Front End Lifter

Yohimbe Brothers

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 10, 2002)
• Original Release Date: September 10, 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rope a Dope
• ASIN: B00006I08K
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #245,786 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Ponk

2. Tenemental

3. 6996-Club-Yohimbe

4. Psychopathia Mojosexualis

5. Welcome 2 the Freq Show

6. $moke and Du$t Dub [Version]

7. Big Pill

8. Bamalamb

9. Transmission XXX

10. Just a Little Screwy

11. Invitation to a Situation

12. Prelude to a Diss

13. Innerspin (A Tone Hymn)

14. Callipygiac Caldonians

15. That Obscure Object of Desire

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Drawing on their many musical obsessions, Black Rock Coalition founders Vernon (Living Colour) Reid and DJ Logic have teamed up to present a very potent blend of hip-hop, electronica, circus music, blues and soul, dub reggae, and, as is to be expected, full-tilt rock & roll. Front End Lifter offers a fresh set of eclectic vibes that will especially please folks who long for a return to progressiveness on the dance floor. Songs such as the "Secret Agent Man"-like "Ponk" and the African-inflected "Tenemental" explore the trip-hop end of the spectrum, while "Bamalamb," driven by a gritty harmonica riff, mines the '70s blaxploitation era for inspiration. New York underground performer Latasha N. Diggs weaves her sexy vocals through the blistering "Psychopathia Mojosexualis," while the all-star cast of Prince Paul, Slick Rick, Corey Glover, and BRC stalwart Greg Tate add major flavor to the goofy "6996 (Club Yohimbe)," a tune that plays as a satisfying combination of both Digital Underground's "Doowutchyalike" and "Humpty Dance." --Rebecca Levine

Product Description

Guest appearances by Prince Paul, Slick Rick and all original members of seminal rock band Living Color. Slipcase. 2002.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars this ain't about the, ahem, wankery people!, November 16, 2002

By	Chad M. Werner (nowhere is my home, mn) - See all my reviews

in a word: awesome. in a couple of other words, if you are expecting a rock guitarist's album with a turntableist thrown in as window dressing, you will surely be mistaken.

if you are looking for an album that is nearly always interesting, never boring, and is sometimes quite funny, you should pick up "front end lifter".

this is the surprise of the year for me. the things that these two cats can do with their instruments is amazing.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful electronic guitar noise, October 17, 2002

By	djpuppyt (Funkytown, TX) - See all my reviews

This is a brilliant show of music. Everything from the cd cover art down to the slip case over the cd is wonderful. The music on the inside is the jem though. I've always been a fan of Vernon Reid, even during his days with Living Color. His playing on this album is just an extension of what was on his solo album, Mistaken Identity. Not many DJ's are really interesting to listen to or fully get the creativity for the instrument that they use, but DJ Logic is not one of these artists. He approaches his instrument like a jazz musician, less is more type feel. He know just where to place "notes". This is a wonderful, eclectic little album to jam to, hopefully more will come from these two - together.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two Funky Minds Thinking Alike, October 1, 2002

By	Joe (Westfield, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

Ten years. Despite traveling in the same artistic circles, and even appearing on each other's solo work, it took a decade for DJ Logic and Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid to record an album together. It's especially odd now, given the path DJ Logic's career has taken. In the mid-'90s, it would have made perfect sense, working together on Graham Haynes' Transition disc and even Reid's own Mistaken Identity album, the two were almost in the exact same place musically.

But now DJ Logic finds himself among an entirely different crowd. After being "discovered" by Medeski, Martin and Wood on their Combustication album, DJ Logic and his group, Project Logic, were quickly taken up by the jam band community. The only problem is, these bands want to turn Logic into a DMC-style turntablist: wow the crowd with some impressive scratching and be done with it. But, as Reid knows, that isn't his proper role. He is a musical handyman, filling in spaces and touching up grooves with conservative scratches, obscure vocal samples and any other sound he sees fit. There is no machismo here, no concern over dropping listeners' jaws. It's a chance to see two artists realize their full potential after waiting for so long.

When you hear the album, it becomes apparent why they chose to name themselves after Africa's answer to Viagra. The Yohimbe Brothers start things off with Reid, maybe under the influence of the aphrodisiac, putting down a sexually charged guitar riff. Not to be outdone, DJ Logic provides an array of percussionist scratches and effects that matches Reid's intensity. The sexual energy builds even further, as producer Prince Paul (reprising his Handsome Boy Modeling School persona of Chester Rockwell) sends us on a tour with "6996 (Club Yohimbe)". This is probably the closest the album comes to living up to the '70s AFROdisiac feel of the cover art.

As the midpoint approaches, things begin to cool off. The initial excitement has been expelled, and the artists take time to focus on a much gentler, sweeter sound. The slower pace also allows DJ Logic more time to manipulate the music. The echoed vocals and muted horn work of "$moke and Du$t Dub (version)" make it seem as if the song is being carried on the crisp night, instead of your home speakers.

With "Bamalamb" we get a glimpse of what a Black Rock Coalition (the loose confederation led by Vernon and his old band, Living Colour) ho-down would sound like: violin, harmonica and a kick-ass guitar. But it seems that the sexual energy of the yohimbe root is not enough to carry the album all the way through. The tracks grow colder as the Brothers create a vast soundscape of crunching drums, modified guitars and an unending supply of electronic bleeps and blips. But with the mechanized sound comes more improvisation, a nice contrast to the more groove-oriented opening tracks.

This album is the final piece in a vision that was started by Vernon Reid with his Mistaken Identity record. But now Vernon seems to realize that you can't keep an album interesting with simple guitar licks.

Joe Schaefer
September 17, 2002