|  By
Cornbread
 Robert
Randolph & The Family Band – Unclassified
{2003 | Warner Brothers}
I
only just recently heard of Robert Randolph
when watching the Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar
Festival. Randolph is a young pedal steel guitarist
extraordinaire.
Unclassified
was voted one of 2003’s Top 50 Album’s
of the year by Rolling Stone magazine. Additionally,
Robert Randolph & The Family Band was nominated
for two 2003 Grammy Awards.
So
how would I classify RR & TFB? As blues
funk with a strong gospel influence that produces
some very groovy music.
The
Family Band is:
Robert Randolph – pedal steel guitar,
electric & acoustic guitars, vocals
Danyel Morgan – bass, electric & acoustic
guitars, vocals
Marcus Randolph – drums
John Ginty – B-3 organ, piano
with:
Lenesha Randolph – backing vocals, lead
vocal duet on Smile
Candice Anderson – backing vocals
Ricky Fowler – lead vocal duet on Smile
Neal Casal – backing vocals
Leon Mobley – percussion
….that’s
three Randolphs if y’all are keeping track.
Unclassified
has 11 songs, all original – they are:
1. Going In The Right Direction
– a really fast song, with great backing
vocals and some of the fastest guitar work I’ve
heard.
2. I Need More Love –
very funky bass playing! A fun, R&B soulful
song.
3. Nobody – outstanding
guitar playing with R&B/pop vocals, again,
check out Morgan’s bass groove.
4. Soul Refreshing – a slower
song with a bit of a Caribbean sound. Personally,
I really liked it.
5. Squeeze – starts and
ends with slide and some ultra funky bass for
an excellent instrumental, oh, and yea there’s
plenty of mojo here.
6. Smile – is a slow,
acoustic duet, the slide guitar gives it a country
sound. I didn’t really care for this song,
but I bet it gets/got lots of radio play.
7. Good Times (3 Stroke) –
I liked this song, it started with a guitar
part that reminded me of Jimi Hendrix playing
Star Spangled Banner at Woodstock, moved into
an up-tempo song with minimal vocals. The second
verse gives us distorted guitar, shredding solos
and rap-like vocals. What a combination!
8. Why Should I Feel Lonely
– outstanding playing, the guitar and/or
organ was great.
9. Calypso – fantastic
instrumental, the pedal steel playing is great,
as is the Hammond B-3 by Ginty. It could have
been called anything. My first thought when
I saw Calyspso was that it’s a remake
of the John Denver song (which, by the way is
one of my all time favorite songs.)
10. Problems – slow vocals with
a classic rock sound.
11. Run For Your Life –
the third instrumental, the bluesiest as well.
I really like Randolphs instrumental pieces
a lot.
Robert
Randolph is a guitar great in the making. If
you are not familiar with him, you will be,
and tell your friends you heard about him first
from Cornbread and
STLBlues.net.
This
is a good CD, not bluesy in vocals, but the
pedal steel guitar gives it that bluesy feel.
That being said, if this still sounds good then
buy the CD. Musically, it’s right on,
the vocals are pretty good too. Rating 4.325.
Ciao' for now, peace.
Peter 'Cornbread'
Cohen, CBP
Email - Cornbread@STLBlues
|
