Customer Reviews

Outre Mer

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

 

 

This is more groove-based, less dissonant off-the-wall than Emphasizer. The songs have more unity, the elements blend together more. It's a mix between dreamy, atmospheric melody and steady solid groove. It's a very smooth balance between the two, so it doesn't sound like some frankenstein assemblage but rather like something natural and focused. In short, it works.

I gotta be honest, when I first listened to this album I was dissapointed. But like any truly amazing album, it just took some decoding, listening to the songs multiple times reaaaallly helps to appreciate what these guys are doing. Essentially, GaT are four people who are amazing at what they do, and we should feel lucky that they have found a way to mesh together perfectly. Their first album, emphasizer, blew me away, but I felt it lost steam around halfway through. This album does no such thing, and what is more impressive is that this is an all acoustic album, which means skerik is using the natural sound of his sax as opposed to the various effects that he is known for. This gives the album a much more natural feel and it shows that these four are able to make amazing music without any wizardry in the production department. But dont get me wrong, this cd SOUNDS amazing. Anyway, I saw them live last night in NYC, and they blew my mind... I recommend this CD to ANYONE, and see them live if you get the RARE opportunity!!

Garage a Trois is a great band, and this is a great album.

This album is as good as Emphasizer, though not in the same way. Compared to Emphasizer, this album is more uniform in feel. Emphasizer has a wide variety of sounds and reflects their live show. This album is more like a unified concept.

Mike Dillon definitely has more of a voice in this album, whereas before it was more like Charlie Hunter, Skerik, Stanton Moore, and "that other guy". Skerik is not quite as over-the-top intense in this album--this is more like the kind of Skerik you hear in Cinemathique. Charlie Hunter sounds great; with this and his other recent work he really has the whole simultaneous-bassline-and-guitar thing down. Stanton Moore is as solid as ever.

If funk were a disease, this album would be fatal. With the exception of "The Dream" and "amanjiwo", each song wastes no time in setting up a vicious groove. Stanton Moore and Charlie Hunter hold down the groove, while Mike Dillon's vibes float on top, and Skerik plays a nimble sax. There's a lot of tight group playing, the overall effect brings a smile on your face.

The closest I could come to a criticism is that the songs are all funky in the same way, but of course they are all part of the same album.

This album is much better then the last. The last album had some good tunes but this album is more whole. There is an actual style identity on this album. More jazzy almost Bob Moses resemblant in ways. Worth the purchase if you know about these guys.

This album is an absolute masterpiece. The musicianship is, as you would expect from these guys, flawless, tight and technical without seeming contrived or forced at all. It is music that works equally well on the anterior and the posterior. I don't give out 5 stars lightly, but this one gets it, and you should too.

I attended a Garage-a-Trois show in a large bar/club and was blown away. I went not knowing what to expect (and a little put off by the name - is that a play on the phrase menage a trois?). I was only familiar with Skerik's Critters Buggin of which I only knew the radio song.

These guys are some very technically skilled musicians. Charlie Hunter can play his combination bass and guitar better than the devil can play the fiddle (he plays the bass line and guitar rhythm at the same time!).
Skerik makes some strange sounds and fascinating sounds with his horn that you probably can't learn in any formal way.
The other two fellas (I forget their names) keep the percussion side of things very groovy. I don't think there was a person in the bar that wasn't bopping and grooving to them. I don't think it's humanly possible to be at their concert and not move your body.

Unfortunately this energy wasn't captured very well on CD. It was interesting to listen but it had a hard time keeping my attention in the long run. They seem to be trying to create new permutations of timing and rhythm and melody by mixing up several influences including latin/reggae/world percussion beats, Charlie's smooth jazz guitar and bass, and Skerik's unpredictable horn playing.
There's some surprising twists and turns among long drawn out jams. I would rather attend a Garage-a-Trois concert than listen to the album at home.

I should also mention avante-gard jazz (progressive jazz?) is not a category of music I hear often (but I am always trying to listen to a wide variety of music).