{"id":28520,"date":"2017-07-07T13:29:42","date_gmt":"2017-07-07T12:29:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=28520"},"modified":"2023-12-03T21:51:44","modified_gmt":"2023-12-03T20:51:44","slug":"voodoo-gurus-have-black-grape-conjured-a-classic-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2017\/07\/voodoo-gurus-have-black-grape-conjured-a-classic-return\/","title":{"rendered":"VOODOO GURUS – Have Black Grape Conjured A Classic Return?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When Black Grape <\/strong>first came crashing onto the scene in the mid 1990s, they were a perfect fit for the new laddism in vogue at the time.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

They shot straight to the top of the UK charts with the magnificent It\u2019s Great When You\u2019re Straight\u2026 Yeah<\/em><\/strong>, but dropped off the radar after follow up Stupid Stupid Stupid<\/em><\/strong>.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Now, after 20 years away, Shaun Ryder<\/strong> and ex-Ruthless Rap Assassin<\/strong> Kermit<\/strong>, are back with a bold and frankly entirely unanticipated comeback record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shrewdly enlisting big name producer Youth<\/strong>, they\u2019ve come up with a record that shines an unflinching light on the seamy underbelly of a divided Britain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Recorded in just a month, it\u2019s peopled by a motley collection of lowlifes, addicts, drunks and thieves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Musically, dirty funk is the order of the day, leavened with a healthy smattering of brass for that \u201870s US cop show feel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Youth\u2019s arrangements provide a solid structure for the vocal duo to work with, and against, as they document the travails of these characters in pursuit of \u201cmeds\u201d and sleazy sex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Album opener Everything You Know Is Wrong \u2013 Intro<\/em><\/strong> (reviewed<\/a> by EP in May) is great fun, if somewhat untypical of the rest of the record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A hilarious take on the US election campaign, it\u2019s easy to imagine Ryder shouting epithets at the TV screen as he watches the campaign on 24-hour news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c<\/strong>\u2018illary\u2019s an old bird who fucked up on \u2018er computer,\u201d is his analysis of the email scandal that plagued the Clinton campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the main target for his contempt is Donald Trump, who\u2019s taken to task for boasting to supporters of building a border wall with Mexico, but failing to bring it up when he actually visits the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And his final verdict on the present incumbent of the White House? \u201c\u2018e\u2019s a knob\u2019ed\u201d – naturally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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GRAPE MATES – Shaun Ryder and Paul “Kermit” Leveridge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While Nine Lives<\/strong><\/em> is a witty nod to Ryder’s past history of chemical indulgence, the humour takes a darker tone, as the duo turn their attention to a series of keenly observed tragic-comic creations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standout tracks Shame <\/em><\/strong>and I Wanna Be You<\/em> <\/strong>paint a caustic picture of addiction and wasted lives \u2013 the exhuberance of old making way for a more reflective lyrical vision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The spacey Whiskey Wine And Ham <\/em><\/strong>shows Ryder\u2019s not lost his gift for surreal, streams of consciousness street poetry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cButchers, chasing doctors\/ followed by helicopters\/ you\u2019re all just obnoxious,\u201d<\/em> he rants at one point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elsewhere, there are shades of Ryder\u2019s other band the Happy<\/strong> Mondays<\/strong> on the riff-led String Theory<\/em><\/strong> and the swaggering rhythms of the title track (see video below).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou went to hell, it was too fuckin hot,\u201d Ryder drawls, \u201cYou got your balls tied in a knot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s more great rhyming and surf guitar on Set The Grass On Fire<\/em><\/strong>, while Young And Dumb<\/em><\/strong> sees Black Grape heading into trip-hop territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a not an unadulterated triumph, the plastic soul and obvious message of Money Burns<\/em><\/strong> misses the mark and Sugar Money <\/em><\/strong>drifts by without leaving much of an impression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So no It\u2019s Great When You\u2019re Straight\u2026. <\/em>then, but a vivid, punchy and surprisingly focussed piece of work nonetheless. A welcome return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n