The Album Club: "We Be All Africans" by Idris Ackamoor and the Pyramids

Trollheart · 06-03-2018, 06:21 AM

Psy-Fi's picks usually go down well. Here's another. Rate, vote, discuss, debate and review here.

~~MicShazam~~ · 06-03-2018, 07:43 AM

Some of the songs feel more like sketches than a full picture. The beginning to "Clarion Call" especially. It's going nowhere for most of the track. There's an incredibly basic sliver of an idea that isn't significantly built on. I guess that's what happens when you're just a little too proud of a single little riff.

Nice enough sound quality and the blend of instruments feels novel, but at the same time, some of the jamming feels pretty standard and loses me after a while. Real talk: The worst thing I can think of in music is drum solos. The second worst is aimless jamming.

"Traponga" is little bit of not a lot. I thought it was gonna really start doing something, but then it ended before it got going.

The few more fully realized tracks so far tend enough towards repetition that I suspect they're intended as dance tunes. They'd be fine for that, actually, but I'm getting fidgety trying to listen to this album on it's own.

The last track starts out with a pretty nice vibe going for it, but I'm also reminded how I'm not a massive fan of any of the singers on this album. It was worse in the opening track though - in which I felt like the vocals were constantly, slightly off-key.
Yeah, the last track is fine. I like it. The rest of the album doesn't do a whole lot for me. As an album, this doesn't feel like a substantial musical project, but a half-assed doodle.

8/10 for the last track.
4/10 for the rest of the album.

It's a "meh" from me.

Anteater · 06-03-2018, 09:57 AM

Great ensemble-oriented spiritual jazz that doesn't making any glaring missteps. The only sin it commits is it is pulling so hard from the Pharoah Sanders' late 60's sound with a touch of On The Corner-era Miles Davis that it sometimes comes across as pure idol worship rather than trying to do anything that justifies its own existence. But that's where personal perception comes into play: what I just described at criticism could easily be levied at some of style-derivative albums I enjoy in my own favorite genres.

Clarion Call was my favorite cut overall: a freakin' zither of all things showed up in the second half and that's just awesome.

7.5 out of 10

OccultHawk · 06-04-2018, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Clarion Call was my favorite cut overall

Good ear!

This is a direct baton pass from the masters: Art Ensemble of Chicago and Cecil Taylor mostly

You can hear Pharoah Sanders, Fela Kuti, Albert Ayler

Pure as virgin snow - beautiful- soulful

10/10 obviously

Neapolitan · 06-05-2018, 09:39 PM

At first I thought it was just OK. There were things about it that were likable. When I got to track 4. Rhapsody in Berlin, the drums and rhythm guitar reminded of another song. So I went about searching for the song. Didn't find an exact match. My initial hunch was either Look Ka Py Py or Cissy Strut, but let's be realistic those songs are twenty times more funky. Yeah, those songs completely done me in for the night. When I went back to "We Be All Africans" I couldn't take any of it anymore. I should have just stuck to the album, and not wonder off from it trying to figure what song Rhapsody in Berlin reminded me of. So thanks The Meters for ruining this album for me.

meh

OccultHawk · 06-05-2018, 09:44 PM

Maybe you need Prozac

That sounds ocd af

Neapolitan · 06-05-2018, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OccultHawk

Maybe you need Prozac

That sounds ocd af

Why do I need Prozac? Cause track four reminds me of another song? Cause I prefer The Meters over this? Get bent.

I gave it a fair shot. In comparison to other music I realized it was only middle-of-the-road. motr=meh

OccultHawk · 06-06-2018, 01:55 AM

When I hear a motif that I can’t place and drives me nuts I think it’s an ocd thing and it’s one of the few things you can’t google.

I also think you’re lowballing the record but that’s not why I said that and I meant it more as just a joke.

grindy · 06-06-2018, 04:48 AM

Lacks in grammar.

Neapolitan · 06-06-2018, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grindy

Lacks in grammar.

It's called "Ebonics" or "Blammar" depending if you are talking about phonics or grammar respectively. "We Be All Africans" is acceptable Blammar. Honestly you should be hip to that fact, and it shouldn't bother you enough where you have to point it out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by OccultHawk

When I hear a motif that I can’t place and drives me nuts I think it’s an ocd thing and it’s one of the few things you can’t google.

I also think you’re lowballing the record but that’s not why I said that and I meant it more as just a joke.

How exactly does one low ball an opinion? Do you believe members of the Album Club 2017 should eschew personal opinions for group think?

View Poll Results: How Much Did You Enjoy The Album?
Loved it	3	30.00%
Liked it	2	20.00%
Meh	3	30.00%
Disliked it	0	0%
Hated it	2	20.00%
Voters: 10. You may not vote on this poll

06-03-2018, 06:21 AM	#1 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,992	The Album Club: "We Be All Africans" by Idris Ackamoor and the Pyramids Psy-Fi's picks usually go down well. Here's another. Rate, vote, discuss, debate and review here. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

06-05-2018, 09:44 PM	#6 (permalink)
OccultHawk one-balled nipple jockey Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Dirty Souf Biatch Posts: 22,006	Maybe you need Prozac That sounds ocd af __________________ 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Member of the Year & Journal of the Year Champion Behold the Writing of THE LEGEND: https://www.musicbanter.com/members-...p-lighter.html

06-06-2018, 01:55 AM	#8 (permalink)
OccultHawk one-balled nipple jockey Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Dirty Souf Biatch Posts: 22,006	When I hear a motif that I can’t place and drives me nuts I think it’s an ocd thing and it’s one of the few things you can’t google. I also think you’re lowballing the record but that’s not why I said that and I meant it more as just a joke. __________________ 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Member of the Year & Journal of the Year Champion Behold the Writing of THE LEGEND: https://www.musicbanter.com/members-...p-lighter.html

06-06-2018, 04:48 AM	#9 (permalink)
grindy . Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: . Posts: 7,201	Lacks in grammar. __________________ *A smell of petroleum prevails throughout.*

06-03-2018, 07:43 AM	#2 (permalink)
~~MicShazam~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Aalborg Posts: 7,634	Some of the songs feel more like sketches than a full picture. The beginning to "Clarion Call" especially. It's going nowhere for most of the track. There's an incredibly basic sliver of an idea that isn't significantly built on. I guess that's what happens when you're just a little too proud of a single little riff. Nice enough sound quality and the blend of instruments feels novel, but at the same time, some of the jamming feels pretty standard and loses me after a while. Real talk: The worst thing I can think of in music is drum solos. The second worst is aimless jamming. "Traponga" is little bit of not a lot. I thought it was gonna really start doing something, but then it ended before it got going. The few more fully realized tracks so far tend enough towards repetition that I suspect they're intended as dance tunes. They'd be fine for that, actually, but I'm getting fidgety trying to listen to this album on it's own. The last track starts out with a pretty nice vibe going for it, but I'm also reminded how I'm not a massive fan of any of the singers on this album. It was worse in the opening track though - in which I felt like the vocals were constantly, slightly off-key. Yeah, the last track is fine. I like it. The rest of the album doesn't do a whole lot for me. As an album, this doesn't feel like a substantial musical project, but a half-assed doodle. 8/10 for the last track. 4/10 for the rest of the album. It's a "meh" from me.