Play It Again Sam
2007
Afro Strut
About This Album
Detroit keyboard and vocal ace, producer, arranger, and composer Amp Fiddler has pulled an end-around on Afro Strut. He followed up the brilliant Waltz of a Ghetto Fly in 2004 with an import version of Afro Strut in 2006 on Genuine. The U.S. version followed in 2007, and instead of simply reissuing the set, he's retooled it considerably. The bottom line is that this is one of those records that is decidedly not a rip-off designed to grab your cash by the inclusion of a bonus cut or two. For starters, the single "If I Don't," which was an Amp solo joint on the earlier version, was re-recorded as a duet with Corinne Bailey Rae. Keeping its 1930s vibe, with a jumpy little Fats Waller-esque melody and rhythm, he and Rae whip the tune into a jaunty frenzy with killer instrumental fills by jazz legend (and fellow Detroiter) Wendell Harrison's clarinet, and the upright piano loops that tinkle and twinkle around the edges, adding a late-night, prohibition-era party vibe. It's playful and snappy. The funky opener, "Faith," produced by Raphael Saadiq, remains in its earlier form, offering a real alternative to the Jamiroquai-trademarked plastic funky soul that seems to be ever present on the other side of the pond these days.
Track List (try tracks 4,8,10,11 and 12)

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

 
report abuse