For those of you that don't know, I'm a bassist. I've been playing for over 20 years, and for a while I was an avid reader of Bass Player magazine because, well, if you want to be in on the whole bass player scene, you've just got to know all the newest and coolest players and gear, right? And that was me. Not that I still don't want to know all the newest and coolest, I just can't afford to subscribe to Bass Player anymore (oh well). Anyway, at one point there was a cover story on Doug Wimbish and the project he was currently involved in, and it was Jungle Funk. The author of the article gushed so much over the CD that I knew I had to hear it. I couldn't find it at any of the local stores (not even the cool ones!) so I had to <gasp> order it. I was not really prepared for what I was to find.
Jungle Funk is three dudes: Vinx on vocals and percussion, Doug Wimbish on bass and Will Calhoun on drums. That's right: no guitar, no keyboards, just percussion, drums, bass and vocals and they manage to pull it off and then some. Through the use of triggers, pads, and all sorts of modern (circa 1997 modern, that is) tech, this extremely non-traditional power trio makes some unbelievable music. I've never been a big electronic music fan; it's not that I don't like electronic music, it's just that it has to be something truly exceptional to get my attention. Guess what: this CD is truly exceptional.
Vinx has got an incredible voice: a really meaty and strong baritone. There's this guttural quality to it that is so magnetic, I can't really put my finger on it. Doug Wimbish is pretty much the star of the show here since he's really the only melodic instrument in the group, so he has to carry the bulk of each tune. At the time the whole looping thing was just starting to gain momentum, and he was one of the first to use it as an integral part of his music. He's got this incredible range of stomp boxes at his feet when he plays:
Excuse me while I bury my head in the sand for awhile.... drums and keys simultaneously?!?! Freakin' jerk. Here's Will Calhoun, who lays down the mean funk the entire time, tying it all together while still adding his own sauce to the mix. Wimbish and Calhoun are 1/2 of Living Colour, Wimbish having replaced the original bass player Muzz Skillings. This CD is just miles away from anything LC ever did, it's crazy to think that these are the same players.
Ok, enough of my yappin': let's talk about the music:
The disc opens with Ugly Face, a mid-tempo groover that is admittedly an odd choice for an opener, but it manages to wiggle under your skin like some freaky burrowing worm that drills straight to your brain (not sure where I was going with that one, but ok). For the longest time I couldn't figure out how Calhoun manages to sound like two drummers here until I read somewhere that they're playing to a programmed drum track. But check it out: he doubles the programmed drum part and plays all these subtle little variations that simultaneously make the drums double thick and ultra-funky. It's pretty cool that a machine plays the beat and the drummer just adds the flava.
Worship starts out all drum 'n bass, and then morphs into a strange trance-like R&B tune when Vinx sings. Goddammit, I LOVE this guys vocals. So soulful, so much yearning in his voice. And then there's Wimbish still holding it all down. Trance is super deep, dark and groovy. This album doesn't sound like anything else I own, from the writing to the performances to the production. Every tune is so moody and there's the underlying darkness to the whole deal... I can't help but get drawn in with every listen.
Headfake is all drum n' bass, with a bit too much of the filter effect, but it's still cool, especially in the context of the rest of the tunes. September is just beautiful, with Wimbish's nutty distorted opening that makes it's way into a groovy wah bass part a la Bootsy Collins. So much subtlety with all the players on such a beautifully melancholy tunes. Vinx's vocals layers at the end are just gorgeous. Torn is definitely the tune where all the lighters come out, or I guess nowadays, the cell phones <ugh>. Call me a traditionalist, but the lighter thing at a concert with a few thousand people is so much cooler than everyone whipping out their phones. Wimbish's playing on this song is truly something special. So much feeling, and his effects really take the tune to a new place.
The next tune is one of my two favorites on the disc: Temporary Love. Holy hell, boys, talk about dropping the funk BOMB on this track. Wimbish and Calhoun's pocket is so damn deep, I'm still pulling myself out. Listen to the way Calhoun swings the crap out of the hi-hat... man alive these guys are slaying it. Yet again, Vinx brings us home with the voice that stops me heart dead. But this isn't the track that truly does me in. I usually skip by Cycles, which is actually another beautifully moody track (check out the "guitar" solo about 2/3 of the way in) and Perculator, because I can't wait to get to Still I Try.
This is the top of the mountain. Every track after this is a slow but inevitable downward spiral, but Still I Try really speaks to me. I get tears in my eyes every time I listen to it. Truly: no lie. The opening line is so beautiful, and Calhoun's drumming is so damn funky! Damn, man. That beat makes the whole tune so bouncy and it contrasts so beautifully with Vinx's incredibly sad and yearning melody and lyrics. Talk about tearing my heart out... and then your got the break: come on! What great tone, Doug! Then right back to the bounce.... listen to the swinging ride cymbal... then the voice... yep, I'm spent.
Check out the rest of the disc, please, and pick your own favorites. Every player has a showcase here, but the tunes where they play off each other are the best.
Vinx ended up leaving the band and went solo, and Wimbish and Calhoun still tour with Living Colour, but this is by far my most favorite of all their projects. I searched out Vinx's first album which had the original cut of Temporary Love on it, and while it was very good, it doesn't speak to me the way this CD does. I love the blurring of the line between the electronic/programmed/triggered instruments and the live performances. Oh and by the way, every once and a while when you hear the audience cheer, remember: this entire album was performed live. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it, sir.
Stay tuned for more digging, both through my CDs and through the back alleys of my brain. I'm not sure which is more terrifying a prospect....
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