Customer Reviews

Natural Ingredients

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

 

 

This CD, along with the Manny EP, make up the more hip-hop sounding releases from the Luscious Jackson catalog. While their last two albums (Fever In Fever Out and Electric Honey) are great CDs in their own right, they never quite captured this wonderful blend of hip-hop and pop again. They took a more direct route to pop after this.

This is where I started and it's a good place for new fans to start at well. All the Ingredients are there (forgive the pun) to show you all facets of this underappreciated band. They managed to tread the hip-hop waters without losing their sense of melody and their appreciation for how music has to compliment the lyrics (and not just serve as background). But they also practiced pop-flavored songwriting without sacrificing the edge and immediacy of the lyrics. Rewind to the Manny EP for more hip-hop. Fast forward to Fever In Fever Out and Electric Honey for a smoother pop sound (Naked Eye, anyone?).

Too bad Luscious Jackson is no longer around. They left a void that no one else has managed to fill.

After reading all the other eight reviews of this album, I am upset that there are, after all, only eight of them and that this group, I just learned, disbanded in 2000. What a shame, because, coming from a person with a profound appreciation of music that defies categorical boundaries, they are the REAL thing.

This is one of the few albums- of which I'm listening to right now on my discman at 3 A.M. that I wouldn't be able to live without, in fact- that I can listen to at ANY time, any day, any mood, and not skip a track, or a groovy, hip beat. I tend to have favorites on any album, but on this one, EVERY song is my favorite, even though I discovered Luscious Jackson by listening to "Here (Squirmel Mix)" on the Clueless Soundtrack and was simply captivated by its hard-to-pin vintage allure. How truly smart Clueless was to use one of Luscious Jackson's, to quote one reviewer, "smooth, mellow, upbeat fun funky city grooves" on their already eclectic and wondrous soundtrack.

Natural Ingredients is an album that humbly and gracefully defines a generation of Reality Biters and angsty, lovestruck males and females. Even though Luscious Jackson is described as a "feminist" band, and they certainly are, their grooves and lyrics can ONLY be described as transcending every gender barrier in the book and achieving a brilliance and simplicity that makes the daily suffering of everyday existence seem all right and even necessary. I have NEVER heard a more life-affirming or revelatory album in my ENTIRE life! A big admirer of musicians who fail to be categorized easily, such as Bjork, Radiohead, and M.I.A., I NOW can add the tenderly understated and sadly underappreciated NY-based quartet Luscious Jackson to my fabulous list. :-)

Ladies, you got it GOING ON! Please reunite and let the WHOLE wide world know you're BACK in business, creaing music of such illustrious beats, seamless grooves, and endlessly creative lyrics. There are simply NO words, simply, to express my gratitude for finding your album (in the LIBRARY of all places!) and immediately, almost breathlessly, being wrapped in your bittersweet sanctuary of love, confusion, candor, humility, and, most importantly, redemption. ;-)

N.Y. -based Luscious Jackson are one of my all-time favorite groups, hopefully I do them justice! This is their first full-length, following the lo-fi but brilliant ''In Search Of Manny" Mini-album.It's one of their most popular, although I recommend any of their four releases. Sadly, they disbanded in 2000...

LJ is unique in that they blend so many styles so seamlessly, 70's-style funk, soul, hip-hop, pop, country, 60's-style rock/psychedelia, folk, you-name-it, they've heard it and they incorporate it. Yet their influences are not obvious and there's no blatant 'borrowing' of riffs like you sometimes see. Almost all the songs have intense, funky grooves...yet a lot of the time this album seems very relaxed and laid back. Yes, it's hard to pin down!

Opening with the ominous funk of 'City Song', the album maintains this sort of spacey, funky, rockin' tone until the final, dub-influenced 'LP Retreat' (an ode to vinyl). I love the interplay between Jill Cunniff's 'strong' melodic singing and Gabrielle Glaser's sung/spoken 'rapping'. You can always tell who's who, that's for sure! This is also the paragraph to mention Kate Schellenbach's stellar drumming. She's truly great, it's hard to create a distinctive style on the drums, but she does it! When most 'funk'-oriented groups would use a drum machine, LJ goes the opposite way...

And then there's the lyrics: brilliant, witty, totally understated. IMHO, Luscious Jackson have the best 'feminist' lyrics of any group, ever! Not that I'm a rabid fan or anything! It's just that Glaser and Cunniff are so articulate, to the point, never preachy, always witty. They only got better on subsequent albums. I'd say 'Ladyfingers' on their final album 'Electric Honey' is the best feminist anthem ever, but I AM only a man! :) Cunniff did say once that their music was for 'smart girls and quiet boys'...if you like progessive pop/rock/funk with a large dose of melodicism, that includes you, too! ;oD

I pulled this CD out for the first time in many years today, and was just as blown away by those first 5 tracks as I was in 1994. I have a very large music collection, but there aren't many albums from 15+ years ago that I would re-purchase without batting an eye. Good stuff.

Disco Funk o Rama... great listen! Sexy smooth voices lingering with eclectic sometimes disco music.

First of the artist's four CD's.As most of you know,this isn't some cheezy spin-off featuring either of the Jackson girls.You know,La Toya,Janet or Michelle(I mean,Michael).Best described as alternative pop.Noticed some nicely done smooth vocals coupled with sensuous musical interludes.Tracks that should do it for most fans are "City Song","Energy Sucker","Strongman","Rock Freak" and maybe "Deep Shag".Might appeal to fans of The Breeders,Sean Lennon,Josephine Wiggs and Buffalo Daughter.

I like mostly aggressive music from types of music to include Metal, Funk and Hard paced techno. But I tell you when I want to relax and listen to a quality group of female musicians, who play hard, smooth and good all at the same time I grab a LJ CD. This CD exemplifies their music style/talent which is kind of hard to pin down. But damn good, this and 'fever in fever out' are in my opinion are there best works. All of their Long Play cd's and the EP Manny are good however and worth every cent.

If you want to mellow out after a stressful day at work, now you're in luck. This album hits all the right chords when it comes to relaxing and just becoming one with the mellow vibe of calmness. Something you should add to your CD collection, poste haste.

Fever In and Fever Out is the best place to start for folks unaquainted with Luscious Jackson. This album has some high points, but is nowhere near the quality of Fever

I LIKE ALL OF LUSCIOUS JACKSON'S MUSIC. PARTICULARLY THE NATURAL INGREDIENTS CD BUT AGAIN PARTICULARLY ALL OF THEIR CDS. IT HAS A NYC JUMP ROPIN AND SPASTIC FIRE HYDRANT KINDA FEEL. THE MUSIC IS FUN AND LYRICS ARE SERIOUS AT TIMES. SUCH AS "FIND YOUR MIND" AND "STRONG MAN". SONGS ARE NOT HATEFUL BUT OBSERVATIONS OR PERHAPS FIRST HAND EXPERIENCES. IN ANY CASE THEY ARE TRUE. NOT AT ALL BITCHY. LJ HAS ISSUES PROBABLY LIKE ANY GROUP THAT HAS SOMETHIN TO SAY BUT IT DOESNT GET IN THE WAY OF THEIR HAVING FUN AT WHAT THEY DO. WHICH IS MAKING GOOD MUSIC.