Customer Reviews

South Bronx Story

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I think this minimalistic dance music fits into an early-eighties genre that is distinct from post punk and new wave. I call it "post funk" and I'd also include, among others, Bush Tetras, Liquid Liquid, Quando Quango, and Factory-era A Certain Ratio in this category.

Post funk consists of funky melodic bass lines, spare vocals, and African or Latin percussion usually filtered through digital delay equipment for an atmospheric slightly creepy feel. Unlike the funk music of the seventies, the guitar sound is thin and it's kept in the background.

Even though post funk music had its heyday in the New York City of twenty years ago, it is still heavily sampled by hip-hop artists. "UFO," an ESG track produced by the infamous Martin Hannett, remains an especially popular choice.

ESG's skeletal grooves may sound hollow to fans of either top forty dance music or classic motor city funk. But every song on this CD is fabulous for both dancing and listening. Overall, it doesn't sound nearly as dated as more mainstream eighties stuff, which makes "A South Bronx Story" a timeless treat for the college/indie crowd.

I started collecting music in the disco era & moved into punk & new wave as a teen. I was quite into Gang of Four, New Order, PiL, Paul Haig, The Slits. I was also into the early minimalist rap (Doug E Fresh, Beastie Boys' "Cookie Puss", Strafe/Harlequin 4's "Set it off"). I also got to see The Bush Tetras in concert in my hometown (Allentown, PA). However, this group completely passed me by. Never heard them in a club, nor on college radio, until around 1990 when I heard a more current (house) version of "Moody". So it was quite a surprise, when I finally bought this, to hear how consistently good the tracks here are. My only disappointment is that they didn't record more over the years.

As others mentioned, they are analogous to the other groups that get lumped into the funk punk genre (the aforementioned artists), however they do still sound distinct from the others in the genre. The lead vocalist sounds very similar to Neneh Cherry. Hopefully they will still record with current resurgence in popularity of the early 80s genres. This release sounds very good, it sounds like it was mastered from original tapes. The liner notes give some helpful info on the group itself, however more detailed info on the individual tracks (including a track listing), like what the original releases were, would have been helpful.

So I just listened to this record and all I can say is WOW. This album is SO much fun. The best way I can compare this record to other stuff out there / music genres (because it's so different than a lot of stuff out there) is to say that ESG is doing a 60's Motown record in the time when rap and funk were emerging in America as valid and popular forms of music. That means you've got great little yelps and backing vocals from the lead vocalist's sisters a la The Supremes, while a strong bass line rocks in the background. This is DEFINITELY something to buy. Great for dancing or for just bringing the energy level up in the room. So glad I discovered them...!

It's hard to believe that this band is only recently getting the attention they deserve. The material on this CD places the listener at the very start of current musical genres: hip hop, dance, alternative, punk funk, etc. Martin Hannet's presence as ESG's first producers make the importance of ESG in the development of such 'important' bands as New Order, Gang of Four,etc. VERY clear. If you are a DJ, either on college radio or doing parties and weddings, you will ALWAYS get a strong reaction from listeners and dancers when you slap this baby on! Plus, these sisters deserve your financial support -- they were sampled like crazy in the early days of hip hop, and so haven't received the royalties they deserve!

I used to go see these girls at "obscure" clubs in the Bronx. As a DJ in Brooklyn, I made them a part of my top rotation. I still have the vinyl.

How surprised was I when, 20 years later and living in upstate NY, I hear "Moody" mixed into some dumb Old Navy sound track. Well, my knees neatly buckled but my hips started swiveling. What a joyous moment that was for me. Emerald Sapphire and Gold. ESG.

A SOUTH BRONX STORY - ESG


All waves.
This ESG is something fantastic. It supposed to be on a hot revival journey by now in terms of ALL WAVES. This is music I've heard in the beginning of the 80's as a friend of mine was working in a record shop and having his own pirate radio station in Arnhem, Holland. I knew it had to do with Liquid Liquid kind of approach. Well, I went to Paris in 1994 and I picked up the 12" version of this record with: you're no good, Moody, UFO, Earn it, ESG and HEY ! It was a thrill to find it there and Paris can be good for finding records. But it now appears, that the internet is even better. I think you find yourself sublimely unique by discovering the ideal pop, dub, funk, punk approach, where John Lydon and Pil should have gone but shamelessly failed to after the so promising beginning of his band. When I visited a cousin in New York 2 years ago, I heard this record in a lounge-caf? at the back of Time Square. Can you believe how thrilled I was ? Actually: I was the stranger in New York uptill then. But dancing make you feel like home just about anywhere at all. May be even in the South Bronx !

Having caught the attention of this from reading a Pitchfork review, I though about checking this out on amazon.com for some time, given that it was the only ESG recording available when I bought it.

Though I have always been repelled by punk's thuggishness, "A South Bronx Story" was the fruit not of thuggishness, but of pure childlike innocence that I had never heard before. The rhythms were indeed rather uncalculated but never noisy, and the vocals of Renee and her sisters possessed a beauty that can only come out of simplicity, as well as a romantic feeling that was could seemingly see both sides ("up, high, down low" being typical) rather than being sentimental.

The songs themselves are distinctly minimalist, chiefly relying on basslines and percussion, but the occasional guitar line is most distinctive because it is so untrained, notably on the famous "UFO", which really does need to be heard in its proper setting rather than as a sample. The dramatic, if not fiery, "Moody" is bound to give any listener an upbeat feeling with its almost real-life description of a girl looking for a lover: Renee never feels guilty of what she wants to say, she just says it. The same feeling permeates all of the first ten songs on the record, with the other highlight being the distinctive beat/minibeat rhythm of "Tiny Sticks" that yet again shows the way thuggishness is so opposed to expression. "My Love For You" might be purely a dance number, but never has something this accessible sound so charming, yet the voices of the Scroggins sisters seem able to bounce back and forward effortlessly and without strain. Even on more conventional numbers in the latter half of the record, like the funk-rock "Erase You" and "Get Funky," ESG failed to lose their trademark na?vete.

Like later trip-hop groups, ESG showed how beautiful simple rhythms can be for listening pleasure. This was not really something to dance to; it was music that shows the beauty of innocent simplicity. The pictures of the Scroggins sisters on the back cover are really charming and should be seen.

I discovered this band through a book called "The Secret History of Rock" (by Roni Sarig [highly recommended]), and quite a discovery it was. This minimalist funk group (all girls) creates some of the most catchy rythyms known to music. Almost strictly rythym and beat, their stripped down approach to music is a beautifully simple way to groove. Along with other amazing minimalist funk bands such as Liquid Liquid and great post-punk girl groups like the Slits, ESG created some of the coolest music of their time with barely any recognition. Check this out. You'll be groovin' and dancin' from track 1 to end of the disc.

I used to go see these girls at "obscure" clubs in the Bronx. As a DJ in Brooklyn, I made them a part of my top rotation. I still have the vinyl.

How surprised was I when, 20 years later and living in upstate NY, I hear "Moody" mixed into some dumb Old Navy sound track. Well, my knees neatly buckled but my hips started swiveling. What a joyous moment that was for me. Emerald Sapphire and Gold. ESG.

This is dance music driven by drums and bass. After disco and before digital production took over dance music, there was artsier, punkier foot stomping fare driven by a solid drum beat and riveting bass paterns

This is not the same as drum and bass-speed grooves driven by synthasized percussion. These are organic analog patterns driven by tough as nails, shoe leather players. Great stomp based on great old fashioned musicianship

Add great vocals by a singer with drama and attitude, and you have blood and guts dance pound with a soul

GET THIS.