The Heady Funk of Orgone

SOME CONTEXT

Since forming in 2001, the LA funk-revival ensemble known as Orgone has made quite a name for itself.  You may not have heard of them, but artists like CeeLo Green and Alicia Keys have and were so impressed that they used Orgone as a backing band on some of their best recordings.  

Over the last several years, they have added a singer—a former Macy Gray backing singer—named Nicki J. Crawford and have been a very popular act on the festival circuit, playing sets at Bonnaroo and Wakarusa fests, for example.

THE REVIEW

These guys idolize bands like The Meters and Parliament/Funkadelic, but on their 2001 self-titled debut they take the groove off of your booty and into your head.  It's very cerebral stuff, the kind of music that elicits chilling more than dancing.  This is no more evident than on "Deep Wank," which channels the mellowest of a Sublime influence.  Keeping it mellow may disappoint fans of Orgone's later, more pulsating rhythmic work, however, the slow stuff is really ambitious. Orgone is a vocal-less record, but it's incredibly focused. They keep the grooves simple and jam gently, letting the Rhodes, phasers and effects wash over the riffs.  Fans of jazz-fusion pioneers like Joe Zawinul should take note of pianist Dan Hastie's expert keys and his wonderful interplay with guitarist Sergio Rios.  Even when Orgone get loud, as they do on the last minute, brilliant crescendo of "Captain's Log,"  it never sounds like they're losing control or overplaying.  Instead, Orgone feels—paradoxically—both calculated, yet not the least bit rigid.   It showcases a group that has the chemistry of industry pros who have been playing together for years.   The result is somewhat essential "chill" music and a wonderfully understated debut album. 

Orgone

SINGLES GOING STEADY: "WALKING ON THE MOON"/ "DRIVEN TO TEARS"/ "WHEN THE WORLD IS RUNNING DOWN (YOU MAKE THE BEST OF WHAT'S STILL AROUND)" BY THE POLICE

The Police

There are four discernible versions of The Police.  There's the reggae/punk infusion of their early work with hits like "Roxanne" and "So Lonely," the transformation to the slick, polished, new wave of albums like 1979's Regatta De Blancand 1980's Zenyatta Mondatta, the synthesizer-heavy bubblegum of "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" and the impressive pop craftsmanship of the global hit "Every Breath You Take." This diverse body of work is impressive on its own, but its mind boggling that such genre bending and orignality occurred in less than 10 years,  turning Sting & The Police into global superstars in the process.  The trio was both technically outstanding and brilliant in the songwriting department and their success should surprise nobody.

The heart and soul of the Police was Sting.  He was a terrific frontman of unheard of talent who was responsible for writing nearly every hit entirely on his own.  But, unfortunately, it was his talent that probably broke up the squad.  It frustrated drummer Stewart Copeland and guitarist Andy Summers who also wrote plenty of songs.   Many of those songs ended up on the records without any participation from Sting who adamently refused to perform on them.  Around 1986, Sting's ego—if not his talent—led him to an epiphany most frontman encounter in their careers.  "I don't need these guys," he probably said to himself.  "I can make music all on my own."  And that he did.

Though guitarist Andy Summers has received plenty of praise—ask any talented musician—he is still underrated by the masses.   There are three songs credited solely to Sting which should also be attributed to Andy Summers. These songs collectively make up what I like to call "the fifth discernible version of The Police."  They are "Walking On The Moon,"  "Driven To Tears" and "When The World Is Running Down (You Make The Best Of What's Still Around)"

All of these songs have something in common—the chorus-filled guitar of Andy Summers, which crashes and slices in perfectly-timed down strokes like a chopping butcher knife.  There's hardly a real chord progression amongst them. They're more like chord flashes, striking throughout the songs like lightning.  Sting may have written the melodies and the lyrics, but Summers makes these songs with his guitar.  I'd like to think that it was his ethereal performances that made people fall in love with these songs in the first place.  

P.S. Watch out for one of his few recorded guitar solos on "Driven To Tears."

ETTA BAKER WITH TAJ MAHAL

Etta Baker With Taj Mahal

I have a rule of thumb.  If someone is over 90 years old and they make an album, you have an obligation to listen to it.  It's sort of a respecting your elders thing.  This can be a daunting task if the albums by your great grandmother who still listens to music on a Victrola.  If the album is by a 91 year-old named Etta Baker, however,  it's nothing but a pleasure.  Such is the case on this underrated 2004 acoustic-blues collaboration Etta Baker With Taj Mahal, which features two aging blues guitar legends doing what they do best.

At the time of this recording the collective ages of Etta Baker and Taj Mahal equaled a whopping 153 years.  The two artists obviously didn't set out to make a career defining masterpiece on this effort.  Rather (I hate to stereotype old people but...) it sounds like an impromptu jam on one of their front porches;  a break between bridge and ice tea.  

The record is a hodgepodge that serves multiple purposes.  Of its 19 songs, six are the expected collaboration between Taj and Etta, six are slightly older solo recordings by Etta and the rest are the 1956 recordings which showcased a 43 year-old Etta Baker making her debut with passion, precision and a whole lot of joy.  It makes for a perfect introduction to this wonderful and treasured guitar player who sadly passed away in 2006 at age 93.  What a record—perfect for your break between bridge and ice tea (or any other fine parlor room occasion.)  

Etta Baker With Taj Mahal