TRIBAL TECH — Thick (review)

TRIBAL TECH — Thick album cover Album · 1999 · Fusion Buy this album from MMA partners
2.5/5 ·
Sean Trane
Yet another TT album, and it doesn’t bring much new to the band’s well established modern fusion musical formula. Indeed, their eighth album (in 14 years of existence) doesn’t differ much, as all of their tics are well-worn and obviously sufficiently time-tested for the followers, but one can really wonder why they bothered doing another album, as you’d have a hard time telling one from another. The usual quartet, still lead by Willis & Kinsey and Henderson, dishes out their all-too polished and over-slick rock-oriented jazz-fusion that could’ve been recorded anytime between the mid-80’s and the late-90’s, although it sounds mega-dated nowadays and even insufferably synth-produced.

You could easily confuse this type of fusion with Vital Information or some of Yellowjackets early 90’s albums or Corea’s Elektric Band, without much importance, since the 90’s inconsequent fusion sounds mostly the same. Oh sure, the virtuoso qualities of all four musicians is not to be doubted, the songwriting is hardly flawed, but the sounds chosen, especially with Covington’s drums and Kinsey’s sometimes very cheesy and kitschy synths. I’m also not a big fan of Willis’ all-too round fretless bass sound, which contrast (but not really all that positively) with Henderson’s often fiery guitar playing, which is as usual the group’s main strength.

The only novelty (I think) is the electronic and sampling doodlings spread over a few early tracks, and to be honest, every second try I give them, I find these explorations fairly irritating. Another one of the main gripe I have with this album is its overall length (not that long at just under 55 mins), is that I never managed to listen to it in its entirety as I pop it out well before the halfway, despite some undeniable qualities. Don’t get me wrong though; without disliking the album per se, I guess that says a lot for it. This is kind of a pointless and “made-hundred-times-before” modern fusion that will certainly not revolutionize your musical horizons. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
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