I've got review ready for this one:
Humble
Grumble: Flanders Fields
Release: 2011
Style: fusion
Label: Altrock Productions
Website: www.humblegrumble.com
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/humblegrumble
Playing
Time: 47:34
Cat. N°: Alt-016
Review by: Misha
Rating: 10/10
The
debut of Belgian Humble Grumble at Altrock Productions, “Flanders Fields” is not just a
pleasant surprise for the lovers of alternative music, it is an undisputed
fusion masterpiece. Yes, beware, this review will be a collection of
superlatives, but this time, only because the record actually deserves them.
The
vocal jazz-rock Humble Grumble produces is a jewel of an originality. There is
no one band making this kind of music, that I am aware of. Of course, they
didn’t come from another planet, and also have listened to the music we all
listened. So, the references are all there. The playful vocal arrangements
remind me most of the 10cc Cabaret-like masterpiece “Une nuit a Paris” from the album
“The Original Soundtrack” back from 1975. The melodies are also at least that great,
having lots of air play potential, if not for too jazzy arrangements around
them. There, the fabulous play of two men on the reeds – Pol Mareen (sax) and
Pedro Guridi (clarinets), and Pieter Claus on marimba and vibraphone define the
sound of the band a lot.
But
the most important for the band is the front man Gabor Humble Vörös. He is not
only responsible for the band’s name and fine song writing, but he is also a
fantastic vocalist with quite a vocal range, and an original guitarist, who also
can show at times his techniques. It is nice though, that his guitar playing
doesn’t dominate the record.
The
fantastic instrumental arrangements give every member of the band just the
right time to play tunes and do some little improvisations. Those last very
controlled though, the finger was steady at the controls during the recording
sessions, I believe. This delivers a cleverly composed and arranged record,
once again, a masterpiece, where no one note is superfluous: everything is just
right.
I
am not going to dissect the album song by song. The record doesn’t just consist
of numbers, it is a complete whole, which is a smart thing here, since the most
of songs are composed in a different key, displaying a whole range of styles,
from a heavier prog to a jazzy and lighter vocal-oriented songs. An important
ingredient that binds it all, is humour. Both the lyrics and music are soaked with
this fine matter, that makes the record that playful, bright and colourful object
of pure joy.
Other
references would be Daevid Allen’s Gong, Frank Zappa, Mr. Bungle, Modest
Midget, Uz Jsme Doma.
Altrock
just has this knack of discovering the absolute talents all over the world.
Everything they produced so far is more than worth of digging. Think of Italian
Yugen, Byelorussian Rational Diet, Argentinean Factor Burzaco and many many more,
some of them already covered on this site. I wish you lots of pleasure
discovering all of them by yourself.
Tracklist:
1.
Sirens Dance (3:52)
2.
Aging Backwards (5:20)
3.
Flanders Fields (5:05)
4.
Sleepless Night (5:59)
5.
Horny (2:57)
6.
Little Bird (4:09)
7.
Duck on a Walk (3:25)
8.
The Greatest Kick of the Day (3:23)
9.
Never Lose your Mind (2:43)
10.
Love Song (5:27)
11.
Purple Frog (5:05)
Musicians:
Jonathan
Callens – drums, backing vocals (9)
Jouni
Isoherranen – bass, backing vocals (5,
9)
Gabor
Humble Vörös – guitar, vocals
Pol
Mareen – saxophone
Pedro
Guridi – clarinets, backing vocals (5)
Pieter
Claus – marimba, vibraphone, percussions
With:
Lisa
Jordens – backing vocals (3, 5, 6, 7, 8 )
Hanneke
Osterlijnck – backing vocals (3, 6)
Joriska
Vanhaelewyn – backing vocals (2)
Juan
Carlos Torres Iturra – Spanish vocals (6)
Leika
Mochan – backing vocals (9)
Attila
Czigany – harmonica (6)
Joris
Buysse – flute (6)
Fre
Vandaele – whistle (3, 4)
Wouter
Vandenabeele – violin (4)
Megan
Quill – vocals (10, 11)
Franciska
Roose – vocals (10, 11)
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