Customer Reviews

Rough & Smooth

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The one thing listeners can always count on Outside to produce is new, exciting work that transcends convention. This album certainly manifests this principle. UK's Matt Cooper has returned from his previous ground-breaking debut to put forth his second album. On this musical excursion, he's invited the assistance of musician/arranger Andreas Allen from the U.S. to lay some of the tightest tracks ever. Although this album was released in 1997, it intertwines the sounds of traditional straight-ahead jazz with modern syncopation. Most acid jazz or experimental jazz groups tend to rework the stylings of earlier fusion jazz greats such as Bob James, Joe Sample or Donald Byrd; many times, these groups play a hint or two of jazz samples and incorporate laid-back R&B vocals. This sets Outside far apart from the rest of the pack. Every cut on the album is unique -- whether blending classical violin with drum and bass (see To Forgive but Not Forget, featuring the Without Frontiers string group) or fusing lounge jazz with roots Reggae (Flowers Ain't IV Picking) -- yet each are interwoven into a musical fabric that continues to the end, despite the digital separations between songs. Think Soul II Soul with Sun-Ra and you'll get the picture. By far, Outside's third album, entitled "Discoveries", is the best experimental jazz record of the past 15 years. However, on this second album, Matt Cooper and Andreas Allen are still a team well-developed enough to make "The Rough & The Smooth" an almagamation of pleasant, smooth and utterly vibrant textures.

Actually, there's quite a lot on offer here: drum & bass, reggae and dance beats, hard grooves with trippy bass lines, jazzy chords and clever improvisation. This is no clumsy hotchpotch mishmash of ideas though. It all comes together very nicely, actually, and it all adds up to that thing sometimes called acid jazz. It's served up here by the (almost) one-man band Outside, otherwise known as Matt Cooper.

Just like The Rebirth, a band who's stunning album This Journey in I reviewed some time ago, I was introduced to Outside by my best friend and would probably never have heard of them if it wasn't for him.

I love this CD. This is the kind of stuff the DJs used to drive crowds crazy with at Dingwalls (a north London club) on Sundays, back in the day. Ike Obiamiwe's very soulful vocals on "The 29/8 Steps", "The Plan" and "Journeyman Part 2". Origin's equally impressive vocals on "Moodswing", "To Forgive But Not Forget" and "Minty". Jhelisa, Imaani and Origin on vocals on "Journeyman Part 1". The use of the St Aloysius Junior School Choir on "The Plan" and "Minty". It's all so inventive and original. Greg Osby also pops up with a brilliant alto sax solo on "Moodswing" and Tony Remy plays electric guitar on "Journeyman Part 1".

If you like the instrumental work of bands like Incognito, Brand New Heavies or even Galliano (whatever happened to them?) and you fancy something just a touch more adventurous, I think there's a very good chance you'll like this.

Good quality music continues to get swept under the constant wave of commercial "radio and MTV-friendly" rubbish out there (or modern popular music's "single-mindlessness", as I sometimes call it) and it's sad, really.

the outside is definately a group that was missed by the american public. the music is great.my favorite selections are "the lower we fly" and to "forgive but not forget". its great cool out music and smooth back drop music for studying.

This album is for the experienced listener. What does that mean? One who will focus solely on the music; giving the album several listens; concentrating on the eclectic blend of music styles. This is for music aficionados, like myself, who appreciate break beats, keyboard experimentation, offbrand lyrical music. This has it all and still grinds out a funky bassline groove. Wait till you hear they're next recording "Almost In". Whew! What can I say. Keep swingin!

I first heard of Outside back in the mid nineties when a fellow musician gave me a copy of a single called No Time For Change. It had been taped off the radio and was scratchy and full of hiss, but what a groove! The band we were in used to cover that tune, and it was a real acid jazz funk extravaganza...

Several years later, I found myself living in London. One day while rummaging through a second hand record shop I stumbled across a copy of The Rough and The Smooth. For the bargain price of five pounds it was mine. That CD rapidly became my favourite, and is still to this day.

I must have played that disc hundreds of times but still never tire of it. On no other recording have I heard anyone so seemlessly blend different genres as though they have always cohabitated. Reggae meets drum n bass meets funk meets acid jazz meets hip hop meets eastern european folk tunes. To Forgive But Not Forget is a classic track featuring a fantastic blend of Drum n Bass and soaring violin that has been Kazaa'd around the planet, usually wrongly attributed to Aphex Twin.

By chance, during my time in London, I noticed that Outside was scheduled to play at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival. I of course had to check it out. But what a disappointment! Instead of the hard grooving acid jazz band that I expected, there was just Matt Cooper and a DJ. Matt alternated between drumming and fooling around on the keyboard, accompanied by completely forgettable tracks played by the DJ. I was so pissed off that I walked out after about 10 minutes.

I've since searched out every recording by Outside. His first album, Almost In, is also a gem, if a bit more standard acid jazz. After Rough and Smooth there was a gradual decline in quality and inspiration though. There hasn't been any sign of Outside since Out of the Dark came out a couple of years ago, and the Dorado records website looks like it has been neglected for some time now.

I didn't buy this CD i was given it by the artist as he is a friend, and it isn't a style of music i would have thought of listening to. However i really enjoyed listening to it, and i have become a lot more interested in this style of music. However i havn't yet found another CD that quite matches this one. There are a number of really excellent tracks, i particularly like the bass line in "moodswing," and "to forgive but not forget" is a real classic. I think that the guys won an award for "The plan" and rightly so. Its hard to describe the style of music, its contemporary jazz fusion i guess, its similar to Us3, if you know who they are (Cantaloop-Flip Fantasia), which Matt Cooper also did some music for, that i highly recommend listening too. Anyway to sum up i would say that this is not like any other CD you're going to buy for a long time and if you're like me you'll thouroughly enjoy it. Personally i think its the best Outside Album so far

This album broke grounds all over england , europe and asia! Serious music for serious music lovers! Don't waste your tiem on other "acid jazz" and ecclectic dance music - this is all you need! Poor uninformed americans...