Tribal Tech - Thick

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Not for everyone, but if you enjoy VERY talented musicians improvising, pushing forward and just having fun this is for you.What you get here is hot, other worldly, alienish, bizzare, original and addictive fusion by this famous jazz rock fusion quartet.

This album was a change of direction for the unique talents of the tribal tech squad, this time they went for a more open sound - they improvised in the studio and then overdubbed instead of writing most of the music in advace and just "blow thru the charts".Now just so you'd know I respect the TT crew and love most of thier albums and side projects but on this project they really did something new, truely a new sound was invented in the end of 2K in the fusion field.I'll do a track by track review just so you'd get the idea, but honestly - you can't, not until you've heard the album:
1. 'Sheik of Encino' starts slow, with little touches by all, sprinkeling a few jazzy lines and building the ground for a Scott Henderson solo which starts with a few volume swells ala Jeff Beck and then evolves to the "Bluesy/Chromatic" style Scott is known for. After scott does his thang we get some time to catch a breath, and it's time to introduce the spacey, alienish sound for the first time, provided by Gary Willis' mutated bass lines and otherworldly sense of timing, and Soctt Kinsey's keys patches which sound like an alien-saucer just flew by your bedroom window. The piece evolves from the spacey vibe to a high octane assault by Kinsey who takes a few ideas from old timer Joe Zawinul but maintains a true origanl flowing sound all himself.
2. 'Party at Kinsey's' does sound like a party, but picture as if Kinsey's is a very populer bar in outer space, imagine if you will the Cantina in the Star Wars series. The piece goes from this strange feel good vibe to an even funkier direction, with a few jazzy lines here and there and what seems to be a trumpet line played by either one of the Scotts. A very fun piece but not the hot fusion you usually associate with TT.
3. 'Jalapeno' starts very funky and just flows until there comes one of the best bass solos I have ever heard, and I've heard a few. Gary Willis sure knows how to build a solo from scratch and he does it with a very unique sound. Right away as his solo ends he starts playing a groove that sets the ground for a Henderson attack, very tastey!
4. 'Clinic Trol'l is spacey and very strange, and features a funky vibe plus weird noises and voices of what must be a troll. Another fun piece with that original sound that gives this album its own identity.
5. 'Thick' is an 11 minute exercise through the dark tunnels of our mind. An evolving masterpiece that flows and visits many a place, but not for long, constantly playing with the vibe and the mood but mostly stays very dark. You just have to hear the interaction between the boys here and realise that they know each other very well and just enjoyd exploring this direction. Henderson's solo is killer, employing the Wah Wah pedal to great effect and driving the piece to an erupting climax with an angry vibe.
6. 'You May Remember Me' is the most alienish piece on this album. You have to hear this to dig those vibes! The two Scotts create a very spacey mood and the beat is very tribalish here. At some point Henderson plays a very emotional melody over a different beat and brings this work of art to a close.
7. 'Slick' starts with a bouncy groove almost Drum n Bass like, and features a very fast, well articulated bass solo from Gary - unbelievable! The vibe here is more jazzy and jumpy while Kinsey paints with his chromatic lead lines. Then it's time for another Henderson solo, you can't go wrong with him blasting away - total ear candy! Then it's time for some drums freak out courtesy of Kirk Covington but it's all in favour of the music.
8. 'Somewhat Later' sounds like an alien sitting and playing some old school alien blues slide guitar with his friends in outer space, plus you get a barlking dog and some wordless vocal. Another feel good piece.
9. 'What Has He Had?' is one of the better fusion workouts on this album,starts dark, builds slowly and gains momentum. A bluesy guitar solo enters just at the right time, then a very strange, effect laden bass solo which evolves to a new kick ass, energetic riff and lets the boys rip down some hot action on us, just to go easy on us again. Just when you think everything is calm in spaceville they turn around and start blasting again with a new riff! Ass Kicking!





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