Blue Funk

構成数 : 1
合計収録時間 : 00:58:04
Personnel includes: Heavy D (vocals), Busta Rhymes, Phat Doug, 3rd Eye (rap), DJ Premier (various instruments), Tony Dofat, Skeff Anselm, Jesse West (keyboards, drums), V. Issac (bass), Terri Robinson, Monica Payne, Tabitha Brace (background vocals). Producers include: Tony Dofat, Skeff Anselm, Steely & Clevie, Pete Rock, Jesse West. Engineers include: Tony Maserati, Rich Trivoli, David Kennedy. Recorded at Hit Factory Studios, Soundtrack Studios, Axis Studios, Greene Street Studios and D & D Studios, New York, New York. Personnel: Heavy D & the Boyz (background vocals); Heavy D (vocals); Busta Rhymes (rap vocals); Jesse West, Tony Dofat (keyboards, drums); Tabitha Brace, Monica Payne, Terri Robinson (background vocals). Audio Mixers: DJ Premier; David Kennedy ; Charles "Prince Charles" Alexander ; Gordon Williams; Lane Craven; Lee Anthony; Tony Dofat; Tony Maserati ; Charlie Dos Santos. Recording information: Axis Studios, New York, NY; D & D Recording Studios, New York, NY; Greene Street Recording Studio, New York, NY; Hit Factory Studios, New York, NY; Soundtrack Recording Studios, New York, NY. Photographer: Danny Clinch. Unknown Contributor Role: Sean Combs . On his fourth release, Heavy D handed over the production duties to three of the hottest underground producers in the business at the time--Tony Dofat, DJ Premier, and his younger cousin Pete Rock--as well as excellent newcomer Jesse West, and the results are outstanding, if completely unlike any previous or subsequent Heavy D & the Boyz recording. Whereas the Heavster's style had always been positive and accessible before, careful not to come across as too confrontational or provocative, he came entirely streetwise on Blue Funk, altering (if only for the moment) his straight-laced reputation. Whether it was a deliberate attempt to shift creative gears and explore different headspace--between each track there is a brief pseudo-therapeutic session--or merely a natural outgrowth of the circles in which the rapper was traveling at the time, the result is one of his least orthodox but most thoroughly satisfying efforts. It takes a moment to register that it is the Overweight Lover who is spitting out lyrics on "Who's the Man?," a song that even liberally quotes the non-upstanding Cypress Hill. He almost could have passed for Notorious B.I.G. (who, indeed, later shows up on the album) in a blind taste test. Of course, he didn't abandon his sensitivity entirely, as "Truthful," with its R&B hook, immediately makes clear, and still tossed several lovey-dovey cuts to the around-the-way girls. But the album decidedly hits with more force, from the smack-talking "Talk Is Cheap" right down to the final "A Buncha Niggas," on which D successfully orchestrates another top-notch posse cut along the lines of Peaceful Journey's uncharacteristic "Don't Curse." Perhaps sonically the album veered too far from the commercial-ready sound that he had successfully mined up to that point, but Blue Funk managed only a lackluster reception from critics. (It was a slightly different story with the public, reaching certified gold status.) In any event, it remains a stellar, wholly underrated entry in his discography. ~ Stanton Swihart
録音 : ステレオ (Studio)