Thirsty Ear
2006
Only
About This Album
Always one to push things to the limit, out-there rapper/producer Beans hands some beats over to avant-jazzers William Parker and Hamid Drake for one of the most sparse and narrow releases in Thirsty Ear's genre-smashing Blue Series. Only is a skeletal, midnight album, and while it's narrow enough to be considered a mood piece that won't always suit the listener, it's Beans' bold choice to keep things lean. Looking to emulate a bop trio, he pares his own contributions down so as not to take advantage of the layering possibilities of electronics. He also throws bassist Parker and drummer Drake some of the most tastefully dated beats he's ever brewed, some approaching cheese, but run through a sinister, crackling filter. Parker winds around the backing tracks and slowly creates loose melodies, but Drake responds with funk and lots of tense friction, snapping on the snare to lure the listener out of hypnosis and shockingly laying down a stomp like he was a garage band drummer on the sprawling "20." Fans of Beans' unlikely words should be aware he's frequently just a producer, but the trade-off is he's 100-percent himself when he grabs the mic and not the least bit tentative in these heady surroundings.
Track List (try tracks 2,4 and 9)

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