Stay cool motherfuckers y'all know the rules: The Roots

[harmless]

Someone hit me up with a link?

ill send it in a moment.

sent!

[Kevin Davis]

This is a fantastic record--bold and genuinely experimental, a real art project, spilling over with creativity and freedom, with both artists really diving headlong into and embracing with humility the other's medium. With the possible exception of a few of the early Attractions records, this may be Costello's first record in his nearly forty year career in which his supporting ensemble truly functions as his creative equal--?uestlove lobs Costello's old riffs and fragments at him like slow motion dodgeballs, and he elegantly dances around them with words and melodies both old and new, oftentimes favoring rhythm over melody but never so much that it seems he's writing (or singing) in mere deference to the form. An unqualified creative success.

Favorite tracks early on: "Sugar Won't Work," "Tripwire," "She Might Be a Grenade," "Viceroy's Row."

[Kevin Davis]

With the possible exception of a few of the early Attractions records, this may be Costello's first record in his nearly forty year career in which his supporting ensemble truly functions as his creative equal

And maybe the Burt Bacharach album...

[harmless]

I've just finished the first track, but it's funky as hell. Great rhythm. I couldn't find the words to say how much else I liked. Onto track 2 and beyond.

[Jorge]

To me, "Walk Us Uptown" is by far the weakest track on the album. "Sugar Won't Work" and "Refuse to be Saved" raise the bar way up.

[Jorge]

Especially "Sugar Won't Work", which sounds so much like a Motown B-side. It's lovely.

This is a great record.

[harmless]

To me, "Walk Us Uptown" is by far the weakest track on the album. "Sugar Won't Work" and "Refuse to be Saved" raise the bar way up.

Musically, maybe. "Walk Us Uptown" is undoubtedly driven by its rhythm. And so are other more trad. funk-based songs.

[Kevin Davis]

To me, "Walk Us Uptown" is by far the weakest track on the album.

Totally agree.

[harmless]

This is a wonderful album, full of rich and interesting instrumentation and surprising compositions given the general framework of (instrumental) hiphop / triphop / funk, etc. It's so much more surprising than I ever expected, for one. And to have Elvis Costello's lyrics over the top? Magic. I do think the first song, although it's pretty generic funk, is a good lead-in as it doesn't throw the listener into the deep end straight away, but acclimatises them to what The Roots and Elvis Costello can sound like. And some of that is cosily familiar and, for me, what I was expecting and hoping for. There are more surprises later. 'Wise Up Ghost' felt weird to me, but because it drones and kind of stays on the same groove and chord sequence, I got used to it and ended up liking it. I don't really think the BV's add anything, I'd prefer if they weren't there, but overall I don't mind that they are.

[liebzz]

Eagerly awaiting this release now in just a couple of weeks. I've never loved nor hated Elvis Costello, but people are saying good things and I am a huge Roots fan. I am going to hold out completely and not even hear any of the singles in advance. I just want to know why the CD has 15 tracks and the vinyl album has 12 cuts. In this case, I am opting for the CD.

[Kevin Davis]

The CD is a "deluxe edition," containing a few tracks not on the leaked version.

Sounds even better in the morning--strikes me as, how do they say it, "sui generis"?

[Jorge]

This is a wonderful album, full of rich and interesting instrumentation and surprising compositions given the general framework of (instrumental) hiphop / triphop / funk, etc. It's so much more surprising than I ever expected, for one. And to have Elvis Costello's lyrics over the top? Magic. I do think the first song, although it's pretty generic funk, is a good lead-in as it doesn't throw the listener into the deep end straight away, but acclimatises them to what The Roots and Elvis Costello can sound like. And some of that is cosily familiar and, for me, what I was expecting and hoping for. There are more surprises later. 'Wise Up Ghost' felt weird to me, but because it drones and kind of stays on the same groove and chord sequence, I got used to it and ended up liking it. I don't really think the BV's add anything, I'd prefer if they weren't there, but overall I don't mind that they are.

To give you an idea of the kind of radical reimagining going on in this record, here's the song they sampled as the basis to "Wise Up Ghost":



(sidenote: this is one of my favorite EC ballads-- "there may be days when you must go from my side, there may be nights when clouds deny us starlight")

[Jorge]

The album sounds great, too.

[harmless]

This is a wonderful album, full of rich and interesting instrumentation and surprising compositions given the general framework of (instrumental) hiphop / triphop / funk, etc. It's so much more surprising than I ever expected, for one. And to have Elvis Costello's lyrics over the top? Magic. I do think the first song, although it's pretty generic funk, is a good lead-in as it doesn't throw the listener into the deep end straight away, but acclimatises them to what The Roots and Elvis Costello can sound like. And some of that is cosily familiar and, for me, what I was expecting and hoping for. There are more surprises later. 'Wise Up Ghost' felt weird to me, but because it drones and kind of stays on the same groove and chord sequence, I got used to it and ended up liking it. I don't really think the BV's add anything, I'd prefer if they weren't there, but overall I don't mind that they are.

To give you an idea of the kind of radical reimagining going on in this record, here's the song they sampled as the basis to "Wise Up Ghost":



(sidenote: this is one of my favorite EC ballads-- "there may be days when you must go from my side, there may be nights when clouds deny us starlight")

Yeah, it's a very nice song. I had a feeling I'd heard the sample.

[Kevin Davis]

The album sounds great, too.

?uestlove has one of the sharpest, cleanest producer's touches in the business, I think--the sound of his crash cymbal on the last few Roots albums is something no sonic enthusiast should go any longer than necessary without hearing, preferably on a nice set of headphones.

After a few albums of T-Bone Burnett's unobtrusive, naturalistic production style, ?uestlove's highly stylized copy-and-pastes are a welcome diversion into alien terrain.

[evenslow]

Can't wait to hear this. There's no way it's not at least a top 5-er of 2013 for me.

[VinylGuy]

This is my proper second listen, i feel there is so much going on; it quite impossible for me to grab everything...this is good.
The band sounds amazing, relaxed, funky, dramatic...its great. Costello sounds cool too, his range fits perfectly good with them. I have some minor complaints; both of the singles are the weakest songs here, the more predictable from the bunch maybe that´s why they are singles i dont know...

So far my favorites are : Sugar wont work ( great mix of the two styles) and Wise up ghost.

[VinylGuy]

Ok, my favorites have changed:

Refused to be saved ( Thats a mix between Costello´s pop rock and The Roots) and Tripwire.

[Jorge]

"Sugar Won't Work", "Refuse to Be Saved", "Tripwire" and "Come the Meantimes" are still rocking my world pretty hard.

[Gods' Die]

So this thing is fucking great.