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Avg: 4.0 (93 ratings)
- Date Released: March 7, 2006
- Genre: Hip-Hop/R&B
- Style: Funk
- Label: Ubiquity Records
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We Say...
Score one for porous musical borders — a funk band from Australia sounds about as promising as an improv group from Dusseldorf, but The Bamboos annihilate all preconceptions before they finish the first snare roll. Step It Up is lean, tight and tough, a thrilling collection of percolating funk that takes no time for breath-catching or slow-dancing. That it comes via San Francisco's Ubiquity label is no surprise — like Brooklyn's Daptone imprint, Ubiquity has been at the fore of the funk revival, issuing both compilations and original records that have mastered the rawness and raggedness of the regional soul labels of the 1960s.
All the elements are in place — the whip-crack drum breaks, the bobbing bass, and the movie house organ, and all of them are sewn together so tightly there's no way to spot the seam. The group keeps piling on layers — "Tobago Strut" stacks blaring brass atop clattering congos; "Another Day in the Life of Mr. Jones" pits horns against guitar, making a kind of frenetic call-and-response. And the songs featuring vocalist Alice Russell are show-stoppers, her fiery alto searing a white-hot path up the center of the group's dense instrumentation. Step It Up is no mere stylistic exercise — it's as legit as the music that inspired it. -
They Say...
With their limited-edition 7"s making waves among beat heads and soul connoisseurs around the world, the Bamboos were quickly snapped up by Tru Thoughts in the U.K. and Ubiquity in the U.S. for their debut album. And Step It Up lives up to the hype and then some, as the band is as tight as any modern-day funk ensemble could possibly be. Exorcising the spirits of the Meters, the J.B.'s, and boogaloo giants long passed, the group delivers a fiery 11-song session that's as potent as any other band performing today. Alice Russell's vocal contributions on "Step It Up" and Afronaught's now classic broken beat anthem "Transcend Me" are bright and near flawless. This is an album custom-made for sweaty summer dance and house parties, or driving around the strip in your best car or newly polished scooter coming straight out of storage from the winter. Anyone needing a good shot of soul or a reaffirmation in the sound would be well served in picking this up.
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| 01. |  |
Step It Up (feat. Alice Russell) |
3:38 |
|
| 02. | |
Tighten Up (Album Version) |
3:55 |
|
| 03. | |
In the Bamboo Grove |
7:58 |
|
| 04. | |
Golden Rough |
3:41 |
|
| 05. | |
Black Foot |
3:45 |
|
| 06. | |
Transcend Me (feat. Alice Russell) |
4:43 |
|
| 07. | |
Tobago Strut |
4:25 |
|
| 08. | |
Another Day in the Life of Mr. Jones |
3:15 |
|
| 09. | |
Crooked Cop |
3:43 |
|
| 10. | |
Eel Oil |
3:05 |
|
| 11. | |
Voodoo Doll (Album Version) |
3:33 |
|
11 Total Tracks, 45:41 Total Length
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Credits
- Johnny Castle - Engineer // Stuart Speed - Bass // Bruce Sandell - Flute // Bruce Sandell - Sax (Tenor) // Robert Luis - A&R // Alice Russell - Vocals // Ross Irwin - Trumpet // Ross Irwin - Group Member // Kieran Conrau - Trombone
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