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The Herbaliser | Something Wicked This Way Comes

Fourth chapter in the history of Herbalism.
CD, Ninja Tune/Zomba

Tekst: Koen Mariën

Publicatiedatum: 02 maart 2002

The Herbaliser always had their own special place in the musical universe. They are a hiphopcrew alright, but they are also part of the British school of beat scientists and have all their stuff released on the infamous Ninja Tune label. With 'Something Wicked This Way Comes' main men Jake Wherry and Ollie Teeba present the fourth chapter of Herbalism, their very own melting pot of hiphop, jazz-funk, smoking beats and movie samples. And they've taking it to another level, bringing the Herbaliser Band, with which they toured extensively in 2001, along in the studio to create the live samples. Add to that a long list of top rappers and you have all the ingredients for a great Herbaliser album. It starts off with the title track, immediately immersing the listener into the Herbaliser universe of cool cats, secret agents and cartoon figures. Female rapper Seaming To makes 'Something Wicked This Way Comes' sound like the title track for an imaginary James Bond movie from the fifties. 'Verbal Animé', with rapper Iriscience (Dilated People), starts off with a cartoon sample and continuous with cartoon-like beats, a nice gimmick that works wonderfully well. The other rappers are also in exquisite form. Phi Life Cypher rambles away on the excellent 'Distinguished Jamaican English' and MF Dooms cool raps go very well with the Herbaliser beats, turning 'It Ain't Nuttin'' into one of the top tracks of the album. The single 'Good Girl Gone Bad, featuring female rapper Wildflower, is another story. There's nothing wrong with the track and the raps even give it hit potential, but it sounds more like Postmen than Herbaliser. Just not my cup of tea. No, then I'd prefer any of the instrumentals anytime. The very relaxed 'Mr. Holmes', the almost bombastic 'Worldwide Connected' or the funky 'Battle of Bongo Hill'. 'Something Wicked This Way Comes' is an album that will undoubtely please every Herbaliser fan on the globe and it proves the Herbaliser is here to stay.

http://www.kindamuzik.net/recensie/the-herbaliser/something-wicked-this-way-comes-1363/1363/
Meer The Herbaliser op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/the-herbaliser