Advantages: A breath of fresh air to any CD collection
Disadvantages: Not enough people know their name

...Jinrai; a name that is likely to be unfamiliar to many of you reading this, yet a name that you will hopefully soon be mentioning to those around you! Simply translated, the name is Japanese for ‘wind instruments’, so now you may have a clue as to the sort of music this band play. Jinrai are an 8-piece band from Birmingham, who play what can best be described as a blend of soul, funk, jazz and folk. ‘Constant Music’ is their debut album, which was released in April of last year, following the success of their two earlier single releases, one from July 2002, the other from July 2001. The band got together way back in 1997 at Birmingham University, where they performed under the name of Etcetera. It wasn’t unusual to see the band playing at University functions and in local pubs and clubs all throughout the university term... Read review

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Advantages: It comes with a comic book
Disadvantages: Its odd, very odd

...want. Alas it then completely changes pace and drops down into a bassy scratched up loss of a track. Its try to be deep funk but doesn't have the length or the multitude of instruments. It could be someones thing but its not mine. ELEVATOR HOPPER (1:35) Its elevator music. Scratched up piano music with a lounge jazz drum beat to it. Its quite nice though. It has some samples over the top of it. Its a nice breather which would have been better if it had come between two good tracks instead of pre-seeded by two wastes of album time. ANNIE'S PARLOR (4:03) A different twist to the album. There are still hallmarks of the previous tracks but this feels all together different. Slow horns are played over a two chord piano riff and a bass drum. It just feels more like a DJ tune getting close the trip hop influences that turned me... Read review

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Advantages: pure funk.
Disadvantages: erm... ... I couldn't get the inlay out of the case. I think that's more my problem though.

...Jamiroquai's 'A Funk Odyssey' - it does exactly what it says on the tin. 1. Feel So Good - Although it opens with an ominous windy sound, this track is exactly what we've come to expect from Jamiroquai; pure funk and acid jazz, only this time with no deep-rooted meaning. A no-brainer foot stomper this is, with a big bassline and a little funky guitar riff which (I think) is the sample referred to in the booklet. A definite contender for the next single, and one of the standout tracks on this immense album. Funk-o-meter: ***** 2. Little L - The first single to be released off the album, so you probably all know it. Once again a nice build up at the start, another driving bassline and you just can't resist shaking your ass to this one. I'm pretty sure this is about an ex-girlfriend, but of JK or Smith (Track 9 is the only one JK... Read review

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Advantages: Masterwork, Original, Groundbreaking
Disadvantages: None

...Snares delivers another mind-bending album. Back in 2001, Snares delivered 3 interesting albums: Making Orange Things, Songs About my Cats and Doll Doll Doll. If it wasn't for the first 4 tracks, you could forget about Making Orange Things alltogether. Songs About my Cats and Doll Doll Doll, on the other hand, are masterworks. In 2002, Aaron would release 3 more albums: This one, 2370894 and Winter in the Belly of a Snake. But Higgins Ultra Low Track Glue Funk Hits is Aaron's 2002 gold nugget. H.U.L.T.G.F.H is an extention on Doll Doll Doll's abrasiveness and Songs About my Cat's cleverness. H.U.L.T.G.F.H features 10 tracks and the total running time is of 56 minutes approx. The cover and inlay design have some kind of primitive charm and closely resemble his next album's cover. Ben Curzon designed all of this. Dance Like... Read review

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Advantages: Gets your toe tapping
Disadvantages: Jazz AND Abba? Will you have any street cred left?

...I think it's fair to say that even the most ardent Abba fan could never claim that the band is, was, or will be, cool. But what the Swedish supergroup did manage was to create some incredibly catchy, and suprisingly technical, music, with Benny and Bjorn realising early on that success was more of a possibility if they left the fronting of the band to the less photogenically challenged Agnetha and the other one. And so the copycat cover version was spawned. Copycat beget television tribute show, and tribute show beget hugely popular stage show. What all of these dopplegangers had in common was that, in the end, they were all the same. The same songs, done the same way, but worse than originally. And then came Nils Landgren and his Funk Unit. Landgren is a stunningly good jazz musician and normally has at least one 'cover' on each... Read review

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Advantages: A tune for every mood.
Disadvantages: There aren't any!

...I don't usually review albums as I find that that this is quite a personal thing - you either like it or you don't. However, Jamiroquai's latest album, entitled 'A Funk Odyssey' challenges us to find a negative aspect of the sound and feeling encaptured within it. 'A Funk Odyssey' is J.K. and Co.'s latest album aftera few years of not producing much, with the exception of the headline tune for the movie 'Godzilla', which is called 'Deeper Underground' - which, incidentally, appears as a bonus track on 'A Funk Odyssey', as it was only released as a single and has never appeared previously as an album track. In the style of previous Jamiroquai tunes, such as 'Canned Heat' and 'Virtual Insanity', 'Little L', which was the first single to be released off the album, has the trademark acid jazz funk beat and extremely catchy... Read review

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Advantages: Great Transmission. Smooth Engine. Low Running Costs. Hugely Spacious Interior. Build Quality.
Disadvantages: Messy Dashboard Styling. Uninspiring Exterior Styling.

...wheel trims. This 1.4 SE model comes equipped with very attractive alloy wheels as standard. The latest, very mild, facelift has seen Honda fit indicator repeater units into the door mirror housings which has had more impact in modernising the look of the car than you would think. The Jazz however lacks all pizzazz on the outside demonstrated by its' newer sister the Civic. It is, in my eyes at least, rather a "box on wheels". Knowing this themselves, Honda do offer the Jazz in a stunning range of colours, probably not all to your taste though! OVERALL BUILD QUALITY AND FINISH 9 / 10 Does it look as though it was slung together? No, it does not! Here, at least partly, is what you are paying for. This is one of the best built cars on the market. It puts many other, vastly more expensive models to shame. All those J.D. Power... Read review

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Advantages: Nina Simone - One of THE Voices Of Music
Disadvantages: None

...'t let me be misunderstood'. Purely for the song's symbolic stature, written during the time of Martin Luther King, it depicts the black American's experience, and has become synonomous with those times. There are more fantastic tracks on this album - The mesmorising 'Put A Spell On You', a seductive, eligent track that just slowly sweeps you away into Nina Simone's world. There are a number of jazz tracks on this album too, the bubbly 'Work song' and the glorious 'Love me or leave me'. Her true elegance is shown in the beautiful 'Don't explain' whilst 'Mississippi Goddam' is a track that lets the real diva come out of Nina Simone. 'Strange fruit' is a track about black oppression n America and you can feel Simone's pain for her people's problems. This track is followed by another upbeat funk track 'I'm going back home'. Nina Simone... Read review

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Advantages: irresitably funky
Disadvantages: only 4 tracks (but long all the same!)

...This is the only Hancock album I own but being intrested in all styles of music I wanted to give this a try. Hancock is a very talented keyboard player, who with his very tight 4 piece band and his large bank of synthesisers and electric keyboards creates all sorts of radical and new sounds in jazz that shook the jazz world in 1973. First track chameleon is based on a low analog synth riff and off beat drum rythm, that starts the album off on a very rythmic and slightly minimal note. This is then followed by the eerie 'watermelon man', starting off with an amazing african percussion section by Bill summers, and gradually a jazzy bass line creaps in, leading the way to another great slice of jazz fusion, complete with sax solos and funky harmonies. 'sly' is essentially a tribute to the music of sly stone, the famous funk musician... Read review

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Advantages: Some really good tracks
Disadvantages: Some are "so-so"

...Vintage Jazz Volume 4 is another of my all-time favourite jazz CDs, as it does exactly what it sys on the label, it IE.. it contain some really fine examples of some of the best classic jazz. Coleman Hawkins as his All Star Jam Band, featuring every example of the best jazz instruments, guitar, drums, clarinet, all performing together as one on Honeysuckle Rose. And please note the use of the word "jam" in the name of the band. As they say, there really is nothing new under the sun! The next track is also by Coleman Hawkins and His All Star Jam Band, but is a totally different style of jazz as they give a rip-roaring, jumping version of Sweet Georgia Brown. Crazy Rhythm is the next track an is also from Coleman Hawkins and His All Star Jam Band. Crazy Rhythm? Well, no all that crazy, and it is another example of the multi... Read review

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