Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Clap Hands For Charlie Hunter


Some people love amusement parks, especially those impossibly built rides that take you and your loved ones and shoot you at 200 M.P.H. through a dark tunnel with more curves than the cast of “The Hills,” or drop you 30 stories into a free fall, only to snap you to safety before smashing into the ground like a roof-hurled pumpkin. These thrill seekers claim that these rides, although at times frightening, leave you invigorated and breathless. And, they are apparently… FUN!

May I suggest Charlie Hunter as a viable alternative? Same sensations, only no fear of spinal injury. (Although I do remember spraining something when listening to Groundtruther, Charlie’s side project with rhythm machine Bobby Previte.)

This particular ride with Charlie Hunter dates back to the early nineties. That’s 15 years of musical….do I dare say…genius? Yes! Musical genius.


Is it a guitar? Is it a bass? Is it an organ? It sounds like all those things, but it’s just Charlie Hunter, a wizard, an original, a visionary, and a lover of music. Charlie’s original material draws from all his influences and yet sounds like no one else. There are jazz snobs who stare in awe at Hunter’s guitar prowess on stage. There is also a multitude of younger people, who can appreciate the pocket of the groove and the funk that Charlie has been laying down live for so long. Not an easy task, pleasing both.

Now on September 10th, we get “Baboon Strength.” Just wait until you sink your ears into this one. It’s Hunter’s most musical journey to date. Do you like Squeeze? How about The Carpenters? Memphis soul? Techno? Charlie Hunter has created an album’s worth of original material that is uniquely all of those things and unmistakably Charlie Hunter. It’s that ride at Six Flags that you’ve been waiting all day to experience, only to listen, you can be any height

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