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This may very well be the sleeper album of the year as it
flew through 2002s radar undetected.
Lettuce is spot on with this effort, coming across with such a
proficient flow to the set. The seven
piece band finds both Eric Krasno and Adam Smirnoff on guitars, Sam Kininger
and Ryan Zoidis on saxes, Jeff Bhasker fingering the keyboards, Erick Coomes
laying down the funky bass, and last but certainly not least Adam Deitch
bringing his inspiring drum work to this collaboration.This fresh new funky sound is a reunion of sorts. Back in the early 90s, these members used to
jam together as students while all attending the Berklee School of Music. Since that time, they have branched out in
separate directions achieving their own personal successes along the way with
various bands such as Soulive, Kudu, The Squad, Rustic Overtones and John
Scofield Band. Coming together to form
this head of Lettuce, ‘Outta Here’ is a sensational piece of music which pays
homage to a 70s brand funk by staying true to its roots but also updating with
a fresh new take on it. With the resumes
these guys bring to the stage, obviously the playing here is real solid and
very tight.
As if that is all not enough, making notable guest
appearances here is also Fred Wesley with his funky trombone and John Scofield
with his jazz fusion in tow. Wesley’s
tracks are most impressive being the self-titled ‘Outta Here’ and
‘Superfred.’ This material is so smooth
and funky. ‘Superfred’ just flat out
brings It. Covers are also thrown in
here as well. Proceeding to drop
delicious notes on you, ‘The Dump’ is an old Soul Vibrations tune that is my
favorite track on the disc being All That.
‘Hang Up Your Hangups’ is a nice Herbie Hancock vehicle that really
shows off Adam Deitch’s skills. Deitch
is quickly becoming one of my favorite drummers to go check out as this kid has
got some real mad skillz. The list goes
on and on with strong tunes such as ‘Back in Effect’, ‘Reunion’ and
‘Nyack.’
While listening to this album, you just get the feeling of
it being this living breathing entity with lots of good stuff happening. A lot here to funk out to, and there is such
playfulness amid all the instruments feeding off one another and having grand
old times together. They manage to slip
in a live track at the end for a brief look-in at how they up the ante in the
live environment. Simply put, these guys
play their arses off and spread much flavor.
So if you’re open to taking a ride on this funk-o-tron, strap up and go
relish in it. Have fun feasting on this
quality 4 planet head of lettuce.
Track Listing:
01. Outta Here
02. The Dump
03. Squadlive
04. Back In Effect
05. Twisted
06. Superfred
07. Reunion
08. The Flu
09. Nyack
10. Hang Up Your Hangups
11. Nyack (live)
Shamples Rating:
4 out of 5 Planets
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