Customer Reviews

Jump Leads

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

These boys deserve a knighthood for services to music. As usual Fila present a wonderful array of styles and flavours from soul and funk to techno and latin leaving them virtually impossible to pigeonhole...
4 tunes feature the vocal talents of Steve Edwards who brings a dimension to F.B. not previously evident and meshes seamlessly with those trademark Brazillia grooves.....
Invest and believe!

Fila Brazillia, being 2 guys from North-east England, present their eigth studio album.

Most acts dont get past one album, but not only are Fila heading for double-digits, they have done so with a beatiful suite of downtempo electronica sounds.

As you may have guessed already... I love Fila!

But I dont love this CD :-(

What went wrong?

Vocals.

Im not anti-vocal, far from it, but Fila *are* vocal-free downtempo electronica. They define the genre as much as Tosca do.

It has occurred to me during the 4 weeks I have owned this CD that it may be snobbishness. Would I feel the same about this CD if it was by another artist? After lots of reflection and listening, the answer is yes. This CD just doesnt click with me.

But it might with you. To give you some clues as to my Fila taste, I wasnt huge on "Old Codes, New Chaos". There were slightly too many samples for me. Kinda like vocals in the end. So if you 5-starred Old Codes, then you will probably like Jump Leads more than I do.

Not that its all bad. Im not handing out 4 stars out of loyalty. The vocals are only on 4 or 5 tracks. The instrumental tracks are worthy of any Fila release, but just when I get comfortable the vocals return. Maybe it the voice itself that is bugging me. Kid Loco's vocalistic "Kill Your Darlings" hits the spot wonderfully. Hmmm, I dunno. Turmoil.

So... to summarise:

- Its a mixture of classic Fila, and Fila doing *gasp* SONGS
- If you are a big Fila fan you are going to buy this CD anyway!
- If you are a casual Fila fan, then its more Old Codes than Maim That Tune
- If you are new to Fila and have stumbled across this CD, then I reckon you should buy a couple of older releases first. Try "Maim that Tune", "Power Clown" or "Touch of Cloth".

I will now return to my turmoil, and if I change my mind on this one, will let you know!

After discovering Fila Brazillia back in 2000, I realised I'd been missing out on one of the finest musical acts ever. So as soon as they announced Jump Leads, I eagerly awaited the day of release. With seven previous masterpieces, a fantastic double-CD remix album and their recent "Another Late Night" chillout album, I couldn't have dreamed this would be anything other than yet another piece of perfection.

Tragically I was wrong however. The album starts well enough - Bumblehaun's opening organ music certainly gives you the impression of the funk to come and after a few plays this piece has cemented itself as a favourite of mine.

But the problem starts with the tracks with vocals - something never before seen in an original FB track. It's not really something obvious; the tracks are by no means unpleasant in their own right, but they detract from the album as a whole.

A friend of mine who also got the album suggested playing it without any of the vocal tracks, and whilst this makes it somewhat shorter, it gives you an indication of what Jump Leads could have been if the Fila boys had stuck to the old vision.

So where does it stand? Bottom of the playlist for FB in my book, but by no means worthless. Tracks like "Motown Coppers", "DNA", "It's A Knockout" and "Percival Quintaine" are of the old calibre, so you FB fans out there should probably get it for these alone. For those unacquainted with FB, I'd recommend starting your journey into enlightenment with Power Clown, A Touch Of Cloth or Maim That Tune.

Come on Steve & Dave.....you are capable of better work! Here's to a new album before the end of '02...

Far from Fila's finest work, I really wanted to like this new album but I feel badly let down. Somehow Hull's finest non-mainstream duo have let down their guard over their unconventional but fantastic grooves, and let in the twin evils of cheesy-listening and banal lyrics...

On some tracks it's hard to believe it this is the same Fila B responsible for such unique records as... well... their whole back catalogue (uniformly excellent, one or two dodgy tracks in EIGHT fine albums).

There are excellent tracks on this album - 4: DNA, 6: It's a Knockout and 8: Percival Quintaine show plenty of the old spirit - but they are the exception rather than the rule...

Earlier albums were filled with peculiar samples, driving basslines, finely honed tunes and quirky rhythms. This one... the old imagination seems to have gone, replaced with bog-standard jazz-lite rhythm tracks, noodling guitar... and the singing! My god... Vic Reeves' pub singer would have been preferable...

Basically, there's two mini-albums here. One of good, but mostly non-vintage, Fila B grooves (****). The other, a very poor collection of uninteresting generic jazzy chillout (*) - like there isn't enough of this already?!

It's a sad relinquishment of the proudly unconventional streak that used to keep Fila B head and shoulders above everyone else in the downbeat arena... very sad...

If you've heard this album and quite like it... get their others quickly! You'll wonder if it was the same group... but the old albums are by far the better, you won't regret it.

I am seeing a lot of reviews on here saying that this album isnt as good as the rest that Fila have produced because its different. I have pretty much every Fila album they have produced including their compilation and remix outings and this ranks up there with the best - Maim that Tune, Brasilification, Another Late Night and Another Fine Mess

Yes its different to their other albums but isnt that what makes Fila so special. Just look at the difference between Old Codes and New Chaos and say, A Touch of Cloth. What Fila have provided here is a new more modern groove and I say well done.

After all dont they say 'variety is the spice of life'.

I own several of Fila Brazilia's album and can honestly say this is completely different to anything else they have done. The main difference seems to be an approach towards a slightly more mainstream sound using vocals on tracks; the previous albums rarely featured any vocals. However, this does not mean the album is bad, far from it! I have listened to this over and over again and still never get bored of it, each track is entirely different from the last and I feel that the tracks stand out more on their own that those of previous Fila albums. Overall it is easier to listen to than previous albums and would be good as an introduction to the band.

As someone familiar with all but one of Fila's studio LP's, I was surprised yet intrigued to hear of the Hullites' first ever foray into vocaldum. However, of the four tracks featuring vocals only the laid-back funk of "We Build Arks" with its lush soulful voice does anything for me.

Otherwise, its pretty much business as usual. The opening track,"Bumblehaun" sounds like 4 2 the floor disco funk vrs Ennio Morricone, whilst "DNA"
features a flowing old-skool drum break underpinning trademark Fila mellow guitar.

Latin-tinged "Its a knockout" (with its John Barry-esque lead line) and the typical "Fila Funk" of "Monk's Utterance" continue in the vintage Fila vein, whilst the wicked drum/ percussion workout of "Percival Quintaine" and African-tinged, mellow jazz/funk of "Mother Natures Spies" affirm the status of "Jump Leads" as Top Drawer Fila.

Shame about the 2 or 3 lousey tracks with vocals but more than compensated for elsewhere - definitely life in the old dogs yet!

This album cements Fila Brazillia's position at the head of a downtempo movement that includes such well known acts as Tosca, K & D, Royksopp and others. The lads from Hull have produced a scintillating album; you would not want to remove any track or add to it to improve it. The tracks add together to produce a funky, melodic and yet chilled out blend of downtempo beats that appeals to anyone, regardless of musical background. If you are into any form of dance music, buy this CD now - you will not fail to love it. But even if this is not your usual genre, the album makes a superb introduction to this style of music, and will sound great over and over again.

Some of the reviews for this album seem somewhat negative. But I personally regard this album as one of Fila Brazillia's finest. The ambiguous vocals give it a great depth, yet instant appeal, and every track heads off in a very different direction, with an eclectic selection of electronic and acoustic sounds.

Im a big fan of all of Fila Brazillia's work, but if I had to pick one album, I'd probably choose Jump Leads.

Having read the reviews below, I get the impression many Fila fans have been disappointed by this album because it is not the usual Fila fare. I also have the excellent Maim That Tune, and the two albums are so different they could be from different groups. Nevertheless Jump Leads is excellent - it's upbeat, funky and the songs definitely do work - not a single track here that disappoints. I'd particularly recommend this to anyone who likes the funky, quirkyness of Lemon Jelly's .ky and the cinematic, upbeat feel of Zero7's simple things.