 |
|
Home > Archives > Reviews >
|
KLT :: KLT Presents ... Butch
(Grunt Galaxy Records, 2003)
In an effort that's just as big as it's patron hero, Butch, KLT has released a big, clean record full of power and hooks.
Musically, think of a quirky, non-perverted, fusion-oriented Prince. You've got some big funky music on this album that will make you want to move with a blend of funk guitar and vocals with some hip-hop beats, r&b styles and effortless synth accents.
The fusion is seamless to the point that you probably won't think of it as fusion when you pop the CD in. It's just one smooth, funky ride to the end.
The only major problem I had with the album was that it's as big and sometimes unmanageable as the fictional character of Butch. The CD is 18 tracks long, and while some of those tracks are short segues into other songs, most of them are funk/r&b tracks averaging somewhere around four minutes.
With an album this long, it's easy to get lost and lose your focus on the music, especially when some of those songs are pretty much void of any hooks. I would have been happier with the 12 best tracks and a shorter album that cut off the ambient, though lush, final six-minute track.
Other than the fact that this album is a little much to digest, it's solid as a rock. The opening track is the catchy Prince meets Bowie "Everybody Wants to Fly," which sports a smooth and dynamic groove throughout the song.
The storyline of Butch is sparsely interwoven throughout the album, but just enough to occasionally pique your interest, which is good on such a long album.
The best integration of the story comes on tracks 10, "Armageddon," and 11, "Introspect." Backed up by a super-catchy beat, "Armageddon" uses rhymes to describe the power Butch feels after his transformation from a little squirt to a big bone-crushing hero. "Introspect" is the more hopeful of the two tracks, expressing Butch's new-found hope after his transformation.
As a whole, the only weakness of the music is that there are very few really memorable hooks that could push these songs from simply tight funk fusion into truly single-worthy tracks.
But you simply can't knock anything technical about this album. The musicianship is incredible, as are the arrangements and the production. Kenny Carter exhibits depth and maturity in the way he arranges these tightly crafted songs and explores the sonic possibilities within them.
|
|
|
