Customer Reviews

Beneath the Surface

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Incognito's "Beneath the Surface" is a wonderful set of smooth/acid jazz at its best. Maysa returns on this effort after being away on the "100 Degree and Rising" set and it's a welcomed return. Her vocals range from strong (Out of the Storm), to tender (Shades of Blue, Misunderstood), to sensual (All that You Want Me to Be). This effort showcases what a wonderful vocalist Maysa is and how talented Bluey is in bringing the music and the voice together. This disc, along with "100 Degrees and Rising" and "No Time Like the Future," rotate between being #1 on my personal playlist. I have NEVER been disappointed by an Incognito CD, and this one is definitely one of their best.

Do you know what makes most songs? For me, it's the horn section, but I'm a sax player. I'm supposed to lean toward horns. In reality, what really drives the song is the drummer. Any song is defined by what the drummer does. And every drummer that Bluey gets for Incognito is masterful at 1) keeping the time and 2) maintaining the flow of the song. It's not about solos but about delivery. And the drummer on this wonderful CD (I'm writing this without the CD in front of me) is fabulous.

And in the context of this CD, the whole package is fabulous. From the opening to the closer, this CD will keep you in a particularly happy groove. Favorites: Chris Ballin singing on "Labour of Love" and "Living Against The River". The guy has such range and emotion; why haven't we heard more from him?? Of course, my favorite Maysa song would be "Misunderstood" with a very poignant sax solo in the middle. And I would be remiss to not mention the incredibly performed "She Wears Black" with a stunning drum solo at the end behind all the horns. Outstanding!!!

Get this CD and drive a few hundred miles on the groove. This is one of Bluey's funkiest offerings and one of my favorite CDs.

I bought this on the strength of the reviews, but I'm not happy. The bass is dominant throughout the entire cd, sometimes even pushing vocals to the background. I know some people really like a strong bass mix, but if you like more balance, you won't like this.

Oh man,I REALLY wanted to give this album the 5-star rating because from listening to the opening instrumental jam to the closing instrumental (track 12),one might surely find Beneath The Surface to be a true Incognito masterwork. However, the U.S. version I bought contains two bonus tracks that, even though were interesting enough to listen to, just didn't fit at all within the context of the album. It is THAT version of the album for which I'm giving the 4-star rating.

That said, the songs contained therein are some of the best written you'll find of any Incognito album. The music is smooth and seductive thanks to group leader Maunick's greater emphasis on live instrumentation this time around. One only has to listen to the RealAudio samples to get the picture. It also helps to have the vocal talents of Maysa Leak make a welcome return, demonstrating on several tracks why many fans consider her to be the real shining star of Incognito.

So if any of you happen to come across the European version of this album that was rumored not to have the two nice yet totally unnecessary bonus tracks on it, then for all intents and purposes SNATCH IT UP! Otherwise, feel content with the U.S. version. Either way, you can't go wrong. It is a very well-executed project that demands immediate and repeated listening.

"BENEATH THE SURFACE" may be only 2nd or equal to "POSITIVITY!" I think the whole CD is great from Instrumentals to the vocals (Maysa, Imani and Chris Ballin). This CD is definately worth the buy. If I named my favorite tracks on this review, I would have to type in about 10 of the tracks so check it out, you will not be dissappointed! Good to see MAYSA back after she left to do her solo project!

This is an Ok album in Incognito discography though not their best. Why do I rate it at 2-stars if it is an Ok music? Because I tend to beleive that we should not only listen to music but also try to understand it. Poor sound engineering can hardly allow to enjoy the spectrum of small bits of sound that add greatly to overall impression and invlovment. And the sound quality of this CD is awfull not to say more. It is flat, with no details and lacking life. It is not first time I noticed that Incognito releases are not mastered very well while their great music is all about soul and detail.
So, good music, bad sound...

This is definitely one of Incognito's strongst offerings.For those not fortunate enough to have checked out this band,a must have!From the rousing "Solar Fire" opening to "Sunchild", a smoker!
I had the pleasure of seeing them live in Cleveland about 5 years ago and have been waiting for thier return ever since!A must have for Incognito purists!!!.

I would do a quick review of each song. Anywho, it's all about having melody with Incognito, and also being versatile in more than one genre of music. It's so hard to narrow this compilation down to one favorite. But in the end, it would have to be "Fountain Of Life." This has some cool strings. Harminization is synchronized with the instruments, lyrics, & vocals all intertwining with one another. Other melodic numbers include "Solar Fire," which disappointed me because of a 2-minute entirety, "Labour Of Love," with its surprisingly uptempo break, "Living Against The River," with its lyrics and dark backdrop when Ballin's singing the verses, "She Wears Black," with a nice, acoustic break, and "Sunchild", a bonus track, that sounds remarkably like Rick Braun. "Dark Side Of The Cog" was what the title implied, yet I believe it was a sneaky transition from "Out Of The Storm." I thought these two songs were just one very long song. But the only thing I didn't like was "All That You Want Me To Be," which has a sort of hip-hop beat. It wasn't my style. But this album as a whole is definately a must-have... for anybody! Not just jazz fans. Please get "Beneath The Surface," for your own benefit, no one else's. This is too good to be overlooked.

This is one group that knows how to kick! I think that they have a rare combination of great instrumentalists and vocalists. If you want to groove, kick back , or just plain chill out. This is the group that can do it for you!

As talented an outfit as Incognito is I have one main issue with their music. Could never figure out of they were a smooth jazz oriented funk band or vice versa. Their priorities never seemed to make that all that clear. Their less prolific contemporaries Sade were always able to put their twin influences of jazz and funk together into a fully formed and distinctive hybrid. In Incognito's case it certainly wasn't for lack of talent. Up until the late 90's Incognito had released excellent albums such as 100 Degrees & Rising and Tribes Vibes & Scribes that were very clearly in the orchestral jazz-funk vein. Marking the return of Maysa Leak,equally as unique and creative and asset to Incognito as Bluey himself this album also showcases a band that seems to be in something of a musical holding pattern.

Incognito do what they do so well that sometimes it does all bleed together. And that's what happens with this album overall. Very much caught up in the decades interesting habit of filling up as much space of the compact disc format as possible this album has the distinction of having a few too many similar sounding songs. It's not really at the point of filler. Because that opens up the possibility of change. Songs such as "Labor Of Love","Misunderstood","Living Against The Rover" and "A Shade Of Blue" have that spare,chordally moody sound that this band was so famous for. But there's a strong formula that is beginning to take over. And as wonderful as the compositions are and as poetically mature the lyrics are,the songs are starting to sound somewhat alike. As usual there are a couple songs that show them for the true talents they are. "Solar Fire" shows their rhythmic funk sense at full power where "Dark Side Of The Cog" showcases their musical advancement. It begins and ends as a slippery electronic jazz-funk song between a a lengthy afro-latin percussion jam.

I realize this review might upset some Incognito fans. But also want to point out it's being written by someone who is a fan of the group and appreciates what they do. Because of their ability and sense of soulful sophistication I don't think that Incognito is capable of making a low quality album. So the three star rating I gave it only counts it as good because it isn't their most adventurous and diverse. Certainly something great for the car,or even a party perhaps. But not what I'd call a headphone album with many melodic surprises. In fact if your already acquainted with some of their best work,this isn't a bad record if you find it used somewhere. On the other hand I'd definitely say it's not the place I would suggest going if your just starting out listening to them. That is,unless your one of those musical listeners who goes for starting with a weaker album because they think it'll make the rest of the bands music seem incredible in comparison. In the end it just isn't the most defining of their albums in terms of their musical/instrumental capabilities. As the old saying goes,why have the moon when you can have the stars?