Friday, October 08, 2004
OZOMATLI -- STREET SIGNS
First off, I'd like to say hi and thanks for visiting Rambling on Music. As Jeremy has said, we've ranted and raved at Sports for over a year at Sports and Bremertonians, but we've got a lot of thoughts about music swimming around in our heads as well. Tonight, I unveil to you my first contribution.
Ozomatli is a multiethnic band whose music is a gleeful mishmash of many many genres across the musical spectrum. To give you an idea of what goes into the music, here's the lineup of the band, as given in the foldout --
Wil-Dog Abers: bass, background vocals
Raul Pacheco: guitar, tres, jarana, lead vocals
Justin "El Nino" Poree: percussion, rap vocals
Asdru Sierra: trumpet, lead vocals, piano, acoustic guitar
Ulises Bella: saxophone, background vocals, requinto jarocho, keyboard, melodica
Jiro Yamaguchi: tabla, percussion, and background vocals
Mario Calire: drums
Sheffer Burton: trombone
DJ Spinobi: turntables
Jabu: rap vocals
Songs listed as "written and published by Ozomatli" have the names of Abers, Bella, Poree, Sierra, Pacheco, and Yamaguchi on them, indicating along with the back cover photo that they are the core members of the group.
Ozomatli is from Los Angeles, and are a decidedly left-leaning band on the political spectrum, much like Rage Against the Machine was. However, along with Rage, they also played in the impromptu concert outside the Democratic National Convention in 2000 at the Staples Center. But no matter what anyone's political beliefs may be, Ozomatli deserves your attention. Why? They're a feel-good band with purpose and a love of music, and dammit, that goes a long way.
So now, I'll try to hack up a track-by-track review of Ozomatli's latest album, Street Signs, which I found at my local Circuit City for $9.99. I own both of Ozomatli's two previous full-lengths, so I come into this Ozomatli album with a little familiarity as to how they work.
1) Believe (5:02) -- An interesting thing that comes to me as I listen to this song is the strings section, which adds another facet to the music. A catchy chorus is also involved. The Allmusic.com review suggests this should be a huge radio single, but radio these days just sucks. What I also couldn't put into words was expressed by their review also...Ozomatli is highly danceable.
2) Love and Hope (4:24) -- The string section is apparent in the beginning once again. Some beautiful harmonies in the pre-chorus, and another catchy chorus. Nice touch with the kids singing along with the chorus during the outro.
3) Street Signs (3:44) -- Piano, drums, and hand claps in the intro. A very catchy chorus once again, and the verses are rapped.
4) (Who Discovered) America? (4:35) -- A lyrically smart song. America is referred to as a beautiful and amazing woman, and the obvious double meaning is America as a nation itself. A lyrical triumph.
5) Who's to Blame (3:13) -- Chali 2na is no stranger to Ozomatli, and he appears on this track. This song has almost a middle-eastern feel to it. I've looked in the foldout, and "Egyptian Rhythms" is the "original track."
6) Te Estoy Buscando (3:50) -- A slow little ballad here, again with strings. It's a nice change of pace, which corresponds nicely with the next two songs.
7) Saturday Night (3:59) -- Here's a head-bobber. Rapped hook. Horns mixed with electric guitar in a nice combination.
8) Dejame en Paz (3:28) -- My favorite off the album. For me, this one's exactly what I listen to Ozomatli for. It's fast, it's catchy, it's playful. Most of all, it's impressive. I'm drained after every time I hear this song.
9) Santiago (5:09) -- Some beautiful flamenco guitar starts this one out, and the playing continues throughout the song. There's some nice piano fills in there, too.
10) Ya Viene Del Sol - The Beatle Bob Remix (3:38) -- Clever sample of a pre-concert introduction thrown into the mix. Another head-bobber, of which there are many with this band. Then there's the sitar (or whatever instrument it is) that throws another flavor into the mix.
11) Dona Isabelle (1:04) -- It's merely a little piano instrumental that segues into the next track, But it's a nice one by Eddie Palmieri, a jazz pianist who also appears on the next track.
12) Nadie Te Tira (4:47) -- Again, it's fun like most of the other songs on the album, except with skilled and inventive piano additions by Palmieri.
13) Cuando Canto (4:40) -- You know this one works because it feels like a closing track. In all my years of listening to music, I haven't been able to figure out the mechanics behind closing songs, but this one's got it. It's a little slower, and ends with strings.
Okay, it's my first review in a while, so it probably sucks. This album, however, does not. Most of the stuff I listen to has hard guitars involved, but when I got my first Ozomatli album a few years ago (my prior experience with them was doing security at their Bumbershoot gig), I was hooked. I branched out musically, and these guys didn't disappoint. If you feel the need to branch out musically, give these guys a chance. At least pull up some of their clips on Amazon or something beforehand. They're deserving of your time.
Ozomatli is a multiethnic band whose music is a gleeful mishmash of many many genres across the musical spectrum. To give you an idea of what goes into the music, here's the lineup of the band, as given in the foldout --
Wil-Dog Abers: bass, background vocals
Raul Pacheco: guitar, tres, jarana, lead vocals
Justin "El Nino" Poree: percussion, rap vocals
Asdru Sierra: trumpet, lead vocals, piano, acoustic guitar
Ulises Bella: saxophone, background vocals, requinto jarocho, keyboard, melodica
Jiro Yamaguchi: tabla, percussion, and background vocals
Mario Calire: drums
Sheffer Burton: trombone
DJ Spinobi: turntables
Jabu: rap vocals
Songs listed as "written and published by Ozomatli" have the names of Abers, Bella, Poree, Sierra, Pacheco, and Yamaguchi on them, indicating along with the back cover photo that they are the core members of the group.
Ozomatli is from Los Angeles, and are a decidedly left-leaning band on the political spectrum, much like Rage Against the Machine was. However, along with Rage, they also played in the impromptu concert outside the Democratic National Convention in 2000 at the Staples Center. But no matter what anyone's political beliefs may be, Ozomatli deserves your attention. Why? They're a feel-good band with purpose and a love of music, and dammit, that goes a long way.
So now, I'll try to hack up a track-by-track review of Ozomatli's latest album, Street Signs, which I found at my local Circuit City for $9.99. I own both of Ozomatli's two previous full-lengths, so I come into this Ozomatli album with a little familiarity as to how they work.
1) Believe (5:02) -- An interesting thing that comes to me as I listen to this song is the strings section, which adds another facet to the music. A catchy chorus is also involved. The Allmusic.com review suggests this should be a huge radio single, but radio these days just sucks. What I also couldn't put into words was expressed by their review also...Ozomatli is highly danceable.
2) Love and Hope (4:24) -- The string section is apparent in the beginning once again. Some beautiful harmonies in the pre-chorus, and another catchy chorus. Nice touch with the kids singing along with the chorus during the outro.
3) Street Signs (3:44) -- Piano, drums, and hand claps in the intro. A very catchy chorus once again, and the verses are rapped.
4) (Who Discovered) America? (4:35) -- A lyrically smart song. America is referred to as a beautiful and amazing woman, and the obvious double meaning is America as a nation itself. A lyrical triumph.
5) Who's to Blame (3:13) -- Chali 2na is no stranger to Ozomatli, and he appears on this track. This song has almost a middle-eastern feel to it. I've looked in the foldout, and "Egyptian Rhythms" is the "original track."
6) Te Estoy Buscando (3:50) -- A slow little ballad here, again with strings. It's a nice change of pace, which corresponds nicely with the next two songs.
7) Saturday Night (3:59) -- Here's a head-bobber. Rapped hook. Horns mixed with electric guitar in a nice combination.
8) Dejame en Paz (3:28) -- My favorite off the album. For me, this one's exactly what I listen to Ozomatli for. It's fast, it's catchy, it's playful. Most of all, it's impressive. I'm drained after every time I hear this song.
9) Santiago (5:09) -- Some beautiful flamenco guitar starts this one out, and the playing continues throughout the song. There's some nice piano fills in there, too.
10) Ya Viene Del Sol - The Beatle Bob Remix (3:38) -- Clever sample of a pre-concert introduction thrown into the mix. Another head-bobber, of which there are many with this band. Then there's the sitar (or whatever instrument it is) that throws another flavor into the mix.
11) Dona Isabelle (1:04) -- It's merely a little piano instrumental that segues into the next track, But it's a nice one by Eddie Palmieri, a jazz pianist who also appears on the next track.
12) Nadie Te Tira (4:47) -- Again, it's fun like most of the other songs on the album, except with skilled and inventive piano additions by Palmieri.
13) Cuando Canto (4:40) -- You know this one works because it feels like a closing track. In all my years of listening to music, I haven't been able to figure out the mechanics behind closing songs, but this one's got it. It's a little slower, and ends with strings.
Okay, it's my first review in a while, so it probably sucks. This album, however, does not. Most of the stuff I listen to has hard guitars involved, but when I got my first Ozomatli album a few years ago (my prior experience with them was doing security at their Bumbershoot gig), I was hooked. I branched out musically, and these guys didn't disappoint. If you feel the need to branch out musically, give these guys a chance. At least pull up some of their clips on Amazon or something beforehand. They're deserving of your time.
