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- Date Released: April 14, 2009
- Genre: International
- Label: Easy Star Records / IODA
Everyone's favorite stoner-rock reggae reinterpreters give Sgt. Pepper a rasta makeover
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We Say...
It's official: the Easy Star All Stars have an ironclad formula. Every three years, the Brooklyn dub-reggae troupe gathers a giant list of guest vocalists and covers a classic-rock album beloved by teenage stoners. (We'll probably have to wait a while for them to get to any post-Kyuss "stoner rock," though I'd certainly like to hear what they'd do with Queens of the Stone Age's Rated R.) Following the surprising success of 2003's Dub Side of the Moon (rasta Floyd!) and 2006's Radiodread (OK Computer inna rub-a-dub style!), Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub Band arrives right on schedule.
Like the others, it's a mixed success. The vocalist roster is heavy on Jamaican legends like Frankie Paul ("Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" adapts very nicely to the All Stars' pumping mid-tempo skank) and Sugar Minott, whose slight crags give "When I'm Sixty-Four" some depth, particularly during the bridge ("We could rent a cottage in the Isle of Wight, if it's not too dear/We shall scrimp and save"). (The track's continuing on into an extended dub is conceptually appropriate, too.) Then there's, um, Matisyahu, who is naturally assigned the dullest song on the original album. (You only thought "Within You, Without You" dragged on forever when George Harrison sang it.)
The real triumph here is, of all things, "She's Leaving Home." The Beatles' original is pretty, and lyrically daring for the era, but it's one of the songs that really works best as part of the album. Here, the All Stars whip up a ghostly ska track with a peppery (and nicely undermixed) horn section; Kristy Rock's soft-focus vocal plays the words for their rhythm rather than their pathos, a good decision. Between this and the astonishing Toots & the Maytals version of "Let Down" on Radiodread, maybe the Easy Star All Stars should consider making their next one — Electric Doobieland? Dubless? Another Green World? — an all-ska affair. -
They Say...
After their full coverage of classic albums from both Radiohead and Pink Floyd, the collective known as the Easy Star All-Stars go way back to the band and the album that pretty much changed everything. The accent, as always, is on the Easy part of the band's name, meaning this easy-skanking tribute to Sgt. Pepper's flows effortlessly, never getting caught up in overly ambitious detours or ridiculously huge arrangements. Tracks like "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" with guest vocalist Frankie Paul and "Within You Without You" with natural mystic Matisyahu have slick studio touches, but the heavy lifting is left up to the performances, and both guest vocalists are perfect choices who simply nail it. Having been on the road frequently the previous two years pays off, as the players are suitably loose, creating grooves that feel natural and alive. The ever growing importance of the horn section comes to fruition as they shrink some of the original album's elaborate arrangements into smaller packages, ones that could be imagined in a live setting or -- in the case of Ranking Roger's "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite" -- at some wicked ska-fueled pool party. The warm voice of Michael Rose closes the set on a dubby "A Day in the Life," a cover version drenched in reverb with a clever imitation of the locked groove gibberish found at the end of the original Pepper's LP.
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| 01. |  |
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (feat. Junior Jazz)
|
2:22 |
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| 02. | |
With a Little Help From My Friends (feat. Luciano)
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3:13 |
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| 03. | |
Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds (feat. Frankie Paul)
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4:33 |
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| 04. | |
Getting Better (feat. The Mighty Diamonds)
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3:19 |
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| 05. | |
Fixing a Hole (feat. Max Romeo)
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4:57 |
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| 06. | |
She's Leaving Home (feat. Kirsty Rock)
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3:09 |
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| 07. | |
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! (feat. Ranking)
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2:34 |
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| 08. | |
Within You Without You (feat. Matisyahu)
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5:13 |
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| 09. | |
When I'm Sixty-Four (feat. Sugar Minott)
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5:34 |
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| 10. | |
Lovely Rita (feat. Bunny Rugs and U Roy)
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4:05 |
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| 11. | |
Good Morning Good Morning (feat. Steel Pulse)
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2:49 |
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| 12. | |
Sgt. Pepper's (Reprise) |
1:23 |
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| 13. | |
A Day in the Life (feat. Michael Rose and Menny More)
|
5:51 |
|
| 14. | |
With a Little Dub From My Friends (feat. Luciano and U Roy) |
3:16 |
|
| 15. | |
Kaleidoscope Dub |
4:55 |
|
15 Total Tracks, 57:13 Total Length
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Credits
- Selwyn Brown - Organ // Selwyn Brown - Piano // Selwyn Brown - Vocals (Background) // Selwyn Brown - Engineer // Pamela Fleming - Trumpet // Pamela Fleming - Group Member // Tony Maimone - Engineer // Tony Maimone - Mixing // Eric Smith - Executive Producer // Eddie "Headdie" Ocampo - Percussion // Eddie "Headdie" Ocampo - Drums // Eddie "Headdie" Ocampo - Group Member // Victor Rice - Bass // Victor Rice - Guitar // Victor Rice - Engineer // Victor Rice - Digital Editing // Victor Rice - String Arrangements // Victor Rice - Mixing // Victor Rice - Group Member // Antoine Silverman - Violin // Buford O'Sullivan - Trombone // Buford O'Sullivan - Group Member // Roger Charlery - Engineer // Patrick Dougher - Percussion // Patrick Dougher - Drums // Patrick Dougher - Group Member // Jennifer Smith - Vocals (Background) // Jeff Lipton - Mastering // Jonathan Dinklage - Viola // Paul Schellack - Guitar (Acoustic) // Paul Schellack - Engineer // Ariel "A Train" Levine - Engineer // Ivan Katz - Percussion // Ivan Katz - Group Member // Alex Kadvan - Cello // Michael Goldwasser - Synthesizer // Michael Goldwasser - Guitar (Acoustic) // Michael Goldwasser - Percussion // Michael Goldwasser - Arranger // Michael Goldwasser - Guitar (Electric) // Michael Goldwasser - Producer // Michael Goldwasser - Engineer // Michael Goldwasser - Executive Producer // Michael Goldwasser - Digital Editing // Michael Goldwasser - Mixing // Michael Goldwasser - Group Member // Lem Oppenheimer - Executive Producer // Remy Gerstein - Executive Producer // André Robert Lee - Engineer
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