Morcheeba - Fragments of Freedom
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CD Details
Artist: MorcheebaEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2000-08-01
Music Label: Rhino
Soundtracks:
- World Looking In
- Rome Wasn't Built in a Day
- Love is Rare
- Let it Go
- A Well Deserved Break
- Love Sweet Love (feat Mr. Complex)
- In the Hands of the Godz (feat. Biz Markie)
- Shallow End
- Be Yourself
- Coming Down Gently
- Good Girl Down (feat. Bahamadia)
- Fragments of Freedom
Music reviews of Fragments of Freedom
Music Review: Morcheeba puts a smile on their talent...and my face!
Rating: 5 Stars
I guess if you want Morcheeba to keep cloning their earlier albums, this album will disappoint. If FRAGMENTS reeked of insincerity that would be one thing, but I don't remotely hear any lack of commitment here. Often I've found that when long-time fans start jumping ship--which has happened with artists as diverse as Miles Davis and Cibo Matto--then that's about the time I want to get on board, or renew my commitment to the artist if I'm already a fan (as I am here). Because that's usually when one finds out for certain that the group has the convictions to challenge themselves, to grow, to learn, to keep their ears and minds open, to not let themselves get pigeon-holed into what they once were (often ironically by those who profess to be their biggest and most loyal fans).Since when can't music of depth and vision have an optimistic tone? Do people still buy the artist-must-suffer (and/or make us suffer) cliche? To me, this album slams home the potential of the first two albums, often packing an old-school-bridged-to-Y2K funky vibe that would make George Clinton a proud father. And if you don't associate the P-Funk as an influence on Morcheeba from the beginning (not so much the lyrics as the feel and attitude), I bet they would confirm it...and even if they wouldn't, the music itself does.
Yes, the surface is more inviting, with captivating melodic hooks and rhythms that sometimes dance with the upbeat vigor of vintage 70s-80s funk. But is that such a bad thing? Funk is one of the most creative and resilient pop culture idioms of the last century. Beyond that, I still hear a consistent underlying thirst for experimentation...there is too much imaginative blending of styles and instrumentation to dismiss the results as being some assembly-line attempt to sell more records. I'd play this alongside acclaimed recent efforts by Lucy Pearl, Jurrasic 5, Macy Gray, and Amel Larrieux, and not try to stuff Morcheeba back into a moody trip-hop shell that they have since shed. By the way, Skye can teach a lot of today's divas the deeper meaning of SOUL, arguably even moreso here than on the prior albums!
To Morcheeba, hopefully you'll pick up ten new fans for every change-resistant one you'll lose, because I would love albums such as this to overthrow the juvenile attitude of much popular culture (i.e., for those of us who aren't into plastic images and profane attitudes).
Description of Fragments of Freedom
Japanese version of the long awaited follow up to the Brit trip hop trio's 1998, sophomore release 'Big Calm'. Includes the exclusive bonus track, 'Frogmarched To Freedom' and the first single 'Rome Wasn't Built In A Day'. 2000 release. Standard jewel case.Morcheeba were once the dreamiest bass-heavy, slow funk-oriented group in all of trip-hopdom, as anyone who's spent time with their 1998 sophomore album, Big Calm, will attest. Fragments of Freedom begins interestingly enough, with the languorous, slide guitar-enhanced track "World Looking In." But things go awry from there; the lyrics are so daft and pale, and the R&B-lite arrangements so limp, that the listener keeps waiting for the group to bust out laughing, then introduce the real music. "Let It Go," with its faux-inspirational chorus and tepid keyboard runs, sounds like the Euro-club music they might play at Epcot Center. By the time Biz Markie shows up with a short, sweet track of old-school boasting halfway through, it's far too late to save this CD. Freedom sounds like a misdirected attempt to reach a larger audience; the result is as appealing as cotton candy that's been dipped in maple syrup, covered with vanilla frosting, and then dropped in the sand. Recommended only as a clear example of how not to make interesting dance-pop with wide appeal. --Mike McGonigal
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