hunter brings his 8-string guitar on many of the album's cuts, which is both good and not so good. He's a great guitarist--it's so cool how his style puts bass and lead guitar in one, with an understated accompanying style, but the ability to take off on some inspired solos as well. However, his style and effect-laden sound is so distinctive that it kind of makes the songs sound more like Charlie Hunter songs, rather than Stanton Moore songs, whose name is on the album; a minor quibble. Elsewhere, NOLA guitarist Brian Seeger participates, adding a more traditional guitar sound, and even a somewhat of rock edge to "Stanton Hits the Bottle."

At its heart, though, this is an album about Moore, whose drumming never ceases to be restless, tight, and a fascinating listen. If you pay attention, you can really see just how much thought goes into his playing, and what a special musician he is. Sometimes, though, if you don't concentrate, it can sound a bit more like standard funky jazz that doesn't stand out too much.

Overall, I think the interplay between the album's musicians and Moore is more than worth the price of admission. Except for a few less amazing tracks, the songs are strong choices and the playing is loose but impeccable. Recommended to fans of funk and Galactic who aren't afraid of more of a jazz influence, and, conversely, to fans of jazz who dig a funky groove.

The overall preformance on this album is AMAZING. The group comes together as a skin tight unit knowing when to lay back and let the groove flow and when to step up and let the funk rip. All the individual preformances are equally stunning, Stanton, Charlie, and Skerik, not to mention the guests that also appear turn in musical preformances that only come around once every so often in a generation. The new wave of jazz is easily heard here, but will not be easily copied. Overall a remarkable album, a must have for any music fan.