Customer Reviews

Disco & Halfway to Discontent

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Disco and the halfway to discontent is a great, happy, and filled with good vibes album. I have to admit it has some pretty catchy songs, but there is nothing wrong with that. I applaud the simplicity that all the instruments were managed with, and how well the result turned out. I find myself grooving and dancing everytime i put this record on. It just gets me happy. All tracks are interesting and a pleasure to listen to, especially when you are on the road. This cd is funky enough for me, and i would buy it again if i didnt have it.

Cornershop created one of the most refreshing albums of 1997 with When I Was Born for their Seventh Time and its oft-played single "Brimful of Asha." Now lead singer/scratcher Tjinder Singh and geetarist/tamboura player Ben Ayres have temporarily (I hope) abandoned their drummer, percussionist and sitarist to create another extremely interesting record. This is a sort of reassortment of the principal Cornershop elements - South Asian instruments, summery pop tunes, socially conscious lyrics, turntable experimentalism, and off-kilter funk - with an emphasis on the last few. While there are a number of tunes which would fit right in on the When I Was Born - such as Electric Ice Cream (Miami Jammies), with Tjinder's idiosyncratic, sing-songy voice, and G.T. Road, which is a four minute slab of instrumental Indian dub - this is unquestionably a dance album. The lead track and first single, "People Power in the Disco Hour" gives a good indication of where things are headed. Starting off with a simple hi-hat pattern and a deliciously funky synth-bassline, it becomes an anthem of sorts, a calling-to-arms for all those disaffected disco-dancers out there (?), whose chorus is merely the title repeated four times. This is nothing less than a vindication of disco as a political movement, somewhat along the lines of Bis' recent Social Dancing. This isn't quite the same as the disco you remember from the seventies, however: rather than recycle the same basic groove throughout the entire album, Clinton mixes things up immediately, giving us the harder-hitting "Buttoned-Down Disco," which fuses handclaps, a sample from an old Israeli dance hit, and punchy tenor sax riffage. From there it gets weirder. For example, here's the old-skool funk of "Hip-Hop Bricks," which features a lovable robot musing that "you are like candy to our combinations of pee pee mathematics," the inexplicably grooving "Before the Fizz is Gone," which is nothing more than a vocoder-altered chant laid over the simplest funk beat imaginable, and the mindlessly catchy "Welcome to Tokio, Otis Clay" (whose only words are "oowee-ooh, ooh-ooh.") To say the least (and as if you couldn't tell from the unusual packaging; a red jewel case which makes the ice-blue cover appear to be a murky, burgundian purple), this is not for those who like their dancing to be inflexible, unimaginative and redundant.

A great funky album dedicated to disco music and disco heat from Cornershop guys Tjinder Singh and Ben Ayres.. Certainly recommended.. As in Cornershop albums, more you listen the album, more you like it. My current favorites are "Buttoned Down Disco" and "g.t. road". but it will probably not be same next week. I had bought this in Amsterdam before it was released here in the US, but European release unfortunately does not include the Fila Brazilia remix.. I may have to buy a new CD, I guess.. dont miss this!

I don't know anything about Cornershop and I bought this cd on a whim, but it is the funkiest thing I have heard in a while. If you like dance music even a little, you should have this album

Tjinder Singh from Cornershop takes this side project of his called Clinton to a funky, tech house side of town. Heard it first almost 8 years ago and still have people grooving to it at parties. Wish it was out on vinyl. Love the album. Superbly recorded to boot.

This album is one of my few "summer albums" that I listened to on a regular basis during this recent summer. One of the highlights of Clinton is the mix of discoesque beats with a sense for the dancefloor. Their synthesizers at some points in the album sound like cheap toys (but it works). Disco and the Halfway to Discontent has a slight nod for making a political statement, but on the other hand one track is full of nothing but shout outs. It's a great little album, I'm curious to see what their next release will be like.

Howdee. Ever since I heard "Brimful Of Asha" & discovered Corenershop I have kept a keen eye out & the keen eye has led me to find their side project "Clinton." Well Tjinder Singh & comrades are purely geniuses & this cd certainly proves that statement. Just take a listen to tracks 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 10 & 12 which are all very KOOL tracks in their own light. If you like the funky stuff that cornershop do then there is a place for this cd in your collection. ¦¬Þ

from the guys in Cornershop, a new amalgamation of their silly, dancing, catchy fun pop. A little less emphasis on the 60s and a little more on kitschy early 80s disco -- with a thoughtful, ironic bent. "the Hot for May sound" and the first track are standout, but the whole CD is really groovy. Enjoy!

A great funky album dedicated to disco music and disco heat from Cornershop guys Tjinder Singh and Ben Ayres.. Certainly recommended.. As in Cornershop albums, more you listen the album, more you like it. My current favorites are "Buttoned Down Disco" and "g.t. road". but it will probably not be same next week. I had bought this in Amsterdam before it was released here in the US, but European release unfortunately does not include the Fila Brazilia remix.. I may have to buy a new CD, I guess.. dont miss this!