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Zarko · 04-17-2009, 05:11 AM

House Of The Rising Sun – Idris Muhammad (1976)

GENRES – Jazz, RnB, Funk

House of the Rising Sun - 4:42
Bahia (Boogie Bump) - 4:38
Hard to Face the Music- 4:48
Theme for New York City (Based on Chopin's Prelude in E Minor, Op. 28) - 3:25
Sudan - 10:52
Hey Pocky A-Way - 6:07

I’ve never been huge on the jazz funk side of things… I am hardly a purist though, so I will give anything a chance. I guess all it took was the right album. House Of The Rising Sun was widely canned by jazz purists for adopting a mainstream sound and style around their beloved jazz. House Of The Rising Sun hasn’t really made me change my mind on the ideas put forth. It’s a solid album though with plenty of highlights, but there is just something that rubs me the wrong way about certain songs. Sometimes it goes overly funky, and sometimes it maintains its ‘cool’.

The title track certainly opens up with quality, ‘House Of The Rising Sun’ being one of the standouts of the album. It carries a down tempo groove that is my sort of funk, and I also particularly like the vocals. They aren’t anything standout alone, but they don’t dominate the other facets of the music too much, as a lot of jazz-funk usually entails. Muhammad’s drumming and general leading of the band in this song, and the album in general is great; with the guitar lines follow its suit, as well as the generally light brass section. It is a good head-bopper song, without sacrificing the other elements.

‘Bahia’ is a reverse in regards to the sort of funk and soul that I enjoy. Not only am I not a fan of female vocalists in the genre (Not being sexist, just honest), but the backing band is still quite nice. It has a strong Brazilian vibe to it, the pacing and general sounds, which could easily be transferred to Brazilian instrumentation (Note, I just found out that it was written originally by a Brazilian jazz duo, so there you go). I just dislike the overall funk-pop jingle, which is the problem with the genre as a whole I feel. The genre is much better when it goes down a more shadowed and dark road.

‘Hard To Face The Music’ is another top track from the album. It rescinds the overly upbeat tone for a more sullen and shadowy one. It may seem odd, because it is still upbeat compared to a lot of genres, but I am talking about the album within itself. There are no vocals, just the constant groovy-ness, with a few sax solo’s here and there. It probably has the most pronounced saxophone work of any song yet. The bridge is also pretty solid without changing too much as a whole.

‘Theme For New York City’ is apparently based on Chopin's Prelude in E Minor, Op. 28, though I would be the last person who could identify it (Chopin’s music has never done much for me). It isn’t a bad piece, it just isn’t particularly memorable. Perhaps it would be more interesting if I could tie it directly to Chopin’s work. ‘Sudan’ is by far the longest track on the album, nearly doubling that of any other track. It is chock-a-block full of funky jazz solos, from Idris himself, the saxophonists, as well as having its own Eastern tinge. The drumming here is absolutely phenomenal, and the overall construct almost makes me wish I could appreciate other parts of the album more. Although the piece is ‘middle of the pack’ in regards to my favourite songs to my least favourites, it has its golden moments. Although at times it can feel a little tedious at 11 minutes, Idris pulls it back together just as you felt like skipping the rest to keep you along for the ride. The sax work is also great at times, so don’t forget about it

.

The final track, ‘Hey Pocky A-Way’ is the final track (Though there is a special edition with two more tracks) that is quite the interesting one… It has a downtrodden driving bass line, and the overriding guitar licks are bluesier than anything else. The vocals are okay as it reaches a funkier level, though entirely nothing special in my opinion. Better songs elsewhere on the album.

I don’t know what I was expecting with this album… I had read so many great things about being a high end funk jazz album that I was expecting something better I guess. Like I said, there are some great sections, but overall it just has too much of the funk that I am not a terrible fan of.

TOTAL SCORE

6.0/10

Three stars out of five sounds so much better

– House Of The Rising Sun
– Hard To Face The Music

04-17-2009, 05:11 AM	#51 (permalink)
Zarko Barely Disheveled Zombie Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 1,196	House Of The Rising Sun – Idris Muhammad (1976) GENRES – Jazz, RnB, Funk House of the Rising Sun - 4:42 Bahia (Boogie Bump) - 4:38 Hard to Face the Music- 4:48 Theme for New York City (Based on Chopin's Prelude in E Minor, Op. 28) - 3:25 Sudan - 10:52 Hey Pocky A-Way - 6:07 I’ve never been huge on the jazz funk side of things… I am hardly a purist though, so I will give anything a chance. I guess all it took was the right album. House Of The Rising Sun was widely canned by jazz purists for adopting a mainstream sound and style around their beloved jazz. House Of The Rising Sun hasn’t really made me change my mind on the ideas put forth. It’s a solid album though with plenty of highlights, but there is just something that rubs me the wrong way about certain songs. Sometimes it goes overly funky, and sometimes it maintains its ‘cool’. The title track certainly opens up with quality, ‘House Of The Rising Sun’ being one of the standouts of the album. It carries a down tempo groove that is my sort of funk, and I also particularly like the vocals. They aren’t anything standout alone, but they don’t dominate the other facets of the music too much, as a lot of jazz-funk usually entails. Muhammad’s drumming and general leading of the band in this song, and the album in general is great; with the guitar lines follow its suit, as well as the generally light brass section. It is a good head-bopper song, without sacrificing the other elements. ‘Bahia’ is a reverse in regards to the sort of funk and soul that I enjoy. Not only am I not a fan of female vocalists in the genre (Not being sexist, just honest), but the backing band is still quite nice. It has a strong Brazilian vibe to it, the pacing and general sounds, which could easily be transferred to Brazilian instrumentation (Note, I just found out that it was written originally by a Brazilian jazz duo, so there you go). I just dislike the overall funk-pop jingle, which is the problem with the genre as a whole I feel. The genre is much better when it goes down a more shadowed and dark road. ‘Hard To Face The Music’ is another top track from the album. It rescinds the overly upbeat tone for a more sullen and shadowy one. It may seem odd, because it is still upbeat compared to a lot of genres, but I am talking about the album within itself. There are no vocals, just the constant groovy-ness, with a few sax solo’s here and there. It probably has the most pronounced saxophone work of any song yet. The bridge is also pretty solid without changing too much as a whole. ‘Theme For New York City’ is apparently based on Chopin's Prelude in E Minor, Op. 28, though I would be the last person who could identify it (Chopin’s music has never done much for me). It isn’t a bad piece, it just isn’t particularly memorable. Perhaps it would be more interesting if I could tie it directly to Chopin’s work. ‘Sudan’ is by far the longest track on the album, nearly doubling that of any other track. It is chock-a-block full of funky jazz solos, from Idris himself, the saxophonists, as well as having its own Eastern tinge. The drumming here is absolutely phenomenal, and the overall construct almost makes me wish I could appreciate other parts of the album more. Although the piece is ‘middle of the pack’ in regards to my favourite songs to my least favourites, it has its golden moments. Although at times it can feel a little tedious at 11 minutes, Idris pulls it back together just as you felt like skipping the rest to keep you along for the ride. The sax work is also great at times, so don’t forget about it . The final track, ‘Hey Pocky A-Way’ is the final track (Though there is a special edition with two more tracks) that is quite the interesting one… It has a downtrodden driving bass line, and the overriding guitar licks are bluesier than anything else. The vocals are okay as it reaches a funkier level, though entirely nothing special in my opinion. Better songs elsewhere on the album. I don’t know what I was expecting with this album… I had read so many great things about being a high end funk jazz album that I was expecting something better I guess. Like I said, there are some great sections, but overall it just has too much of the funk that I am not a terrible fan of. TOTAL SCORE 6.0/10 Three stars out of five sounds so much better – House Of The Rising Sun – Hard To Face The Music Last edited by Zarko; 04-22-2009 at 06:21 AM.