Monday, February 11, 2019
Get Ready For "Already Ready Already"
Galactic has been doing their thing for 25 years now. And if you're not sure what their "thing" is, I will tell you. It is a potent and unique brand of New Orleans music, which at the heart, is funky of course, but manages to incorporate traditional jazz, brass band marches, electronica, silky soul, rock and roll, heavy metal and rhythm and blues, occasionally on the same album, and all of it anchored by one the greatest groovemasters in the history of music, drummer extraordinaire Stanton Moore.
Their new album "Already Ready Already" dropped on Friday and though it only clocks in at around 25 minutes, it is one of the most satisfying records of their career. Bookended by two nasty instrumentals, the songs seamlessly flow from one to the other, creating not only a thrilling ride of beats and melody, but also, somewhat impossibly, offering a history of New Orleans music.
I don't think sampling "Already Ready Already" with these three cuts will do the record justice, any more than saying Side Two of "Abbey Road is great because of "Sun King" and "Polythene Pam." I suggest taking the 25 minute ride in one shot. But if you're unsure, start here.
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9 comments:
Thanks for the share, Sal. Just gave the album two solid listens and LOVED it! Those grooves are tight!
Thanks Sal, this one is on my list to check out. Glad you liked it. For me, I have had a bit more trouble getting into the recent Galactic albums with hip hop and rappers, as that is just not my style. I tend to be more of a fan of stuff like Crazyhorse Mongoose and Coolin Off, etc. And I loved parts (but not all) of Ya-Ka-May. Still, their grooves are always worth checking out.
I hear ya, Troy. What do you think of "Ruckus?" I think that's their best.
Gee, I thought for certain today's post would be your annual "the Grammys just don't get it!" rant...
Did you skip the show? Or are you, dare we ask, mellowing?
Honestly, it's been a long time since I played Ruckus. I like it, and love the Never Called You Crazy song. I prefer the instrumental jams over the vocals, but if I gotta have vocals in there, I'll take the Houseman singing any day.
Speaking of instrumental jams, one of my very favorite Galactic songs has them playing with a high school marching band. 'Karate' just KILLS. I could listen to this all day and twice on Sunday. Check this out, and watch your boy Stanton go off at the 5:50 mark. This is awesome.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7wBT9k22yQ
Great tip -- thanks Sal.
Troy's comments notwithstanding Princess Shaw is featured on the second song "Going Straight Crazy." There is a really sweet documentary about her maybe three or four years old. Worth a watch.
Great clip, Troy. Stanton never fails to astound me.
And Ken D.
I really had NO desire at all to watch the Grammys, not even for the good of a BW rant, but I turned it on anyway. Alicia Keys half-assed opening about love and light 'and like, music is like, you know, like love. I feel the love" should have been enough for me to throw something at the TV, but I stayed with it. Sean Mendes, on the other hand, made me throw something at the TV. That's when I gave up for the good of my health. I did watch Janelle Monae's performance this morning and really enjoyed it.
Good for you, Sal. Your health is more important.
I watched the Grammys as usual. My highlights: The Post Malone/RHCP duet sucked. Gaga was great (though I would agree she was a bit too full-tilt from the beginning). The Dolly Parton tribute was awesome (except for Katy Perry). J Lo was terribly ill-chosen as the one to voice a Motown retrospective. "Golden Hour" was on my list of favorite albums of 2018, so I was glad that it won best Country and best Album (and I loved Kacey Musgraves performance.) H.E.R (who I didn't know) was good and I might track down her EP. Janelle Monae's songs were good. Cardi B sure didn't seem like she was live. St. Vincent and Dua Lipa (even though I didn't know either song) was engaging. The Aretha tribute, I enjoyed. And, man, Diana Ross was as over-the-top as I expected -- cringe-worthy, yet lovable.
And, once I got used to Alicia Keys' hosting approach, I thought she was a fine host, actually. Her medley was surprisingly nice and heartfelt. I think she loves music and musicians and it really came across that way to me.
There is always music that doesn't appeal to me (Travis Scott, Cardi B), but I'm always glad I watched it. Maybe it's easier to watch it after the fact when you can DVR past the stuff you don't like.
(Sorry to hijack the conversation...)
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