The Roots - Phrenology
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The Roots - 'Phrenology'
(Tuesday January 7, 2003 3:44 PM
)
Released on 06/01/2003
Label: MCA
No matter how promising an idea it sounded at one time, the live hip-hop experience has proved difficult territory for The Roots. Take one defiantly technological movement (even hip-hop's origins in the cutting and scratching of DJ performance was, at the time, a radical reappropriation of technology) and try to recreate its character with a kind of 'house band'. It could appear reductive in principle and The Roots have certainly been open to the criticism at times. The journey to 'Phrenology' has been one of indulgent bass solos, occasionally dubious fusion and frequent greatness but never have The Roots managed to totally convince by delivering their 'Paid In Full', 'It Takes A Nation Of Millions...' or 'Step In The Arena'. Bringing a completely live equation in almost removes the ensuing music so far from 'Hip-Hop' that it can't even be judged according to the music's usual criteria. The Roots' albums can frequently sound a little like one of the band's protracted live shows: loose, improvisational, overlong and hard to penetrate. 'Phrenology' is no exception offering 17 tracks that swerve from some of the tightest hip-hop they've ever made to strung-out instrumental jams set to spoken word.What is different about the overall feel of this messy and ambitious album is that it marks The Roots' liberation from genre, the neo-soul meanderings of 'Things Fall Apart' only appear when they're wanted and never outstay their welcome. Instead, 'Phrenology' could be loosely termed 'psychedelic soul' or some such but genre tags don't do its diversity justice. There are ample neck-snappers that, whilst deeper than the average sample cut, stick to hip-hop's principles fairly rigidly with elastic basslines and irresistible hooks on repeat. The best of these is 'Water' - possibly the most concise musical statement that The Roots have ever recorded.At times they still seem alarmingly unconcerned to eliminate 'bagginess' from the sound: the intro to 'Water', at best, evokes the spirit of Jimi Hendrix right there in Electric Lady Studios, at worst, sounds like an outtake from a lesser-known Santana album of the 1970s. And, compared with Talib Kweli's recent indie hip-hop tour de force 'Quality', this album needs to be lived in for a week before the jewels emerge shining. But there are jewels...
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