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Luscious Jackson - Natural Ingredients Audio CD

A fair review of the Luscious Jackson "Natural Ingredients" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Luscious Jackson reviews here, or go back to the Luscious Jackson tabs.

Luscious Jackson Band: Luscious Jackson
Title: Natural Ingredients
Rating:
Release Date: 1994-08-23
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Intro 2: Citysong 3: Deep Shag 4: Angel 5: Strongman 6: Energy Sucker 7: Here 8: Intermission 9: Find Your Mind 10: Pel� Merengue 11: Rock Freak 12: Rollin' 13: Surprise 14: LP Retreat

This Album Brings it back
Disco Funk o Rama. . great listen! Sexy smooth voices lingering with eclectic sometimes disco music. .


One of the Most Eclectic and Groovylicious Albums of the 90s...
What a shame, because, coming from a person with a profound appreciation of music that defies categorical boundaries, they are the REAL thing. After reading all the other eight reviews of this album, I am upset that there are, after all, only eight of them and that this group, I just learned, disbanded in 2000.

This is one of the few albums- of which I'm listening to right now on my discman at 3 A. M. that I wouldn't be able to live without, in fact- that I can listen to at ANY time, any day, any mood, and not skip a track, or a groovy, hip beat. I tend to have favorites on any album, but on this one, EVERY song is my favorite, even though I discovered Luscious Jackson by listening to "Here (Squirmel Mix)" on the Clueless Soundtrack and was simply captivated by its hard-to-pin vintage allure. How truly smart Clueless was to use one of Luscious Jackson's, to quote one reviewer, "smooth, mellow, upbeat fun funky city grooves" on their already eclectic and wondrous soundtrack.

Natural Ingredients is an album that humbly and gracefully defines a generation of Reality Biters and angsty, lovestruck males and females. Even though Luscious Jackson is described as a "feminist" band, and they certainly are, their grooves and lyrics can ONLY be described as transcending every gender barrier in the book and achieving a brilliance and simplicity that makes the daily suffering of everyday existence seem all right and even necessary. I have NEVER heard a more life-affirming or revelatory album in my ENTIRE life! A big admirer of musicians who fail to be categorized easily, such as Bjork, Radiohead, and M. I. A. , I NOW can add the tenderly understated and sadly underappreciated NY-based quartet Luscious Jackson to my fabulous list. :-)

Ladies, you got it GOING ON! Please reunite and let the WHOLE wide world know you're BACK in business, creaing music of such illustrious beats, seamless grooves, and endlessly creative lyrics. There are simply NO words, simply, to express my gratitude for finding your album (in the LIBRARY of all places!) and immediately, almost breathlessly, being wrapped in your bittersweet sanctuary of love, confusion, candor, humility, and, most importantly, redemption. ;-)
.


The Fabulously Easy Disco Divas...
Y. N. -based Luscious Jackson are one of my all-time favorite groups, hopefully I do them justice! This is their first full-length, following the lo-fi but brilliant ''In Search Of Manny" Mini-album. It's one of their most popular, although I recommend any of their four releases. Sadly, they disbanded in 2000. . .

LJ is unique in that they blend so many styles so seamlessly, 70's-style funk, soul, hip-hop, pop, country, 60's-style rock/psychedelia, folk, you-name-it, they've heard it and they incorporate it. Yet their influences are not obvious and there's no blatant 'borrowing' of riffs like you sometimes see. Almost all the songs have intense, funky grooves. . . yet a lot of the time this album seems very relaxed and laid back. Yes, it's hard to pin down!

Opening with the ominous funk of 'City Song', the album maintains this sort of spacey, funky, rockin' tone until the final, dub-influenced 'LP Retreat' (an ode to vinyl). I love the interplay between Jill Cunniff's 'strong' melodic singing and Gabrielle Glaser's sung/spoken 'rapping'. You can always tell who's who, that's for sure! This is also the paragraph to mention Kate Schellenbach's stellar drumming. She's truly great, it's hard to create a distinctive style on the drums, but she does it! When most 'funk'-oriented groups would use a drum machine, LJ goes the opposite way. . .

And then there's the lyrics: brilliant, witty, totally understated. IMHO, Luscious Jackson have the best 'feminist' lyrics of any group, ever! Not that I'm a rabid fan or anything! It's just that Glaser and Cunniff are so articulate, to the point, never preachy, always witty. They only got better on subsequent albums. I'd say 'Ladyfingers' on their final album 'Electric Honey' is the best feminist anthem ever, but I AM only a man! :) Cunniff did say once that their music was for 'smart girls and quiet boys'. . . if you like progessive pop/rock/funk with a large dose of melodicism, that includes you, too! ;oD.


Luscious Jackson - 'Natural Ingredients' (Capitol)
As most of you know,this isn't some cheezy spin-off featuring either of the Jackson girls. First of the artist's four CD's. You know,La Toya,Janet or Michelle(I mean,Michael). Best described as alternative pop. Noticed some nicely done smooth vocals coupled with sensuous musical interludes. Tracks that should do it for most fans are "City Song","Energy Sucker","Strongman","Rock Freak" and maybe "Deep Shag". Might appeal to fans of The Breeders,Sean Lennon,Josephine Wiggs and Buffalo Daughter.


Some fun grooves, but inconsistent
This album has some high points, but is nowhere near the quality of Fever. Fever In and Fever Out is the best place to start for folks unaquainted with Luscious Jackson.


You can see a complete list of all Luscious Jackson discography, or go back to the Luscious Jackson tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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