Customer Reviews

Distractions

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

 

 

On this the latest disc by Roy Hargrove's RH Factor, you find a combination of warm melodies, funky deep bass groves, slick vocals and the lovely-mellow harmonies of Hargrove's trumpet. Which he uses to good effect, by placing little soundbites of horn in strategic places, for maxium effect. That is old school funk influenced by new school sounds. And just so that it is perfectly clear this guy is the real deal on the instrument. Keep in mind that he also has a second disc (which is gorgeuos) of Acoustic Jazz out with his Quartet. Not to mention that this is his #? release over the last decade. Proving that anything that he is playing is clearly by choice. And either you get it or you don't.

Nobody since Miles Davis has fully explored the possibilities that a jazz sensibility can offer as well as Roy Hargrove. The third album by the RH Factor continues this tradition, but without the excitement of the earlier discs. While this may simply be a result of playing the previous albums too much, it might be also be due to a vocal treatment that's starting to sound a little too familiar. However, when playing this and Roy Hargrove's new straight jazz album, Nothing Serious, on "random" mode it made for a beautiful couple of hours.

THIS IS WHAT GROOVIN' IS ALL ABOUT!!!

If I were to close my eyes, I would swear this is the old seventies

sound... except with a modern twist. R.H. is enough of a funkster to

how to work the funk. The bass and drums (great use of two drummers)

mostly play the bare minimum and the whole band just lays back and waits

for the groove to unfold rather than rushing to the next hook...

The jams don't go on so long that you want to skip ahead to the next tune -

It gets in, blows your mind, and boom - it's out.


Some of the tunes on here are reminiscent of the early Cameo sound,

Even maybe Rick James.

I thought of One Way at times and then Lakeside [I am not kidding!];

another tasted(?) a bit like World Class Wrecking crew... yet they do not

sound like any of these at all, I'm just telling you what I heard in my

own head as well as what my ears heard, know what I mean?

This band plays it all, AND PLAYS IT Fiercely HOT. On the other hand, it is

focused and on time as hell. This is funk and soul with a jazz

sensibility, not (as so much music seems to be) funky Jazz.

Oh, yeah, before I forget - Renee Nuefville can sing her butt off!!! Dare

I say that she somehow channels Chaka Kahn?

If you like funk with enough of a challenge to keep listening to it late

into the night, beyond bedtime, heck, into the wee morning hours 'till

your speakers are starting to rattle apart - buy this. Anyone that says

this is anything but pure genius, shouldn't jam this, they should find

music more to their liking!!!

Man this guy deserves every grand award there is for a jazz/soul/r&b musician. I cannot tell you how Roy Hargroves music has brightened the day of my listeners along with myself on im4radio.com...please support good music and purchase this release along with the other 2 previous RH factor cd's.

Finally, a new RH Factor release. It lives up to my expectations. A lot less guest stars, this one mainly features the funky touring band. Some slow grooves and some straight funky stuff. Renee Neufville really brings it in this one. I can't wait to see the band live this summer. I can't stop listening to "Family" and "Can't Stop". My only regret is the songs are all pretty short. Get this band a live release!

Yeah Roy . . .

Homegirl from Zhane is the main vocalist. Very Funky!. The world needs more music like this now. Russ Elevado did his thing again. Much better than the first one in my opinion. More focused.

Man,

The RH Factor just keeps bringin' the hits. And with the addition of some rich jazz-like vocals as well as a brief (welcoming) appearace by D'Angelo, this cd is GREAT! Only thing that I hate about it is the fact that it's only like 38 minutes long (but, those 38 minutes will fly by 'cause, it's hard to skip a track).
I'm always pretty particular about my music, but I would definitely recommend this cd to anyone who digs neo-soul or a jazz/soul blend. If you've ever heard a Common album, an Erykah Badu album, a D'Angelo album and said "dag, those trumpets are sick, and that's a dope beat" you're in for a whole lotta that on this album.
I hope the brotha keeps this great music comin'!

I was disappointed with this cd. The first few tracks have catchy funk riffs that are great for bass. The rest is just kind of a let down?

I was hoping for a funk style to last for the whole cd, while showing awesome muscicianship. YOu get a little bit of funk, and "okay" players. If you like old school rap, you would probably enjoy this, if you like funk you like the 2nd and the last song.

The RH Factor - Distractons (Verve, 2006)

I remember hearing Roy Hargrove on D'Angelo's Voodoo and Erykah Badu's Mama's Gun. His trumpeting made two hot albums even hotter so I wondered how his own records would sound like. This is his second album with his hard bop group, The RH Factor, called Distractions.

I was blown away by his first album (Hard Groove) and was probably expecting Part II so when I first heard this I was like, "Nah, Hard Groove is better." However, after listening this for about a hundred times in one week, the songs started to really sink in and I think that it's the better out of the two (I'm not counting the Strength EP). Out of all of the guest stars from Hard Groove, only D'Angelo comes back for the song Bulls***". Renee Neufville (formerly of Zhane') is a part of the band and she blesses us with such songs as "On the One" and the best track, "Family". Though I'm more a fan of the vocal tracks than the instrumentals, all of the interludes are dope and props to Willie the drummer for doing his thing once again.

At only 38 minutes in length, you're left wanting more (and that's a good thing). But if you're not feeling this kind of jazz, Roy also released Nothing Serious, a straight jazz album but it's equally as good as this one. So you can check out that album instead or both. -EJR

I'll have to admit that I was pretty thrown off by the Explicit Lyrics label. However, I was totally taken off guard by this album. It was really great. It grooved. It took the music to a whole notha' level.

I don't give it 5 stars because there were a couple sections where it was a bit slow, and a bit repetitive. But I was surprised by the album. I am a big fan of Erykah Badu, and this album is in the Badu tradition. There were some great solos and great horn lines. I'm going to listen to this a few times more so I can really get inside the music.