5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic standout album, December 31, 2002
This review is from: Free Association (Audio CD)
David Holmes has outdone himself. Under his new "Free Association" monicker, he has collaborated with some singers to produce a fantastic album. Very cold and dirty sounding through-and-through, the album seems to want you to hate it, but you just can't. Some may classify it as drum'n'bass, but I really don't know what to call it.
The variety of music here isn't diverse, but each song definately has its own sound. It starts off loud and hard with "Don't Rhyme No Mo'" and then drifts into the harsh but beautiful "I Wish I Had a Wooden Heart" - and by then you're already into the album, so the following "Le Baggage", "Free Ass-o-c-8" and "Somedays" slip by without incident, until you get to perhaps the best and most unique song of the album, "Everybody Knows". This track is so much different than anything I've heard in a long time - a very refreshing change. Combining almost goofy, stressed vocals along with heavy bass and dirty organs, this is definately the standout track of the CD. "Pushin' a Broom" and "La Dolce Vita" continue the album until you get to "Paper Underwear", another standout track. No vocals, and a bit warmer than most the other tracks, "Paper Underwear" is almost misleading as to what the rest of the album sounds like. Then, the finale track, "Whistlin' Down the Wind" is almost a bit dissapointing. It's very calm and almost quiet, and doesn't fit with the theme of the album, but I suppose it is nice to be brought down easy from such a harsh high.
This album is worth whatever you pay for it. If you like the sounds of RJD2 and maybe some hip-hop artists, then you'll most likely find this CD as great is I do.
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