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Buy anything from the World Music store and you can get the official CD from the Songlines Music Awards 2013 for just £1.99. Offer ends at 23:59 on Sunday, June 30. Learn more. |
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Product details
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Track Listings
| 1. Look Around The Corner |
| 2. Here Again |
| 3. Travelling Song |
| 4. Magdalena |
| 5. I ll Keep My Light In My Window |
| 6. Una Tarde En Mariquita |
| 7. Interlude |
| 8. Su Suzy |
| 9. Boogaloo 33 |
| 10. Road To Islay |
| 11. Similau |
| 12. I d Cry |
| 13. Magdalena (Reprise) |
| 14. Look Around The Corner (Reprise) |
Product Description
Review
For fans of modern leftfield soul, the news that Quantic – aka producer Will Holland – and British singer Alice Russell were collaborating on a new album comes like manna from heaven.
The two go back some time – Russell lent her soulful, cosmopolitan voice to some of Holland’s earliest recordings, back in the early 00s – but their careers have blossomed since. Holland has further investigated the possibilities of ensemble play, while Russell has been collaborating with the likes of TM Juke, Mr Scruff and David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, contributing a track to their Imelda Marcos-themed Here Lies Love project.
Recorded in Holland’s adopted home of Cali, Columbia, Look Around the Corner offers funky soul with a south-of-the-border twist, courtesy of Quantic’s current band project Combo Bárbaro. Mixing warm, brassy funk and soul grooves with Latin jazz and cumbia, it’s a soft sort of fusion, mixing flavours with a lightness of touch.
The title-track blends florid soul and cosmic lyrics to a swinging, funky backbeat, like Minnie Riperton’s Les Fleurs with a spot of swagger in its step. Travelling Song sets Russell’s spectacular soul voice to a Latin strut decorated with group backing vocals and warmly produced strings. But there’s trouble in paradise, too. Su Suzy ups the tempo, a barrio soul lament about a woman trapped in a violent relationship, powered by Afro-Cuban rhythms, horns that sound like a warning, and a sonic effect that mimics the sound of approaching police sirens.
It is, as you’d expect, expertly played – but there’s a vividness to Look Around the Corner that reaches some way beyond mere chops. It’s an exceptional collaboration that proves there’s life in the old soul yet.
--Louis Pattison
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
* * * and half.
On paper, it's an amazing idea: get British retro-soul diva Alice Russell into the studio with her compatriot and fellow legend of old-school grooves Quantic, and see what happens.
To some degree, the results are delightfully predictable: Quantic is great at putting together vintage funk and Latin musical concepts and recording them in such a way that you have to double-check to make sure the tracks weren't laid down 40 years ago.
And at its best, this album draws on classic sounds and arrangements but creates something new and wonderful with them.
The horns (and flute) on "Magdalena" perfectly complement Russell's powerful voice, "Travelling Song" is a gorgeous piece of minor-key soul, and "I'd Cry" is a similarly lovely romantic plea in a Latin-soul style.
When the album isn't at its best, though, it falls prey to the temptation of sonic verisimilitude, as if what made 1960s soul music great was the fact that drums tended to be poorly miked ("Look Around the Corner") and pianos not always perfectly tuned ("I'll Keep My Light in My Window").
More serious, though, is the fundamental artistic mismatch that gradually becomes clear: Russell's powerhouse voice is not used to best advantage on the lightly dancing Latin-soul grooves that are Quantic's strength, and so on a number of tracks it sounds as if she's a racehorse being kept to a trot.
That's not enough to keep this from being a very good album, but it prevents it from being a great one. R. Anderson
On paper, it's an amazing idea: get British retro-soul diva Alice Russell into the studio with her compatriot and fellow legend of old-school grooves Quantic, and see what happens.
To some degree, the results are delightfully predictable: Quantic is great at putting together vintage funk and Latin musical concepts and recording them in such a way that you have to double-check to make sure the tracks weren't laid down 40 years ago.
And at its best, this album draws on classic sounds and arrangements but creates something new and wonderful with them.
The horns (and flute) on "Magdalena" perfectly complement Russell's powerful voice, "Travelling Song" is a gorgeous piece of minor-key soul, and "I'd Cry" is a similarly lovely romantic plea in a Latin-soul style.
When the album isn't at its best, though, it falls prey to the temptation of sonic verisimilitude, as if what made 1960s soul music great was the fact that drums tended to be poorly miked ("Look Around the Corner") and pianos not always perfectly tuned ("I'll Keep My Light in My Window").
More serious, though, is the fundamental artistic mismatch that gradually becomes clear: Russell's powerhouse voice is not used to best advantage on the lightly dancing Latin-soul grooves that are Quantic's strength, and so on a number of tracks it sounds as if she's a racehorse being kept to a trot.
That's not enough to keep this from being a very good album, but it prevents it from being a great one. R. Anderson
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By GST
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Having not heard of this particular producer or vocalist before this was a little step in to the unknown for me. However having only just got the album and having listened to it again and again I have to say that I am possibly in love. It is not very often that an album let alone a single track can fall in to so many genres of music at the same time. The beefy piano, craftily constructed string work mingled with a funky vibe and a latin jazz undertone. You are thinking hey this doesn't make sense and you are right it doesn't. But by heck it certainly works!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Paul
Format:MP3 Download|Amazon Verified Purchase
As mentioned by another reviewer, the album doesn't really push the boundaries of soul and the mixture of Quantic and Alice Russell, whilst great for the most part, isn't as magical a combination as it could be. This sounds a little harsh, as taking the album as a whole it is still remains better than most pop albums around today - there is a real understanding of instruments and layers of rhythm here.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A real find
Great album, a real find; Amazon do not appear to have a way to explore new music but once you know what you want you will find it here and at a reasonable price
Published 2 months ago by Farrahanne
5.0 out of 5 stars
Quantic and Alice Russell - there best yet.
Some of the tunes grab you immediately, but after several listenings it's all fantastic. Wonderful soulful voice, terrific and sensitive backing
Published 5 months ago by PP
5.0 out of 5 stars
booty shaking goddness
you will either buy this or not,if you do you will get the best chilled ,melodic ,uplifting piece of hip shaking goodness released this year!-go buy
Published 12 months ago by crapnurse
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is THE sound of Summer 2012
This is THE sound of Summer 2012! The album starts with the stand out single 'Look around the corner', with tones of Minnie Ripperton's Les Fleurs. Read more
Published 12 months ago by The Ginger gal
5.0 out of 5 stars
will and alice score again
new quantic and alice russell album is as good as i expected, excellent songs with south american flavour topped with alice's great voice! a must for all funk/soul/nu jazz fans. Read more
Published 12 months ago by albie-p
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