Customer Reviews

Oakland Zone

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have to start this review and tell you that I have been a TOP FAN since the 70's. I saw TOP last year twice in concert (Vegas/Phoenix) and I have to say that I did not like the the lead singer (Larry Bragg) as well as some of the past singers (Lenny Williams is my favorite), however, after hearing the CD I was very impressed. He sounds more like Lenny Williams then any other singer in the past. This album revals TOPs strong points of funk, horns, lyrics and arrangements and you can tell that a large label like Sony was not telling them what to do. This CD comes from the soul and not from the wallet. Rocco and DG are back together and driving this band. These two guys go waaaaaaaay back and both of them are 2 of the most unique bass and drummers in the industry. The recoding quality of this CD is also very clean and the mix is wonderful. If you are are TOP fan, you are going to buy this CD regardless of what I say, but if you are new to this band and you like smooth funk and soul, I guarantee that you will be buying all of there other CDs in the near future.

Tower of Power's 28th CD (according to their Web site) just may be their best ever. This CD marks the return to the studio of legendary T.o.P. drummer David Garibaldi. This is his first studio CD with the band in many years. Garibaldi and bassist Francis Rocco Prestia are unquestionably the best 1-2 punch in music. With Jeff Tamelier on guitar and the great Roger Smith on keyboards, this is about as talented a rhythm section as you will find anywhere in the music business.

Larry Braggs brings a vocal talent to this CD that is absolutely superior! His vocals will invite comparisons to many of the greats, past and present. He has a phenomenal range, especially in the upper registers.

The legendary horn section is as strong as ever with Iron Mike Bogart and Adolfo Acosta handling trumpet/trombone/flugelhorn chores, Stephen "The Funky Doctor" Kupka on baritone sax, newcomer Tom E. Politzer producing some mighty fine solos on tenor and alto sax, flute, and clarinet, and bandleader Emilio Castillo providing 2nd tenor sax and vocals.

In addition, six former Tower of Power members collaborated on this CD: Santana's Chester Thompson, Saturday Night Live's Lenny Pickett, original member Skip Mesquite, Herman Matthews, Brent Carter, and Norbert Stachel. Huey Lewis also contributed to this CD.

The music consists of classic funk grooves and one soulful ballad. The horns are right up front, very crisp, the execution perfect--tighter than a mouse's ear! The rhythm section propels the groove and the instrumental soloists add the icing to the cake, all providing the backdrop for Larry's talented vocals.

This is a powerful in-your-face CD! Ain't no sissy stuff here. Not for wimps! Pure funk and soul as only Tower of Power can do it. On a big stereo, this CD will knock you out!

The reaction of longtime ToP fans to this album (like ToP-crack to a crackhead in 26 years or so of withdrawal) says a lot of where the band has drifted. Namely this album is a welcome tonic to this band's years of wandering in the production desert from the syrupy disco strings of late 70's fare to the corporate synthesizer wasteland of the 80s and 90s. Emilio and Co. opted for a long-overdue trip back to the well that started it all.

This crisp, well-produced/mixed throwback album has some of the tastiest grooves heard from this outfit in DECADES. However, as one other reviewer noted, the actual songwriting lagged well behind the technical precision of the horns and artistry of the rhythm section. The album was a treat to listen to because it delivers the hip grooves and sassy horn licks one expects from ToP. However, the songs all tended to sound undistinguished, with one-chord wonder grooves occasionally daring to depart to the IV and V. Even albums from the lost years like "Monster on a Leash" had at least one song or two (e.g. "A little knowledge") with structure that enabled it to stick in your mind after a listen or two.

Listening to this album was like eating a Big Mac. You order one knowing exactly what you are going to get, but when you finish it, you feel satisfied, but no one bite of your experience stands out as particularly memorable. Like the songs themselves, the individual solos were also tasteful, but generally unmemorable--nothing head-turning like Lenny Pickett on "Knock Yourself Out" (Live in Living Color) or even Jesse McGuire on "Willing to Learn" on the 1998 live album (Soul Vaccination).

All in all, worth the $15 bucks to be sure, but let's all hope the band gets the hint from all this acclaim and cuts another gritty, Hammond B3-loaded album, yet incorporates some fresh songwriting blood. I would love to hear another Urban Renewal, and this is about as close as they have come since then.

This is the best Tower of Power CD I've heard in years. Hell, this is the best CD I've heard in years. I've been a huge fan of Tower of Power since buying "Bump City" back when I was in grade school (1972), I own 18 Tower of Power CD's, and I would put this in the top 3. New lead singer Larry Braggs is a monster! Drummer David Garibaldi is back! Emilio Castillo and the Funky Dr. (and others) have written some smokin' tunes! The horns are tight (Lenny Pickett does some horn arrangements)! Francis Rocco Prestia is healthy and still the baddest bass player on earth! If you like jazzy, funky SOUL music, BUY THIS CD!

I am glad that so many reviewers enjoyed this new TOP CD. It is definitely their best effort since Monster on a leash. But then, after the past few albums, that were at best indiffent, we should not get carried away too easily. Good things about the album: the rhythm section is a treat of course. The horns are back with a vengeance. That is: finally they are produced as they should be: sharp, crisp and clear and up front. Larry Brags is a good singer, although his studio-delivery does not yet match his live-performances.

But then there's a downside: the songs itself. I think Castillo's and Kupka's songwriting inspiration has long dried up. Only a few songs from Oakland Zone stand out. "Pocketful of Soul" is a true TOP-classic, inventive, groovy, funky. Oh, and not to forget the intro and outro "Eastside" which is a fine showpiece of the bands abilities. If you look at their recent albums, these short intro an outro-pieces seem to be among the strongest tracks (!)

But sadly the rest of the album abounds with dreary fillers like "Get What You Want", "Life is what you make it" and "Happy 'bout That", "Stranger in my own house" (just listen to the keyboard solo, to understand my definition of dreary and uninspired).

They know how to lay down a groove. If only they could manage to write a decent song around it!

Still, if you can, go see these guys live.

This album has to rate in the top 3 Tower albums. Back to Oakland still stands out to be # 1. Although, 'Eastside' is an instrumental similar to 'Oakland Stroke' I wished Tower had inserted a full length instrumental on the cd. If you don't want to hear the basic 2 and 4 snare beats. Get this album! Dave and Rocco throw off some syncopated funk beats that will take you quite awhile to figure out where the downbeat is and where it's going! The horns are tighter than ever and with Rocco and Dave back they lock in like they were born to be. Roger Smith on the Hammon B-3 captures the essence of Chester Thompson to a 'T'!

Long time TOP fan. I own every TOP recording and some where it was just the horn section doing a guest gig like with Huey Lewis or Little Feat. Didn't really like their mid-70s stuff that was more disco than R&B. "Zone" has cookin' music. Tight rhythms, sharp horn section. Garibaldi and Prestia are hot! Kupka, as always, plays tight, soulful bari sax. What's missing for me is the usual TOP songs that show psychological insight into the human condition as well as social commentary. This CD is mostly filled with relatively inane lyrics like "You got to get what you want when you want it" or "Life is like a bowful of cherries." Where's songs like "What is Hip?" or "There's Only so Much Oil in The Ground" or "It all Comes Back" or "Monster on a Leash" or "Quiet Scream"? Lyrics on this CD mostly trivial and recycling old love themes. HOWEVER, the music is so good it's relatively easy to overlook the superficial lyrics.

One of the best in a long line of Tower Of Power great albums. They did a wonderful job of keeping their sound consistant. Larry Braggs is a great singer, Doc and Rocco keep the low end strong, along with the great David Garibaldi on drums. Emilio keeps the energy up, and the band follows the leader. Outstanding album, couldn't recomend it higher.

My advice, buy this CD, pop it in, turn it up, loud...and hold on for the ride of your life! Listening to this CD is like having a good old friend you haven't seen in years drop by to visit you. Those "locomotion" funk-grove sounds that evaded T.O.P. in the 80's and early 90's are back with "Oakland Zone" make no mistake about that! The opening track, "Eastside" reminds one of the 1974 album "Back To Oakland's" opening track, "Oakland Stroke" while "Happy `Bout That" smacks of the 1973 release "You're So Wonderful, So Marvelous" from the "In the Slot" album. But with Oakland Zone I also get the feeling that T.O.P tries to expand, expound and continue to move forward with their music. With a new vocalist (Larry Bragg) reminiscent of Lenny Williams and finally a keyboard/organ player (Roger Smith) who can hang onto Rocco's and David's tightly woven off beat rhythm and who can actually play a Chester style solo, the band masterfully works "Give Me Your Love" proving that they can seamlessly blend new tunes into their "locomotion" funk-grove sound with ease. I am left only longing for one of Lenny Picket's exclamation point solos to top everything off here. But, I for one am not complaining! I think this is one of the greatest personnel lineups T.O.P. has had since the seventies! Now if T.O.P. can just move Chester Thompson and Lenny Picket from contributing on the horn arrangements to joining T.O.P for a reunion CD or DVD (hint), I will have died and gone to heaven. Great CD!

THIS IS TOWER OF POWER'S BEST ALBUM SINCE 1976! THEY BRING BACK THAT OLD SOUL FEEL WITH SONGS LIKE "GIVE ME YOUR LOVE" AND "POCKET FULL OF SOUL". DAVID GARIBALDI IS BRILLIANT IN HIS FIRST ALBUM IN NEARLY 20 YEARS WITH THE BAND WITH SONGS LIKE "PAGE ONE" AND "EASTSIDE". THIS IS A MUST HAVE FOR ANY TOWER OF POWER FAN! IT'S DEFINITELY WORTH BUYING!