Black Uhuru - Liberation:The Island Antologhy (1993)

Bass and Drums by Sly and Robbie

2 CDs IN ONE  LINK

Pharoah Sanders - Save Our Children (1998)

There are producers who mold and shape recording sessions around the skills of the featured artist or bands. And there are producers who bring an artist onto their own landscape and mold that featured artist to their (the producers') own whims. Bill Laswell is among the latter, generally engaging a rotating cast of regular collaborators, including funk keyboard man Bernie Worrell, and the usual squad of eastern percussionists, which in this case includes the distinguished East Indians Zakir Hussain and Trilok Gurtu.

The danger in this approach is that the personality of the nominal leader of the recording date, in this case Pharoah Sanders, is often lost in the producer's vision. Such is the case with this date. From the opening bars it's clear this is more about Bill Laswell's vision than Pharoah Sanders. Isn't that kinda like the child is father to the man? Pharoah is credited with tenor and soprano saxes, double reed (which one?), percussion and voice; so I gather the title track opener confines his contributions to voice? If this track were all one were to hear, one would be hard-pressed to identify this as a Pharoah Sanders date. And with a saxophonist as distinguished of voice as Sanders, this just won't do. "Midnight in Berkeley Square," a re-working of "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square," finally introduces the tenor many have come to know and love, buoyed by Alex Blake's incessant strummed bass, but even then he is awash in trappings. If you could ever imagine Pharoah Sanders on smooth jazz radio, this might be the track. Come back Pharoah, and leave Laswell to lesser lights.(jazztimes)

FLAC

Shin Terai - Unison (2001)

Bernie Worrell sets up the Shin Terai experience with a welcoming organ piece "Clue." Next the positive vibe of the record is established with "Dinner of Heaven." Bill Laswell's bass is happy and Nicky Skopelitis' rhythm guitar and sitar is nothing but a good time. 4 minutes into the song, Buckethead enters and he really pushes the song into pleasantry. In "Emotional Intelligence" the band bonds to take you to a higher level of listening pleasure. Every note, beat propels the song forward. Shin Terai's beats, loops and programming lets Laswell, Skopelitis and Buckethead shine.

"Dusk" gets down with a nasty beat and Skopelitis hypnotic rhythm guitar. Damn, Laswell can groove the hell out of that bass. The soft guitar touches by Skopelitis and Buckethead are pure magic. Just when you thought you were safe from the groove, the band lays it on you again with the next song "Tag of War." Huge, deep foundation will pull you down into its core. Shin Terai's beat and Laswell's effects are staggering. The little funky sounds infect the song with musical pixie dust. Buckethead's lead guitar is out of this world. The keys at the end of the song are awesome.

Skopelitis rhythm in "Dream Catcher" mesmerizes me and then Bucket slices his electric guitar in like a machete. Worrell's organ synthesizer or clavinet makes some unusual pretty sounds in this track. Four and a half minutes in Buckethead blasts off into the heavens with astonishing lead playing. "From Texas" is funky, with Worrell's organ dominating the sound. (fearsmag)

TRACKLIST

1 Clue 1:59 

2 Dinner Of Heaven 7:46 

3 Emotional Intelligence 7:25 

4 Dusk 7:18 

5 Tug Of War 8:15 

6 Dream Catcher 7:52 

7 From Texas 8:10

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