Customer Reviews

Session One

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

 

 

For those Herbaliser fans who have been wanting to hear the band in its purest form, without any vocals or lyrics whatsoever (I prefer it this way, actually)...this is what you've been waiting for. The group has taken their best tracks from past albums, expanded them, and turned them into an excellent representation of the band's live show. For comparison to one of their live shows, pick up the Wall-Crawling Giant Insect Breaks single, which has live versions of a few songs. The sound is very similar here, and it is obvious that the instrumental cuts on the Herbaliser's studio albums have a strong identity all to themselves. The horn players and rhythm section mesh nicely; they are as tight as Orchestra Morphine. Ginger Jumps the Fence is definitely a highlight, and the whole album takes on an acid jazz/noir feel...this would make an effective soundtrack to any mid-sixties spy movie. I believe Session One was self-released by the band; maybe Ninja Tune will pick this up and release it stateside. Bring on Session Two, please....

Herbalizer, with added band plays the tunes live. A while ago, herbalizer's albums were mostly sampled joints, but they would play them live with a whole band. This is what it sounds like and it's some of the coolest music you'll ever hear.
What I like about herbalizer is that they blend funk/soul into hiphop and don't take the easy, laid back path. Their songs are incredibly dynamic, driven by multiple layers of percussion and a build up of intesity. It's something you need to hear at full blast to fully comprehend.
if you like anything that has to do with with spy-themed music, funk, soul, hiphop, acid jazz, or just generally great music... get this..

Seemingly recorded somewhere between the "Blow Your Headphones" & "Very Mercenary" The Herbaliser (Ollie Teeba, Jake Wherry), this was a one off, instrumental rendition of a selection of the ten or so tracks culled from their previous albums. It should be noted that this isn't just the Herbaliser tracks we know and love minus the vocals, it's more akin to taking each track and completely destructing it, and arranging each track to fit with a live band composition, so although they'll be familiar to those following the Herbaliser's work, a lot of the scratch effects & samples have now been replaced with live instrumentation. And the effect of this all???.......utterly fantastic, those that aren't convinced by instrumental albums with find little here to convince them, but then again, they wouldn't be searching for reviews of them anyway.....so that leaves those that want to know more about this highly accomplished `re-imaging' of these Ninja tune tracks.....and a strong `Funk', `Spy Thriller' & `Soul Jazz' strain in the construction of each track which does feel like this is a release that has looked to do something a little different, rather than sell the listener the same Ninja Tune album minus the vocals. In fact it could be argued that with this expansion of `Drums, Bass, Horns , String sections, percussion and Turntable' add layers of depth, that the sample heavy originals couldn't hope to compete with. Every track devised here has been beautifully arranged and has a certain resonance missing previously. For example one of my most feverously liked tracks "Shattered Soul" (from the "Very Mercenary" album), has been gloriously boosted by replacing the samples that made up the instrumental compositions, with a proper String Section arrangement....that takes the elegance of the original and pushes it into Film soundtrack territory. For those Herbaliser fans (like Me) that have the majority of their albums and still crave more....this is a very easy purchase for you, as the familiarity of these instrumental tracks provide an interesting spin with surprisingly longevity. For the rest of you, if you liked the `Beastie Boys' instrumental "The in Sound for Way out!", this works along an equally brilliant line of instrumental music.

Apparently you can't download any track samples here for this album, and I don't recommend purchasing an album on the word of a review alone, but if you already dig the Herbaliser, or funk/soul music, I GUARANTEE you will give yourself a pat on the back if you purchase this disc.
First off, the Herbaliser's "sound" is sort of a retro, sixties-spy music blend of hip-hop, funk/soul and jazz. Sometimes shady, sometimes silly, always funky.
This is not an album of new tracks, but rather full nine piece band arrangements of the Herbalisers previously released songs, which are usually constructed from loops, samples and breaks by producer Jake Wherry and Dj Ollie Teeba.
The Herbaliser's previous three studio albums would most certainly be classified as hip-hop, with a large funk/soul/jazz influence. On "Session One," however, hip-hop takes a back seat to funk and soul, with (check this) trumpets, trombones, sax, flute, piccolo, keyboards, drums, guitar, bass, percussion, turntables, and other instruments combining to create a sound rich and lush, never over-produced. Excellent piccolo, percussion, sax, turntable and more solos abound, and the live horn section adds SOOO much depth to many of the songs. As far as djs in bands go, I think Ollie Teeba is tops. His scratching never sounds out of place or showy; it blends right in along with the other instruments.
If you're into that sort of jazzy, soulful instrumental hip-hop (I know, vague termonology, especially these days), pick this one up. The nine member jams on this album are just sensational. If you ever have the chance to catch these boys from the U.K. live, do so. peace

The Herbaliser have always been plenty funky, so when they go for a full live band on SESSION 1, the funkiness is multiplied by the number of musicians they bring in. The horns on "Who's The Realest?," for example, deliver a thick wall of sound that no one could deny is real. The cuts on "Ginger Jumps The Fence" are still lively, though the surrounding elements take on an even jazzier texture, while "The Missing Suitcase" goes quick, like funk on fast-forward. The ever-clever "Shocka Zulu" doesn't delve into the African aspect as much as it could, but instead offers darker and slower beats. The combination of breaks and strings works to great effect on "Goldrush," augmented, as it is, by the little country twang in there as well. But it's the gentle flow of "Forty Winks" that caps the deal; an oasis of bliss, samples and all. I'll take another 40 anytime.

Imagine a darker version of the Brand New Heavies without the vocals....this album is definately for those that like acid jazz. Tracks range from 1960's ski movie soundtrack to very mellow, sleepy balads. Great mix of styles!