ARTIST : VA
TITLE : Back To Mine Krafty Kuts
LABEL : DMC
GENRE : Electronic
BITRATE : 151 kbps avg
SOURCE : CD (LP)
PLAYTIME : 01:06:51
SIZE : 76.2MB
STORE DATE : 2008-01
Track List
----------
1. Sharpshooters - Pork Pie Stride 3:11
2. Massive Attack - Any Love (2) 1:53
3. Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - They Reminisce Over 3:28
You
4. Incredible Bongo Band - In-A-Gadaa-Da-Vida 3:15
5. Kenny Dope Presents Powerhouse 3 - Making A 2:02
Living
6. Captain Rock - Capt. Rock To The Future Shock 3:48
7. Paul Hardcastle - Rain Forest 3:08
8. Tyrone Brunson - The Smurf 3:50
9. WhoMadeWho - Space For Rent 4:17
10. Ed Solo & Skool Of Thought - We Play Music 3:54
(Feat. Darrison & FJB)
11. Nas - Nas Is Like 3:24
12. The Soul Searchers - Ashley's Roachclip 3:59
13. A Skillz & Krafty Kuts - Roll Over Baby 4:02
14. Nu Shooz - I Can't Wait 5:00
15. A.D.O.R. - Let It All Hang Out 4:01
16. Black Grass - Yederday's Gone 4:42
17. Roy Ayres - Searching (Album Version) 4:25
18. Krafty Kuts - Summa Samba 4:32
The Back To Mine series has always proved to be a bit of
a mixed bag; after all, seeing as itÆs subtitled
ôPersonal collections for after hours groovingö thereÆs
always going to be something of the laid-back about it
and, indeed, however hectic Krafty Kuts aka Martin
ReevesÆ personal collection gets (tripping over its funky
basslines into a short interlude of hip-hop) it never
quite lets itself go in one particular direction. While
the electro-tinged tracks prove to be something of an
oddity it becomes abundantly clear that Reeves is not
only most comfortable when dealing with the breaksier
side of chill-out, but heÆs far more spot-on when it
comes to his selections.
First, the good news. And, thankfully, thereÆs much to
praise on this rather expansive compilation. The soulful,
languid beats of the SharpshootersÆ æPork Pie StrideÆ are
the perfect opener, mixing a gliding trumpet with a deep
bassline that, while pretty standard as far as commercial
soul goes, nonetheless functions as a warm bed from which
the compilation can launch itself. As it feeds into
Massive AttackÆs æAny LoveÆ the beats get louder as the
vocals get even more soulful, but it feels slightly too
under-paced. The crisp drums sound like theyÆre just
waiting for the opportunity to get even bigger and with
the arrival of the Pete Rock & CL SmoothÆs æTROYÆ and the
Incredible Bongo BandÆs æIn A Gadda Da VadaÆ the beats
start breaking exactly as theyÆd been threatening to. æIn
A Gadda Da VadaÆ makes an appearance on its own rather as
the backing to NasÆ æHip-Hop Is DeadÆ and, seeing as how
prevalent itÆs become in the last year only hints that
slightly more upbeat hip-hop would have ushered the
compilation up a couple of notches.
As it is, it only serves to signal the move into a bit of
electro, which leads into another tiny taste of hip-hop
(an actual Nas track this time, the underwhelming but
still-pretty-good æNas Is LikeÆ) before weÆre back into
some slightly more straightforward funk. And thatÆs the
main problem with this particular Back To Mine û by
trying to flit between so many genres it only ends up
feeling somewhat insubstantial; jack of trades but master
of none, if you will. While GuillemotsÆ collection
delighted precisely because it was so scattered and all
over the place (Sonic Youth, Buffalo Springfield and
Kenickie on one CD? Winner) and, say, Mercury RevÆs
effort sounded like a mainline directly into Jonathon
DonahueÆs swirling brain (and had no difficulty in
recreating the feeling that he was playing you some tunes
during 3am sofa session after a hefty night out), by
attempting to squash so many styles onto one compilation
Reeves isnÆt doing himself justice.
You get the feeling that, had he concentrated on the
casual breaks at the beginning of the album, this Back To
Mine could have been a deliciously chilled addition to
the canon. As it is, it feels more like a mini-set but is
handicapped by its length so canÆt really create enough
of a mood. ItÆs almost like a sampler of a Krafty Kuts
set and, although there are certainly worse ways to spend
an hour, itÆs not the hazy Back To Mine chillfest it
could have been.