Customer Reviews

In Search of Manny

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

 

 

1979. 123rd St., Manhattan - A young Puerto Rican woman is looking out of her window. Is she waiting for someone? South Bronx - a teen leaves his apartment with spray paint cans in a dufflebag and heads to the IRT yards to tag up a dormant #3 train...Brooklyn - Manny slumps on the B train in a drug-induced stupor. If you could imagine music to fit these scenes it might sound something like Luscious Jackson. And, since the music of these 4 cool ladies defines catagorization, it is infinitely more fun to just let it create scenes in my mind. You'll find it happening to you too when you hear the beautiful and unique tracks on this EP. Tracks that are moody, funky, and above all else...URBAN.

I was just contemplating CDs my friends and I listened to all the time in high school, and which ones I really miss. In Search of Manny has got to top the list. These groovy songs are unlike anything I've heard before or sense, and they would bring anyone out of a depressing funk. LJ's later, more commercial releases, weren't near as good or catchy.

It's kind of hard to pigeonhole the genre of Luscious Jackson. Were they hip-hop? riot grrrl? Alternative? College? Dance? Electronic? They were actually a little of all the above. If you took the Beastie Boys and mixed in a little Bikini Kill and L7, you'd end up with Luscious Jackson.

The band's all-too-brief career produced only three studio albums and this one EP, their debut "In Search of Manny" (1992). While the band's later work is definitely worth checking out, it's their classic EP that is the New York outfits best work. Clocking in at under the half-hour mark, all of these seven songs are equally captivating and infectious and sound just as fresh and vibrant today as they did back in the early 90s. You'll find yourself listening to this EP two or three times in a row.

Such a classic EP, it's surprising that it's now out-of-print. Luckily it's relatively easy to find available used at amazon or at a used CD shop. If your into NYC style hip-hop/Bestie Boys/college/alt. rock and haven't checked out this EP, your missing out.

"Manny" will draw you in much faster than later L. Jackson releases. Outstanding.

I wanted this ep to go on and on. Daughters of Kaos is amazing.

This CD was the perfect blend of indy folk pop and chunky new york hip hop production.it was a MAJOR disappointment that they fell off so hard.If you're gonna buy one luscious jackson CD, you should start here, and stop here.

luscious jackson's first and best album provides garage band grooves and melodic gnarls where their other albums fall short. although all their stuff is noteworthy, this is by far their best compilation. if they went back into the studio and cleaned it up it could take on a whole new life. if you are truly luscious you will enjoy this album.

Good early EP from Luscious Jackson, a favorite of mine. I didn't even know about this until people here recommended it.Thanks. I love all that Groovy-Girl New York stuff anyway. So pick it up.Good record.

Long before Fannypack and Northern State, there were the women of Luscious Jackson who created their own blend of hip hop music. I was still in high school when I discovered Luscious Jackson's "In Search of Manny". This was way before "Fever In, Fever Out" and "Natural Ingredients". I was looking for music that my peers in high school weren't listening to. What I ended up discovering was punk music and the idea of the do-it-yourself ethos that artists like Ian McKaye of Fugazi and Ani Difranco lives by. Luscious Jackson was one of the few groups that I started listening to long before the masses caught on. I barely remember buying the cassette version of "In Search of Manny". It definitely was nothing I had never heard of before. I am not a fan of hip hop music but I dug what I heard right away. In some bizarre way, Luscious Jackson reminds me of the best elements of trip hop music with their laid back grooves. Everyone in the band plays an instrument. There is nothing synthetic about their music. I know. I had seen the band perform live on the second stage of 1994's Lollapalooza. I had just caught them performing after I got out of the mosh pit for L7. Because the audience wasn't big, I was able to get pretty close to the stage. Looking back that was cool because I was into the band before everyone else in this country was (unfortunately for a brief moment). It is really difficult to pick out one particular song over another. All the songs on this EP (extended play) is great. You can hear Kate Schellenbach's Beastie Boys' days influence the music. It isn't overtly obvious but if you listen to the songs long enough, you can certainly hear bits of the Beastie Boys in the music. It is a shame that Luscious Jackson called it the day. They truly were something special in a sea of garbage in the '90s.

In terms of LJ's development, I'd slot this EP in somewhere just before Electric Honey. They maintained the "fatter" and "funkier" sounds of the four piece but changed the rythms and depths as to what they were playing that early in their careers.

A great piece of work nonetheless.