Our Aim Is to Satisfy Red Snapper

Red Snapper | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 17, 2000)
• Original Release Date: October 17, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Matador Records
• ASIN: B00004YR4U
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #354,229 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This CD will certainly satisfy..., October 17, 2000

By 

Robby Raeford (Greensboro, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Our Aim Is to Satisfy Red Snapper (Audio CD)

For those who have heard Making Bones, you are probably already familiar with the very distinct sound that Red Snapper has created. On that CD, they demonstrated a sound that blended jazz, drum and bass, and trip hop. But it wasn't ordinary forms of any of those genres. The drum and the bass was TRUE drum and bass, using mostly live instruments. The vocals by MC Det were deep and comanding, but never taking away from the music. Making Bones was a near perfect blend of all of these styles, yet it didn't take it far enough for my tastes. There was just too much bland techno.

But I knew what Red Snapper could do, and I was beyond myself in excitement when I first learned of Our Aim Is To Satisfy Red Snapper. From the moment I heard the promo CD, I knew that this was the one. And it IS the one, in my opinion. Every style that I loved from Making Bones is taken and streched and reinvented.

Red Snapper removed just about all of the bland techno that plauged Making Bones on certain songs, and they replaced it with the familiar jazz/D&B sound that they are known for. Fans of the MC Det songs on Making Bones will LOVE this CD. They kept the same routine from Making Bones in that they only used vocals on 3 or 4 songs. This makes you truly appreciate the style of MC Det, and what he brings to the table.

Sure, there aren't any songs as deep and emotional as Image Of You, but there is plenty of substance on this CD. Songs like Some Kind Of Kink and The Rake will get your body moving, but they don't become techno-y, which is what I love about them. Songs like Alaska Street, Belladona, and They're Hanging Me Tonight, take the sound that we first heard in "4 Dead Monks" and expands on it, taking it to a much more beautiful level. These instumental songs are full of atmosphere, and will certainly chill you out.

As I said earlier, MC Det makes his appearance again on select tracks. His layed back rapping on The Rake makes it one of the best songs on the album. On the track "I Stole Your Car", MC Det adopts a new style, sounding more like reggae than rap. This song is one of the best on the album.

But if it is so great, why only 4 stars? Well, it could have been better. Songs like Keeping Pigs Together get a little repetitive. And also, they couldn't resist having one bland techno song on the album, The Rough And The Quick. This is a good, raunchy song, with lyrics similar to that of the Lords Of Acid, but it just doesn't fit at all with this album. I listen to Red Snapper for the double bass, the live drums, and the jazz elements, not for a club song. But these minor quirks aside, Our Aim To Satisfy Red Snapper takes what most people loved about Making Bones, and it expands it to new levels, remaining very fresh, but keeping within the style that they created.

A must buy for anyone remotly interested in trip-hop, jazz, or drum and bass (this is REAL drum and bass, not "house drum and bass").

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Satisfyingly tasty, but not classic Red Snapper, December 26, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Our Aim Is to Satisfy Red Snapper (Audio CD)

I've noticed some rave reviews on amazon.com for this record, but none of the reviewers seem to have heard of Red Snapper before. I've been a fan of this uncategorisable jazz/funk/hip-hop/ambient outfit since 1996's "Prince Blimey," and I was surprised at this album on the first listen, because the sound is less experimental and less distinctive than previous records.

The sound is cleaner and more commercial; Ali Friend's pizzicato bass-playing is less conspicuous on the record, and keyboards and samples have taken over from the rawer, stripped down line-up of early records such as "Reeled and Skinned."

That said, repeated listening reveals this to be a good record nonetheless, particularly "Bussing", with its strident groove, subtle melody and jazzy horns- classic Red Snapper. Another highlight is the closer "They're hanging Me Tonight" a track every bit as spooky as its title suggests.

The instrumental tracks are strongest- MCs are brought in for a few tracks which are the album's weak point, particularly "The Rough and the Quick" which is really just a commercial dance track with naughty lyrics.

Anyone impressed by this should definitely check out the earlier records mentioned above- both are a better showcase for this band's outstanding variety and talent.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars gets better the more you listen, January 19, 2001

By 

jez (Newcastle, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Our Aim Is to Satisfy Red Snapper (Audio CD)

Contrary to what one of the other reviewers has said, "Our Aim Is To Satisfy" is not Red Snapper's second album, it's their third. In 1996 they released Prince Blimey, which stayed very much underground but received a lot of praise from most people who heard it. It's a good insight into the early dynamics of the band ... they concentrate very much on instrumental brilliance, making use of a huge variety of rhythms and melodies which has remained one of the band's trademarks to this day.

Before that they had worked on three eps in '94 and '95, eventually compiling them on "Reeled and Skinned".

But never mind all that ... what about "Our Aim Is To Satisfy"? Well, a few things have changed. Alison David, who provided vocal on "Making Bones", has been replaced by Karime Kendra. The sound of the new album has been described as "production-centric", suggesting that the band have lost the live edge which ran through "Making Bones" and made it such a vital record. In fact they have lost nothing, they've just developed. By concentrating on what happens in the studio, they've achieved intimacy with the listener. It's like being brought right inside the mind of Red Snapper for the first time. It's wierd, twisted, sexy, dirty, corrupt, and fascinating. It would be fair to say that it takes a while to get to know "Our Aim Is To Satisfy" - it is less immediate than its predecessors - but the effort is worthwhile. "They're Killing Me Tonight" is a full-on challenge of a track, rounding off an lp which reveals far more of the band than we have seen before. A vital stage in the Red Snapper story.