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Ruckus

 
Album Review: Ruckus

  • Artist: Galactic
  • Rating: StarStarStarStar
  • Release Date: October 07, 2003
  • Type: Enhanced CD-ROM
  • Genre: Rock

Review

On their fourth studio album proper -- Vintage Reserve was a best-of, and We Love 'Em Tonight was a live offering -- Galactic wholeheartedly move not so much away from their past as a bad-ass New Orleans jazz & roll concern, as they move toward another of its traditions: Voodoo funk. There is a twist though. Not merely content to grasp the Mardi Gras Indians or Dr. John esthetics, Galactic points firmly toward the technological present with their primordial groove machine music. Drummer Stanton Moore uses as many loops as he does organic drums, bass, bass, and more bass is the order of the day, and strange keyboard sounds come bubbling under like some lost Lee Perry session gone digital. Does that make this a techno or an electronica record? C'mon. Ruckus is a spooky ride to the other side of midnight. The party is either gonna break out or break up; it exists on the edge of that fine distinction, that moment in time when anything is possible. And possibility is what Ruckus is all about: simmering organ grooves encounter striated acoustic and electric guitars under a series of syncopated rhythms by Moore on "Bongo Joe." Jagged synth lines by Richard Vogel meet ragged-then-overdriven guitars from Jeffrey Raines on "The Moil," and monstrous tom tom loops collide with basslines and keyboard riffs before Raines comes in on the acoustic bottleneck to smooth out the off-kilter funk on "Kid Kenner." This is music as the deconstruction of a sonic palette, as the deconstruction, death, and rebirth of a band. And, like Medeski, Martin and Wood before them, Galactic is all the better for its brave new world direction. Ruckus is no less a roots album than Coolin' Off was. But perhaps it is more so because in order to use all this gear and create the kind of ass-burning grooves the band comes up with, there is only one place to go to find the source: rhythm itself (if you need further evidence check out "The Beast," and let it mess your head and backbone up). Highly recommended. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Bittersweet Galactic Galactic (3:29)
Bongo Joe Galactic, Brandon Arnovick Galactic (3:21)
The Moil Galactic Galactic (3:11)
Paint (Lyrics) Galactic, Brandon Arnovick Galactic (3:19)
Never Called You Crazy Galactic Galactic (3:08)
Gypsy Fade Galactic Galactic (3:28)
Mercamon Galactic Galactic (3:12)
Uptown Odyssey Galactic Galactic (3:13)
Kid Kenner Galactic Galactic (3:25)
The Beast Galactic Galactic (2:49)
Tenderness Dave Wakeling, Ranking Roger, Mickey Billingham Galactic (3:46)
All Behind You Now Galactic Galactic (3:40)
Doomed Galactic Galactic (3:56)

Credits

Theryl DeClouet (Group Member), Jim Greer (Guitar), Richard Vogel (Group Member), Glenn Hartman (Accordion), Robert Mercurio (Group Member), Robert Mercurio (Vocals (Background)), Scott Harding (Engineer), Jim Greer (Keyboards), Howie Weinberg (Mastering), Theryl DeClouet (Vocals), Ben Ellman (Group Member), Stanton Moore (Loops), Ben Ellman (Harmonica), Teedy Boutte (Vocals), Stanton Moore (Drums), Ken Weinstein (Publicity), Richard Vogel (Keyboards), Ben Ellman (Programming), Ben Ellman (Saxophone), Stanton Moore (Group Member), Robert Mercurio (Bass)
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Wikipedia: Ruckus (album)
Top
Ruckus
Studio album by Galactic
Released October 7, 2003
Genre Jazz, Rock, Fusion, New Orleans
Label Sanctuary
Producer Dan the Automator
Professional reviews
Galactic chronology
Vintage Reserve
(2001)
Ruckus
(2003)
From the Corner to the Block
(2007)

Ruckus is the fourth studio album by the New Orleans, LA based band Galactic. It was produced by Dan the Automator.

Contents

Track listing

  1. "Bittersweet" – 3:29
  2. "Bongo Joe" – 3:21
  3. "The Moil" – 3:11
  4. "Paint" – 3:19
  5. "Never Called You Crazy" – 3:08
  6. "Gypsy Fade" – 3:28
  7. "Mercamon" – 3:12
  8. "Uptown Odyssey" – 3:13
  9. "Kid Kenner" – 3:25
  10. "The Beast" – 2:49
  11. "Tenderness" – 3:46
  12. "All Behind You Now" – 3:40
  13. "Doomed" – 3:56

Chart performance

Album

Chart Provider(s) Peak
position
Certification Sales/
shipments
Billboard Top Contemporary Jazz Albums (U.S.)[1] Billboard 6 Not certified N/A
Billboard Top Heatseekers (U.S.)[1] 42


Personnel

Galactic:

Theryl DeClouet - vocals
Ben Ellman - harmonica, programming, saxophone
Robert Mercurio - bass, vocals (bckgr)
Stanton Moore - drums, loops
Richard Vogel - keyboards


Teedy Boutte - vocals
Jim Greer & The Mac-O-Chee Valley Folks - guitar, keyboards
Scott Harding - engineer
Glenn Hartman - accordion
Howie Weinberg - mastering

References

  1. ^ a b Galactic Artist Chart Position at Billboard

External links


 
 

 

Copyrights:

Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Ruckus (album)" Read more