The Roots

TWO DAYS IN A ROW

The Roots, “Proceed”

While it wasn’t really their debut album, Do You Want More?!!!??! feels like it SHOULD be their debut album. Organix feels more like a practice run or a demo, a band trying to find its voice, and several of its songs appear on the next album in re-worked forms. Anyway, this is the first full song on Do You Want More, and it really sets the template for the album and indeed their first couple albums, with the jazzy groove of the band revolving around Scott Storch’s keyboards and ?uestlove’s drums. I think Black Thought is better on the subsequent albums, but he’s certainly good on this record. Basically, this is where to start with the Roots in exploring their early career.

Hot damn, some great songs today.

Sleep, “Some Grass”

Sleep is one of the titans of doom metal, as we’ve talked about in the context of High on Fire. But, alas, this is just a little throwaway on Sleep’s Holy Mountain, so we’ll have to wait for another day to really bear witness to the majesty of their good stuff.

The Delgados, “Witness”

The Delgados came out of the same Glasgow scene that birthed Belle & Sebastian and Arab Strap. And, like Belle & Sebastian, their take on pop evolved from something more folk oriented to something much more orchestrated. This comes from The Great Eastern, the peak of their discography, although they were always good.

Music!

Bob Marley, “Exodus”

From the album of the same name, Exodus was recorded in London after Marley lived there for a couple years after surviving a murder attempt. It’s a strong album, featuring some of his most famous songs, and should be on the list for anybody interested in reggae.

Chevelle, “Prove To You”

This is a pretty convincing Helmet impression.

Ice Cube, “Until We Rich”

This is from War & Peace, Vol. 2 (The Peace Disc), a very late career album, about which the less said, the better. It’s amazing how much less dangerous Cube sounds here than in his prime.

Just to clarify the stance of us here at Five Songs Amalgamated: if it’s a single track, it counts as a song for the purposes of providing you with five of them. You’ll see why that’s relevant today.

Beck, “Round the Bend”

I’m not really sure I’m on board with sad Beck. I mean, Sea Change is clearly a good album, but I don’t really enjoy listening to it very much. Give me prankster Beck any day of the week.

At some point, I’m going to do a full writeup of just Amphetamine Reptile Records. I loved that label so much. Here’s today’s music.

J-Zone, “Caddy Coupe (Instrumental)”

Another J-Zone track, and another one that isn’t actually him rhyming. This is the instrumental of one of the better songs from Fish-n-Grits, his most recent hip-hop album. The original is a meditation on what his grandfather considered luxury, and what a Cadillac meant to him, along with Has-Lo contributing a verse on the same subject. Anyway, you can’t hear all that. Sorry!