m.o.r.

alabama 3 are an outfit from brixton, london, united kingdom
known in the u s of a as a3 to avoid legal hassles with an american band called alabama
the english group are described as being a acid house, blues, country and gospel band
their main claim to fame being that a track of theirs is the theme song for tv show the sopranos
that track is titled 'woke up this morning' from their 1997 debut album titled 'exile on coldharbour lane'
this their latest album simply titled m.o.r. has had some impressive reviews in respected mags
so without hearing anything of them and one day in search of some new music i made the investment
check in
ok got me interested on this brief intro at 1 minute and 21 seconds
aircraft noises, airport announcements, random noises
and then an aircraft captain's welcome announcement
though not as normal as he announces it may be a bit of a bumpy ride
flying to the outer rings of saturn - sounds a bit like ronald reagan actually
fly
now i know why this band is so hard to categorise
great production of harmonising female vocals, 70's style electric piano
very catchy beat, call-and-response lead vocals, funk feel in there also
leading up to a electric guitar put through some kind of effects box
and winding up with the captain once again cutting in with announcements - phew
lockdown
starts out sounding like some kind of kraftwerk cover band - sparse electronica
vocals come in singing lyrics that defy summarising - too random
band kicks in with an up-tempo beat and some brass or brass synthesizer
then it all falls away to a fairly flat bridge part
and then an attempt to get the tune back on track with key changes - hmmm
monday don't mean anything
gospel meets electronica which is a first for me
very catchy repeated singing of the title with all sorts of electronica backing
then standard percussion and some real brass comes in to keep things interesting
there's also a rap-break in the middle of the tune which sits quite well with the gospel sound
it seems quite clever but maybe too much so - catchy but kind of annoying
amos moses
switch off all the electronica noise making machines
get into dirty almost grunge alt.country southern blues mode
production values have changed also to a do-it-in-one-take approach
a simple echo-laden track with an electric guitar providing most of the noise
they named him after a man of the cloth - they called him amos moses
are you a souljah?
leads in with sounds of missiles and exploding bombs with an acoustic guitar
and then a voice not unlike samuel l jackson as a preacher
gives way to a smooth electronica sound and the now recognisable vocals
another one with all sorts of things happening musically
female harmonies, a couple of rap verses, brief hard-rock guitar, fades out with the last post
the klan
full-on country feel now despite an distracting electronica introduction
then it's real instruments only working away on this tune that seems quite familiar
lyrics that make reference to the kkk but otherwise difficult to work it out
a repeat chorus of - come-on and stand by me - repeat, repeat, repeat
before fading out with a mandolin and various other instruments taking it away
hooked
screaming jay hawkins kind of lead-in and some basic instrumentation
then kicks in with another tune relying on 80's sounding electronica
i think the lyrics refer to a dude's feelings to a lady who has taken his fancy
it would be tempting to take this song as a serious attempt at a pop song
actually not totally familiar with them but machine gun felatio springs to mind
the doghouse chronicles
a male voice not heard yet on the album leads the way
took a while to pick it but sounds like a leonard cohen rip-off
acoustic guitars and boys doing vocal harmonising moves into the main song
lots of talk (sing) of dancing on graves, visiting graves, other related (?) lines
bit of a non-song really but ok considering it is in the middle of the album
the middle of the road
presumably the title track for this album and another style rip-off
sounding very much like a west coast country-rock band a-la the eagles
ok i'm convinced this is a piss-take of that genre
let it go - you can do it, you can do it - let the music save you - oooh-ahhh
very funny really they would have a lot of fun doing a video for this one
work it (all night long)
trademark lead-in - random electronica noises, ditto on the vocals front
there's a story in there somewhere - work it (all night long) gets sung over and over
it could be a traditional song re-worked with their electronica influence
hard to be sure really - there seems to be reference to a lady working in a casino
not a bad song but on the whole quite average
way beyond the blues
like the start to this tune - some electronica then a standard drum set kicks in
this one will be a bit of a grower i suspect - first time - very average
second time - now - the groove gets in and locks in
will be on the lookout for this tune to pop up on the portable mp3 player
when you've nothing to lose - then you're way beyond the blues
holy blood
intro could be any band - then a piano is used to introduce a female voice
quickly followed by the voice most associated with alabama 3
relative to other tunes on the album this one is an epic at over 5 minutes
a hammond organ is used also and the music is mainly around the lovely piano playing
the last minute or so is a big rousing chorus repeat singing about holy blood
sweet joy
album closer and longest track at nearly 10 minutes
the usual quiet acoustic introduction before a quick and loud change to the main song
rock band mode with mouth harp out front as the lads get down to sing big harmonies
falls away to a great drum beat, wah-wah electronica and then female voice takes over
this is a seriously good big, long, epic tune that will improve big time with repeat playing

confession time - first listening of this album had me eject it part way through and shelve it
second listening - here and now - convinces me that this could be a real grower
will definitely give it repeat playing
could be a big hit
somewhere