Customer Reviews

Discern / Define

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

First, shame on you for looking at this on cd. Get the vinyl.

Second, as a general rule, if it's on Quanuum, snap it up. It will be amazing. (FYI, same holds true for the following other labels: Stones Throw, Compost, Ubiquity, ESL.)

Third, DJ Shadow never fails. Anything he is involved in, is going to be incredible. Here too, we get the added benefit of Lyrics Born...whose work in the Quanuum Spectrum and Latyrx projects was simply too dam* good. As always, with this one, you are given a gem.

Fourth, if you are at all into the roots type sound....the stuff of legends...i.e., JB's, Jimmy Smith, Grant Green, Lonnie Linston Smith, Meters, or anything...ANYTHING the SOUL FIRE label of NY is churning out, you will dig this one. This is just straight up, grooving, churning, greasy, hammond-driven wonders.

Five, get this now. On vinyl. From you local mom and pop, or order it directly from Quanuum.

Also, explore the others on the Quanuum label. To those in the know, I'm preaching to the choir. Others, explore....and dig, dig, dig, dig, dig.....

i've had this album since after it soon came out and i still love it. because of my virtual addiction to this album, many people i know have picked it up as well. the thing i love about these guys is that it's all about 'feel", not precision or perfection. the opposite of these guys could be said to be someone like Galactic, who are great musicians, but for me, they are too clean and too much "jamming". The Poets of Rhythm ride the groove, with a little soloing on the keys here and there. The production is amazing. i got in touch with the bass player who handles the engineering side of things. they used lots of vintage equipment (tube pre-amps, compressors and mikes). he even pointed out that for the snare they used a no-name brand, radio shack mike to get that lo fi, crunchy sound. a lot of effort went into getting certain sounds for each song. have to respect that kind of dedication.
As for this album, it's versatile in the various styles of funk. little afrobeat, little Meters, and a little of everything else. as i said, with much of their stuff, they just find the pocket and ride it out. no showing off here, it's a very group-oriented band. also, they record their stuff live with the exceptions of a few overdubs here and there. And from what i can guess, they don't do many takes. There's a few minor slip ups here and there, but that's what i love about it. I mean, if you're a big JB fan of the late 60's (Get It Together, Ain't It Funky Now,etc.), then you know that a few mess ups here and there don't matter none and if anything, give it a more human sound.
I could ramble on more but i did enough. If you get this on cd but love vinyl, or try to buy nothing but vinyl, get this one on the wax. there's a an extra track, just an instrumental version of "Smilin' While You're Cryin'", but it's high quality vinyl and with the production quality, it's a nice match. Also, for anyone that loves these guys, there is a nice 45 they released last summer called "Summerdays". Nice "sunny", laid back tune..very 70's..i get most of my vinyl from www.dustygroove.com which is where i got the Poets stuff.
if you like raw, throw down, dirty, "not 8 minutes of soloing" funk, check these guys out.

I really don't know how to begin to describe this CD.

It's really, really funky, with quite a bit of disco influence. It's mainly an instrumental album. It's virtually immaculate.

This is one of the few CDs I can honestly say, during the course of the work day, I just throw on and let ride for a few hours before switching it up. Bombay The Hard Way, Midnight Marauders, UNKLE, Reasonable Doubt, Morning View, NIA, Dr. Octagon, A Much Better Tomorrow, Blowout Comb, Do You Want More?!??!?!...and this one. That's about it.

You really, really oughtta buy this. If you are reading this review, there's no reason for you to not buy this album. Like someone before me said, DJ Shadow does no wrong.

You oughtta pick it up. ...

Definately not the standard issue from the Quannum label. This Jazzy funk album is unexpected at the least from a Hip-hop label. If you would enjoy some funky mood music while loungin with your girl and eatin some pie, then peep this album quick. ...

You definatley have to appreshiate Jazz and Funk to want to hear it. I thought it was going to have some MCs on it, cause of the name. But, I took the word "Poets" in the wrong context. I would definately buy if given the choice again.

If you want to round out your music selection with a sound that you probably haven't heard before... you should at least hear the tracks.

This album blew me away from the moment I heard it. The only downside is there are not many songs with vocals on the album. If you like old funk or soul then this album is for you. These guys will leave footprints in the history books of this genre.

i was looking for great instrumentals and i did with the purchase of this cd. great guitar, great vocals, and drumming that no one could hold a candle to. basically, anything done by Quannum Projects or associated with them is most definitely worth giving a try.

i work in a used record store and this cd came in and was priced low considering, i suppose it is not well known. With a band name like "poets of rhythm", and a spacey album cover i immediately thought they are going to have to be great to live up to a name like that. I was surprised to hear how well it actually is. It was not what i expected. To me it is more of a psychedelic/funk sound than just funk. The vocals sound like a late 60s garage style band, almost like the 13th floor elevators when other members took lead, and i mean that as a compliment. Perhaps that also has to do with the production of this cd. I really can't say much more about the album but i do want to say that if you like this you will love a spanish band called "Edwin Moses" whom are on a small small label called "siesta". They are or have been obsessed with Curtis Mayfield and have 2 great cds of catchey as hell funk/soul that is quite a few notches above "poets of rhythm", and this cd stands quite well on its own ground.

Yes, this is a great CD.
I quite often would get put off by reviews saying "this is great funk" - unless, of course, I don't want to admit to myself I like funk, rare groove and other potentially pretentious music genres.
This is damn funky in a good, organic way. The drums are FRESH as ****, which keeps it from sounding like its stuck in the 70's.
The fact DJ Shadow had a hand in the production meant it held promise, but this surpasses my expectations. Lovely to listen to.

Last seen accompanying Lyrics Born on the "I Changed My Mind" single, the debut full-length from the mysterious Poets of Rhythm is all retro soul, funk & jazz. Despite being on Quannum (home of DJ Shadow, Lyrics Born, Blackalicious, et al) there's no hip hop on this disc but lots of respect to the roots of hip-hop.

If you like the work of Mario Caldato Jr. on The In Sound From Way Out or soul/jazz fusion in general then you'll dig what's going on here. Generally the instrumentals are superior to the tracks with vocals, but that's just my opinion. Don't let the Seventies-style production fool you into thinking this is low-quality. These are solid stone(d) grooves in homage to a funky era gone by.

If you like funky instrumentals then these German funkmeisters will make your night. At times sounding like long lost instrumentals from some old 70's action films and spaced out James Brown's "stuck-in-the-groove" backing band. Even after repeat listens , the album just gets better! Great backing music for a party , strolling through the town with your headphones on , or on a roadtrip on the fly. The Poets Of Rhythm will put a wide smile on your face and your day!