Bobby Sparks II: Schizophrenia: The Yang Project
Author: Andy Robson
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Musicians: |
Barry Jackson (b) |
Label: |
Leopard |
Magazine Review Date: |
May/2019 |
Media Format: |
2CD |
Catalogue Number: |
N 77065 |
RecordDate: |
date not stated |
All hail the Messiah of the Moog, Snarky Puppy's Sparkchild, Mr Sparks II. A sprawling 2CD, 20-cut extravaganza, it's hard to call whether this is a sparksome indulgence, a genuine tribute to the forefathers of funk or a bucketload of ideas that could've been edited down to a half decent single CD. Annoyingly, it falls between all three stalls. The shout out loud unifier is a respect for the likes of Prince, Bootsy Collins, George Clinton and George Duke. Sometimes it's deliriously potent, as on ‘Bobby Spark's Sr.'s Famous Chili’, but when you have Marcus Miller laying down the funk, that's no surprise. Sometimes its Maggot Brain heavy (‘The Comanche Are Coming’/‘Black Man Running from the Police’). But there's also some curiously fay funk-ish ballads (think The Duke in his 1980s vocal style). Doubtless Sparks had the best of times recruiting all his mates and layering up all those keyboards, but somewhere along the line they've overlooked writing material that's strong enough and original enough to make the most of the heavyweights on the payroll. But if the Project sends you back to the funk forefathers, or indeed Bobby Farrell, Lenny White or Dennis Chambers, then it's succeeded on some level.
Schizophrenia: The Yang Project
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