Bad Mouth

by Conjure, Kip Hanrahan

Overview

Who but Kip Hanrahan could take the finest percussionists in New York (some might say the world), a few highly respected authors, and one or two incredibly well-respected fusion musicians to fill in the gaps, and make them sound like stoned Midwestern high-school students? Though there are some genuine moments of "cool," the overwhelming impression left by Hanrahan and company is one of post-boheme self-importance. The surprise presented by the American Clave label is that the clave barely makes a guest appearance. The body of this two-disc set consists of funky, laid-back bass guitar vamps over a backbeat, laying the ground for the prose of Ishmael Reed and Hanrahan himself floating freely over the top. There are moments in the 12 long tracks that touch upon something truly profound, or at least interesting. Unfortunately, the poetry, in reaching for something great, often overextends and falls flat. The musicians, all of whom have the power to push, pull, and bend time like magicians, are seriously underused. With players like Dafnis Prieto, Robby Ameen, and Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez on deck, a wise producer would have laid down something other than 12 tracks of P-Funk-style backbeat. Is Bad Mouth a bad record? No, it's not, but it certainly was not very well thought through, or well developed. Hanrahan has a talent for bringing together truly amazing musicians. The next step would be to include a truly great producer on that list. ~ Evan C. Gutierrez

Product Details

Release Date:	09/15/2006
Label:	Enja/Weber
UPC:	0767522105322
Rank:	213282

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Kip Hanrahan   Primary Artist,Vocals,Musical Direction
Conjure   Primary Artist
Dafnis Prieto   Drums
Fernando Saunders   Vocals,Bass (Electric)
Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez   Drums
Robby Ameen   Drums
Pedro Martinez   Congas,Vocals,Percussion
Richie Flores   Congas
Anthony Cox   Bass (Electric)
Alvin Youngblood Hart   Vocals,Guitar (Electric)
Leo Nocentelli   Guitar (Electric)
Billy Bang   Violin (Electric)

Technical Credits

Dafnis Prieto   Group Member
Fernando Saunders   Composer,Group Member
Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez   Group Member
Robby Ameen   Group Member
Pedro Martinez   Group Member
Dick Kondas   Engineer
Richie Flores   Group Member
Anthony Cox   Composer,Group Member
Brian Dozoretz   Assistant Engineer
Al Young   Liner Notes
Alvin Youngblood Hart   Composer,Group Member
Kip Hanrahan   Composer,Producer,Group Member
Ishmael Reed   Composer,Recitation,Group Member
Leo Nocentelli   Composer,Group Member
Billy Bang   Group Member