REVIEW: ApolloFourForty, Electro Glide in Blue (550 Music)
- Joann D. Ball
Turning American audiences on to the creative, eclectic and unpredictable tendencies of electronica is certainly a challenge. The British collective ApolloFourForty are up for the task, however, and have a few tricks of their own to throw into the mix on their adventurous new release, Electro Glide in Blue.
Electro Glide in Blue. opens with a one minute introduction called "Stealth Overture." This ethereal number, with its classical chorale stylings, sounds more like New Age than anything for the dance floor. But just when you've decided that this is music to relax to, the sonic alarm goes off. None other than Eddie Van Halen's unmistakable guitar intro from the Van Halen tour de force "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" which kick starts this 72-minute musical journey into the wild world of electronica. The Van Halen sample is the hook for ApolloFourForty's first U.S. single "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Dub," and is laid on top of a frenetic drum 'n' bass groove, some jazz horns, a collage of sounds and a reggae-tinged rap.
Having quickly established that anything is game on this futuristic collection, ApolloFourForty take electric slide guitar and blues harmonica and drop it into techno on "Altamont Super-Highway Revisited." Listeners can catch their breath and collect their thoughts during the title track and "Vanishing Point," as the tempo slows down significantly to explore the mellower territory of trip-hop. Slide guitar pops up again in "Tears of the Gods," and at first listen the song sounds a lot like the Stone Roses' "Love Spreads." But this is no ordinary rock song, thanks to a steamy mix of funky beats, scratching, booty moving bass, slashing guitars and sampled dialog. And the electro glide continues on "Carrera Rapida (Theme From Rapid Racer)" with its kettle drum percussion and distorted Trent Reznor-type vocals.
ApolloFourForty acknowledges the musical treasures of jazz on "Krupa" and "White Man's Throat." On the former, the band takes the syncopated drumming style of Gene Krupa and creates a clubgoers dream. The techno keyboards and repetitive bass line on the infectious "Krupa" made the track a hit in Britain where it was released twice as a single in 1996. "White Man's Throat," meanwhile, pays tribute to Miles Davis' funk-fusion work. And the title was inspired by the musician's controversial statement about where he'd hoped his hands would be when he died.
"Pain in Any Language" features the vocals of the late Billy MacKenzie, formerly of the Associates. This moody track would be the perfect theme song for a dark, romantic thriller film about a possessed lover. The lighter and brighter "Stealth Mass in F#m" which follows is the full length version of the cd's opening track. The combination of classical religious sounds, New Age overtones and trip-hop style works amazingly well here and finally delivers the relaxing sounds hinted at on "Stealth Overture." Just when you thought it was safe to kick back, ApolloFourForty shake things up once again with the accurately titled "Raw Power." Having more in common with the Prodigy than Iggy Pop, this outburst brings the noise with a reggae rap delivery over techno and drum 'n' bass instrumentation. This final track brings Electro Glide in Blue to an end, but it's a trip you'll want to take again and again.
