An Introduction To...

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This 2007 compilation of the U.K. funksters four (out of five) albums is a terrific way to introduce the band to a larger audience, especially as the quartet is making inroads in the U.S., but as of 2008 it remains a Europe-only release. The set is worth searching out though, because it does what its title promises;introduces the New Mastersounds' sharp funk and soul by cherry-picking representative tracks from the group's 2001-2006 discography, oddly ignoring its sole live album, Live at la Cova. Guest vocalists, including a pre-fame Corinne Bailey Rae, contribute to four selections, and a horn section is added to another handful, but the combo doesn't need help to deliver its taut, tough R&B. Actually, the embellishing from singers and even horns somewhat distracts from the Mastersounds' strengths: crisp Meters-styled jamming packed snugly into tasty four-minute slices. The title track from 102% is a compact example of the combo doing what it does best as chicken pickin' guitar from founder Eddie Roberts spars with Robert Birch's keyboards and Simon Allen's impossibly tensile, in-the-pocket percussion. They're as tight as James Brown's slacks and play with the same gutsy intensity as the Godfather in his prime. Some excursions down the jazzier side of the tracks on the Ramsey Lewis-styled "Do What You Gotta Do" strike a similar balance as Lewis did between soul and jazz on "The In Crowd," but the New Mastersounds play with a fire born from the classic funk lovers they are. The foursome attacks with a tension and release that allows the members to share the spotlight, even if guitar and keyboards naturally handle most of the soloing. Rae's track, "Your Love is Mine" which she also gets co-composing credit for, is reprised in an unnecessary remix that inserts an annoying drum machine to a band whose own member is one of the finest young drummers in the business. The non-chronological sequencing blurs the fact that the band improves and becomes more confident with every release, culminating in four tracks from 2006's all instrumental 102%, arguably the New Mastersounds' finest hour. ~ Hal Horowitz