Always There (40 Years & Still Groovin')＜限定盤＞

インコグニート及びブルーイのキャリアを総括するCD8枚組ボックス・セット『Always There (40 Years & Still Groovin')』が登場!

1979年、ブリット・ジャズ・ファンク・バンド=ライト・オブ・ザ・ワールドのギタリストを経て、インコグニートを結成したブルーイことジャン・ポール・モーニック。デビュー・アルバムのリリース以来、40年に及ぶ活動歴をまとめた渾身の作品となる本作には、シングル、ライヴ音源、レア音源、リミックス、未発表音源がコンパイルされている。ディスク1～5には、グレイテスト・ヒッツ集や未発表・レア音源をまとめたものまでブルーイがキュレートした楽曲を収録。ディスク6は97年に日本限定で発売された96年、東京でのライヴ音源15曲を収録したライヴ・アルバムを、ディスク7～8にはジャイルス・ピーターソンのセレクトによる〈Talking Loud〉からのリミックス音源が収録されている。

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunicks top-tier acid jazz band, Always There is a boxed set of eight discs and almost as many purposes. The first three discs function as a primer of sorts. (Consider that the bands back catalog contains 19 studio albums averaging well over an hour in length.) Discs one and two are designated "the greatest hits," while disc three spotlights Incognitos featured singers -- such as Jocelyn Brown, Maysa, and Pamela Anderson -- though some of those cuts were big, too. Tracks from Incognitos phase-one singles, all archetypal Brit-funk grooves circa 1980-1981, lead the way to selections from their early-90s return and mainstream peak. Included are the Top 20 U.K. hit versions of "Always There" (Ronnie Laws, Side Effect) and "Dont You Worry Bout a Thing" (Stevie Wonder), along with "Everyday," the bands highest-charting original. Theyre all part of an even-handed overview that extends into the latter half of the 2010s. Disc four, "unreleased tracks + rarities," doesnt provide as much as anticipated and is titled somewhat misleadingly for its inclusion of album tracks. Its followed by a set of instrumentals that, like disc three, contains some of the bands best-known material -- "LArc en Ciel de Miles" and "After the Fall" for starters. The sixth disc is a straight reissue of Last Night in Tokyo, a Beneath the Surface-era live recording previously released only in Japan. Maunick then calls upon BBC DJ Gilles Peterson to choose two discs worth of remixes. A long-standing supporter and friend (and partner in STR4TA), Peterson made Incognito the flagship act on his Talkin Loud label for just over a decade, and likely handpicked some of the remixers. Its no surprise that the round of choices is ideal, and that the majority of the remixes -- executed by DJs/producers ranging from Danny Krivit and Masters at Work to Pete Rock, Carl Craig, and Maunicks son Daniel -- sound like proper creative collaborations rather than exertions of ego. Always There: 1981-2021 has much to offer for everyone but the most serious Incognito collector. ~ Andy Kellman