Artwork : Denis Dellaert, A Horse A Bucket and A Spoon.
My opinion
Taking the bull by the horns right away : Wizards of Ooze have delivered the
best Belgian pop-album of the year with this "Almost .. Bikini". And
with quite a considerable lead too. No need to read any further. Just go and buy
this one. That bull can go now. Hey.
If the above should seem a little too short for a cd-review :
The Wizards have - for this "difficult third album"- surpassed themselves
with a playful and poppy cd that is very open, very musical, very funky, very
horny and "catchy as hell". Not an album that needs to grow on you :
this one stands like a skyscraper right away, and it survives countless spins
with ease (I'm at 15 or so at the time of writing).
"Big Red Balloon", "Bubbles"
and "Bustin' Loose" are poppy
songs with inventive sounds and solo's. Seems like they have stolen all the toys
of their children that produce some noise. These guys are fun!
On "Lumbago" (the Frank Zappa
of Sjeikh Yerbouti) and "25" (Wolfman Jack lost in a pinball-machine
that belongs to Captain Beefheart) they let go of all pedals and brakes, but they
manage to maintain an order in the chaos that testifies great musical skills.
These guys can play!
"Cheezy", "Paperbag" and "Six-Pack Cooler" shift
in to the lowest humming gear, and cuddle up to your ears in a most enchanting
and sexy way. These tracks are the bastard sons of the Purple Man from Minneapolis
and Steely Dan. White soul that flows from your speakers like honey. These guys
have soul!
On "Five Below" the group is
suddenly transformed into a guitar-band that could easily grasp a place at Lolapalooza
or so. These guys rock!
"Summerbreeze" (the extension to the ominous track "Lizard")
is an instrumental freak-out-show that revived the seventies nightmare of bands
such as Focus and other hippies who used the transverse flute. I know some orifices
where you can stick that instrument, boys.
I'm rather curious whether the Wizards of Ooze will be able to keep a grip on
this material in live conditions. On this cd, the mix between "cheesy"
and "funky" is extremely good. Conclusion : I started with that, you
blind (and stupid if you're not on your way to the shop yet) twit.
Sent-in opinions :
Toon wrote : "The
only band I thought would never go commercial, has shocked me deepy. Guys, almost
disaster. What has happened ? The once heavenly mellow sounds of 'the Wizards'
have been replaced by predictable guitar-riffs and 'cheezy' lyriks. The flowing
underone of the Hammond-organ and flute have completely lost their 'jive'. And
the high-pitched voices of Peter Revalk & Wim Tops lose their meaning now
'song after song' is slow cliché jazz. (and I use that term lightly).
Just admit it .. the chilled-out character of 'Bambee' was there because of the
interaction between Wim, TRIJNTJE OOSTERHUIS and SABINE KOBANGO. And the use of
their MOOG is poor, and I won't even talk about that pianon (totally out of line).
Only the fact that they still use horns is a good point (thank you, boys).
Allé, 'wizards' still remain the epitomy of the flemish acid-jazzscene.
Keep on trying".
And your opinion?
Did I get it all wrong, or was I spot-on ? Do you want to share your opinion about
this cd ? Send it in, and I'll put it up here !
This album in the press:
- Surf-Inn
: "Carnaval in Wonderland: that's the best description to find for the
images that the music of the new Wizards of Ooze generates. 'Almost... Bikini'
is the name of the precious thing .... and the least you can say that it is varied
and surprising".
Did you see a good (or bad) review of this album ? Tell
me about it !
More about this group :
- Wizards of Ooze-bio
on this site.
- Management : Wim Swinnen. Tel : +32.(0)75/47.25.65 Fax : +32.(0)3/889.04.55
Wim.Swinnen@ping.be
- Bookings : Rock Werchter (Peter Verstraelen) : tel : +32.(0)16/60.81.40 peter@rockwerchter.be
- A Horse, A Bucket & A Spoon. J. Van Herbruggenstraat 12, 2880 Bornem. Tel
+32.(0)3/889.11.41
- CNR Music (Arcade) : http://www.arcade.com
Where to buy this CD ?
You can order this CD from a number of locations (prices researched on September
21th, 1999, but nothing guarantees they still are the same when you read this).
The lowest price is in yellow, the highest in red. This price comparison doesn't
take things into account like deduction of shipping expenses when ordering more
than 1 cd, bonus points, differences in guarantees ... Shipping prices are those
for customers in Belgium.
Have you seen this record elsewhere on the net, do you own an online-CD-shop
with Belgian products in it, or if there's something wrong with my calculations
: let me know.
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