SOULIVE — Up Here (review)

Album · 2009 · Funk Jazz

5/5 · 2012-06-12
darkshade

Soulive had done a lot of things by 2009, they mastered their own style of soul-jazz/funk-jazz, experimented with hip-hop successfully, and tried some other things like pop, reggae, and R&B on the previous album, to more or less poor results.

So, coming off of their poorly-received last album, the band dropped their one-time lead singer/front man, and decided to go back to their roots and just be the original Soulive trio. But that wasn't enough, they wanted horns, so they got The Shady Horns who had been playing with Lettuce (Eric Krasno and Neal Evans's other band).

But Soulive hardly repeat themselves. This wasn't going to be a "Doin' Something" part 2. On this album, instead of evenly fusing soul-jazz with funk-jazz, the band really dives deep, and I mean DEEP, into the funk. The horns are given a bigger role in the music than ever before. Dare I say, the horns steal the show. They channel a lot of the greats of the 70s like P-Funk, James Brown, and Tower of Power. Another change of pace is the production. Gone are the slick productions. The sound here is raw and dirty, kinda sounds like it was recorded in 1969 or something. Everything is clear, just with a bite. The bass really sticks out because of it, and I think that's great. You might really think this came out in the late 60s or early 70s, if you saw that the album is only 40 minutes!

"Up Right" gets things going. Big horns start the show, and the first thing we get is a bad-ass riff, and a lot of piano, surprisingly. There's an organ solo, but mostly piano from Evans. This is one of the coolest Soulive songs.

Next song starts with what sounds like the intro to a prog rock song, but then moves back to the funk. Another awesome riff. Everyone is doing new things, no bag of tricks here.

Nigel Hall, the VIP member of Soulive and Lettuce (for seemingly always guesting on their albums lately) shows up for "Too Much" on vocals. Now, sometimes Soulive's vocal tracks aren't the best songs, but when Nigel Hall is singing, it's ok. He's a great singer (and great keyboardist, but doesn't play here), and the songs he's guested on are generally great. This one's got a bit of 70s Stevie Wonder to it. Nice bluesy solo from Krasno.

I swear, "Backwards Jack" sounds like it came directly from a Lettuce session, which is not surprising as Eric Krasno and Neal Evans are both members of that band, as are most of the horn players. Hell Sam Kininger is using that same wah sound for his sax solo that he uses in Lettuce. Lettuce has a different feel than Soulive; Lettuce is more funk, and a bit of dub/electronic. I guess with Soulive being more funk on this album, a song like this would have happened. Of course, Neal is playing a little more organ than he would in Lettuce, and there's no bassist here obviously.

After all that funk, we need a break, and unlike Lettuce, Soulive provide some down time. "PJs" is a lovely soul-jazz cut, with some beautiful organ flurries, and some of the soulful guitar by Krasno. This man is so underrated as a guitarist, he really is the modern day answer to Pat Martino and John Scofield, but he plays much more aggressive. Here, his playing is delicate, a little bluesy, and full of dynamic. The light horns accent the phrasing so well. Great song.

"Tonight" is a good funk song. Really James Brown feeling going on here, which is never bad. Everyone is on fire here, really in the pocket.

YEA! "Hat Trick" is one of my favorites from this album. Just a bumpin' song, full of great horns. I love the big baritone sax here, the horns in general are very much showcased on this song.

I think the band couldn't not at least include one soul/funk-jazz tune here. "For Granted" brings us back to the early Soulive albums, of course with the production quality here, it sounds more like if the band was around in the late 60s, especially with that bari sax solo. Wow. Really great tune again.

I used to not like the last song, "Prototype" for it's heavy R&B slant, but over time, Ive realized that the band is so tight, that it doesn't matter. And the vocals aren't bad, there's actually great harmonies. It's just a great soul and R&B song, and there are moments of really funky bass from Neal Evans' foot pedals. Excellent soloing from Krasno as we fade out. End of the album already? I'm not even done typing this review?

This is one of Soulive's best albums. I remember when this came out, I had been a fan for some time, but was really disappointed in their last couple of albums, and I remember picking this one up, and just thinking "They're back, and better than before". And 3 years later, I still see this album as their return to greatness (not that they were ever really bad anyway).

This is Soulive's funk album. There's hints of jazz and soul, but the band were really harnessing their funk energy on this one, and it shows. Bad-ass riffs, powerhouse horns, rough and dirty keys and organ, and tight drums.

One of the best funk albums in a very long time, I'm serious! Sounds like James Brown on a bad night ;)