Customer Reviews

Hand on the Torch

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It appears to me that much of the criticism of this album comes from people who were expecting different. Rap fans who were looking for a great rap album were disappointed. And Jazz fans who despise rap were disappointed. But if you take this album for what it is, a true blend of hip hop and jazz, then you won't be disappointed at all. As jazz fans, you'll enjoy hearing familiar sounds of the samples that groove, and as hip hop fans you will enjoy the soothing flow of the rhyming. This album grooves people.

I don't intend to downgrade this album. I really like parts. The instrumental parts. The musical heart of Us3, Mel Simpson and Geoff Wilkinson, snipped, looped and blended well crafted musical songs out of the golden vault of truly classic Jazz Blue Note Records still owns. The rap gets- well...annoying and too damn cheesey. The music has staying power mainly because of the source material used as musical structure. The rap sounds dated and paper thin lyrically in the year 2000. For a sound that sounds fresher check out Guru's Jazzamatazz. Its what this album wanted to be, but Us3 added too many trends to date the sound.

No jazz or rap fan should live w/o this. I don't understand why ya'll be hatin' on this album even tho it's good or it's not. I call this a classic 'cuz it shows a new level of the jazz legendaries we grew up around us. That's why a lot of people are dissin' on hip-hop 2day b/c it shows no mercy but lackness. I have love for dem cats right here.

Fav. picks: Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia), I Got it Goin' On, It's Like That, Just Another Brother, Tukka Yoot's Riddim, Knowledge of Self

This is recommended along with all of Guru's Jazzmatazz albums, all Tribe classic albums, Do You Want More??!!?!, Illadelph Halfline and Things Fall Apart by the Roots, Resurrection, 1 Day It'll All Make Sense, and Like Water for Chocolate by Common, The Antidote and The Quiet Revolution by Ronny Jordan, The Rebirth of Cool Series (all volumes, depends which one is better) and especially Heavens by the Martytroyd Trio. Definitely a Must-Have 2 date.

I don't even listen to much rap. The music I've been listening to as of late, other than US3, are bands like Moe., String Cheese Incident, Neil Young, CSNY, James Brown, Allman Brothers Band, Radiohead, Talking Heads, Grateful Dead, and a lot of singer-songwriters such as Bob Dylan, Jim Croce, Don McLean, and so on and so forth. The point is this: it doesn't matter what you're into, just give this album a shot. I see that there are a lot of used CDs for sale on amazon for a very cheap price. Give US3 a shot and see what you think.

I never appreciated rap until I heard this cd. It is very good. The rap lyrics acts as a percussive element towarsd the music rather than as a centerpiece. It is the first example of how sampling and technology has done something positive for music rather than cheapen it. Hardcore rap fans will probably find it illegit but I found this music to be a breath of fresh air. If you are a rock music fan and want to sample just one rap album try this one or Digital Underground's Sex Packets

50 year old white guys are supposed to hate rap. But I was brought up listening to much of the golden era of Blue Note records. So why has this CD been in permanent rotation on my car's CD changer? Because it's great music for the morning and afternoon commute. I've almost got the rap's memorized, sure they're a little corny but it's the beat that makes this disc work. Don't discount the "sticktuitiveness" of "Hand on the Torch."

The only reason why I purchased the CD was for Cantaloop. I really don't know about 'Hip Hop' versus 'Jazz', etc, but I know the music I like and LOVE this CD. Great rhythyms. Feels like a little bit of everything and all mixed up with a great beat. You can't go wrong with this one!

I don't usually listen to rap music, but US 3 did a great job combining both Jazz and Hip Hop flaver into the CD. If you a Jazz fan, I recommand that you take a listen to this stylish sound!

The vocal artist and arrangers did a great job of mixing the Jazz music and rap. I'm not a fan of Rap, but I can't get enough of this disc. Great music.

Some reviewers attack this album for the rap and some for the jazz, but they just don't get it: this album is both, a pleasing selection of classic Blue Note jazz with funky beats underneath and cool, positive, afrocentric raps on top. It's called "Hand on the Torch" because it pays tribute to the past as the torch is passed to the future.

If you demand a category, this album isn't for you. On the other hand, if you accept that music evolves and recycles, and if you dig both kinds of music, then you will enjoy this CD. Think Digable Planets or De La Soul. This is what rap might have sounded like in 1960 - with backup from Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock and Maceo Parker.