Declassified (Groove Collective album)
| Declassified | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1999 | |||
| Genre | Funk, acid jazz[1] | |||
| Label | Shanachie[2] | |||
| Producer | Genji Sirasi | |||
| Groove Collective chronology | ||||
| ||||
Declassified is an album by the American band Groove Collective, released in 1999.[3][4]
The album peaked at No. 48 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart.[5] The band supported it with a North American tour.[6]
Production
[edit]The album was produced by band member Genji Sirasi.[7] At the time of the recording, Groove Collective included 14 members.[8] Declassified contains a cover of the Paul McCartney-penned "Martha My Dear".[9] Lucy Woodward contributed vocals to "Up All Night".[10]
Critical reception
[edit]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [11] |
| Orange County Register | B+[12] |
| Pitchfork | 7.1/10[13] |
| Winnipeg Sun |  [14] |
Pitchfork called Declassified "modern funk that's not afraid to integrate with every other influence held dear by each of its 14 members."[13] The Washington Post thought that the band "are skillful cut-ups, whether they're reconstituting a '70s-funk shuffle ('Up All Night'), toying with what sounds like a PBS-theme fanfare ('Some People'), appropriating Steve Reich's modal shuffle ('Undercover Life') or narcotizing the Beatles' 'Martha My Dear'."[7] The Orange County Register declared that, "were it to lose some of the cloying Spyro Gyra-isms it uses as a crutch, this New York outfit ... would be the tightest bunch of funketeers since the Average White Band, if not P-Funk."[12]
Bass Player wrote: "Ever maturing and enduring, GC shows polish and panache on its latest without abandoning previous experiments with multi-flavored trance-like rhythms."[15] The Philadelphia Inquirer deemed the album "stuttering soul and party-psychedelia creamy with lush melody and Latin grooves."[16] The Boston Herald opined: "Freed by their variety-is-the-spice approach, the New York group is looser and moves better while sharpening its breezy future grooves."[17]
AllMusic wrote that the album "finds the congregation in a most jubilant mood, happy to simply stretch out on a series of infectious singalong jams."[11]
Track listing
[edit]| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Up All Night" | 4:20 |
| 2. | "Everything Is Changing" | 5:37 |
| 3. | "On a Feeling" | 4:04 |
| 4. | "Some People" | 4:59 |
| 5. | "Valiha" | :45 |
| 6. | "Undercover Life" | 4:27 |
| 7. | "Guara Rumba" | 1:03 |
| 8. | "Crisis" | 7:25 |
| 9. | "End Transmission" | 4:02 |
| 10. | "Sabrosona (Song for Chucho)" | 3:40 |
| 11. | "Nature of a Freak" | 5:14 |
| 12. | "Triage" | 2:09 |
| 13. | "Martha My Dear" | 3:24 |
| 14. | "Sabrosona (Reprise)" | 1:10 |
| 15. | "Mrs. Strangelove" | 3:45 |
References
[edit]- ^ "Groove Collective Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
- ^ "Groove Collective". Trouser Press. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ Dunlevy, T'Cha (12 Nov 1999). "Groove grinds Afro-Latin funk". The Gazette. p. D11.
- ^ Gopwani, Jewel (15 Aug 1999). "Groove Collective". Detroit Free Press. p. F7.
- ^ "Groove Collective". Billboard.
- ^ "Groove Collective, 'Declassified'". Fort Collins Coloradoan. 18 Feb 2000. p. E2.
- ^ a b Jenkins, Mark (19 Nov 1999). "Groove Collective 'Declassified' Shanachie". The Washington Post. p. WW11.
- ^ Dames, K. Matthew (30 Sep 1999). "Collective's 'Declassified' shouldn't be secret". Press & Sun-Bulletin. p. 10.
- ^ Bradley, Mike (30 Oct 1999). "Jazz choice". Features. The Times. p. 12.
- ^ Harder, Chris (March 16, 2000). "For Groove Collective, labels don't stick, but the name says it all". Entertainment. Missoula Independent.
- ^ a b "Declassified". AllMusic.
- ^ a b Wener, Ben (March 3, 2000). "Sound Check". Orange County Register. p. F56.
- ^ a b "Groove Collective: Declassified: Pitchfork Review". August 2, 2002. Archived from the original on 2002-08-02.
- ^ Sterdan, Darryl (October 22, 1999). "Discs". Entertainment. Winnipeg Sun. p. 39.
- ^ Leigh, Bill (Oct 1999). "Groove Collective: Declassified". Bass Player. Vol. 10, no. 11. p. 64.
- ^ Amorosi, A. D. (26 Nov 1999). "Groove Collective". Features Weekend. The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 17.
- ^ Lozaw, Tristram (September 3, 1999). "Boston Beat". Art. Boston Herald. p. 21.
