VERNON REID & MASQUE – Other true self

Cover	Release	Style
	2006-2-10	Instrumental Guitar rock
	Label
	http://www.favorednations.com
	Website
	http://www.vernon-reid.com
	Contact
	-
	Playing Time	Cat. N°
	57:23	FN2550-2
	Review by	Rating
	Johan	7,5/10
nederlands	Review
Vernon Reid is a generous instrumentalist. Beside that he is also a visual artist, a poet and essayist, film composer, father and husband. He get known by public playing with his, first two-time Grammy Award-winning band, Living Colour and on sessions with artists ranging from Carlos Santana to Public Enemy, Mariah Carey to The Ramones. His second Album “Other true self” is more about search than discovery while the notice ‘Masque’ is about identity: Who am I? That question has informed everything he have done, from the beginning of his solo career." On “Other true self” he creates a vivid personal landscape and each track illuminates one or another side of Vernon Reid. The album opens with “Game is rigged”. A song with a weird but original guitar sound and nice keyboard work from Leon Gruenbaum, experimental in his own way. Also “National Anthem” – a cover from Radiohead - has the same distorted sound and is very experimental. In "Flatbush and Church Revisited" it’s Don McKenzie's and Hank Schroy’s reggae rhythm that gave this song his reggae feel. “Aferika” is full of break times and original melodies. It’s hard to get a stamp on this style of music, a bit of reggae feel with jazz influences is what comes closed to. Another cover on this album is "Enjoy the Silence" originally from Depeche mode. Lot’s of solo work of Vernon Reid on this one supported by a Hammond in the background. Also Hank Schroy’s bass work is well played on this one. “Whiteface” is a composition of Leon Gruenbaum. A slow 6/8 guitar rock song with a huge guitar sound but of course filled up with keyboards played by Gruenbaum himself. “Oxossi” opens with a wide dimension of space sounds and get into a smooth calming melody. On this one it was Hank Schroy that contributed by the writing of the song. “G” is also more calming but a great composition in his own right. Lots of Hammond, nice guitar solo work and a good drum pattern. “Wildlife” was originally recorded by Tony Williams Lifetime and covered by Reid on this album. “Overcoming” is the 5^th calming song in a row and I get the feeling it’s getting a bit boring due to the fact that this song is a good composition own his own. It was McKenzie that created “kizzy”, a slow song (again) with nice percussion and filled up with a bit of effect sounds on keyboards. In “Mind of my mind” it’s a more Middle east influence that categorise this song… fast, light distorted guitar work, calculated song structures and nice drum breaks while "Prof. Bebey" has a more latin feel by a good bass pulse of Hank Schroy. Many styles of music can be found on this variated “Other true self”, Everyone in the band is a talented virtuoso on his own. I’d like to describe this album as a bit of a world travel to the life of Vernon Reid.
Musicians
Vernon Reid: Electric, Electronic, Acoustic guitar, Six string banjo Leon Gruenbaum: Keyboards, Acoustic piano, Melodica, Toy piano, Glockenspiel Samchillian tip tip tip cheeeepee (whatever that is???) Hank Schroy: Electric & Acoustic bass Don McKenzie: Acoustic & Electronic drums
Tracklist
Game is rigged (5:52) National anthem (4:06) Flatbush and church revisited (6:15) Afrerika (4:11) Enjoy the silence (6:39) Whiteface (3:48) Oxossi (3:29) G (4:40) Wild life (4:22) Overcoming (4:13) Kizzy (2:10) Mind of my mind (4:12) Prof. Bebey (3:20)
Discography
Known Unknown (2004) Other true self (2006)


Beekstraat 1 - B-2640 Mortsel - Belgium