Life Stranger Than Fiction

Life Stranger Than Fiction Artist: Incognito
Label: Polygram Int'l
Category: Music



Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1


UPC: 731458608523
EAN: 0731458608523
ASIN: B00005KBQU


Release Date: 2001-06-14

Related Categories:

Acid Jazz Acid Jazz
Related | Jazz | Styles | Music
General General
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Tracks:

  1. Stay Mine
  2. Bring You Down
  3. Slow Down (Get A Grip)
  4. Skin On My Skin
  5. Cut It Loose
  6. There Will Come A Day
  7. Castles In The Air
  8. Got To Know
  9. Reach Out
  10. Rivers Runnin' Black
  11. On The Road (Part One)
  12. On The Road (Part Two)

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Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Probably not nearly as bad as the reviews on the other page would have you believe.......2007-02-08

Have any readers seen the reviews for Incognito's "LIFE STRANGER THAN FICTION" on the other page, that is, the one for the copy of the album that comes in a white case? Pretty bad, aren't they? It looks like "LIFE STRANGER THAN FICTION" has the sad honor of being the lowest-rated Incognitio album on this website. In spite of that, I don't think that it's all that bad, but the one thing that I noticed on that page was a large number of reviewers seemed to have a problem with the album's first track "Stay Mine." That was another factor in helping me decide whether or not to purchase the album. That way, I could see if it was as bad as those writings were suggesting and somehow, it just wasn't although I will admit that the ending was quite unusual. Still, something that I would probably place in the upper eights.

According to my computer, this is the Japanese copy of "LIFE STRANGER THAN FICTION" and there seem to be two additional tracks not found on the copy of the album that comes in a white case. I have only had this album for about a good three or so weeks, and so far, the ones that have really caught the attention of my ears are "Slow Down (Get a Grip)," "On the Road" (parts 1 & 2), and "Skin on My Skin" is quite an interesting one.

Personally, I can't say that it is my # 1 favorite non-Maysa Incognito album. That honor still goes to "100 DEGREES AND RISING." However, it does complete my collection of every Incognito album that had been released in the United States. All that remains are "LAST NIGHT IN TOKYO, LIVE 1996," "ONE NATION," and "FUTURE REMIXED" and then that will be it. I would say get this album if you are as much as fan of the band as I am and have a desire to get your hands on ALL of their music. Otherwise, there is a pretty good chance that you will not find it all that captivating.

The KAB score: 8.7 super.

4 out of 5 stars A good vintage........2001-10-10

I generally don't talk about things I don't know of or do not have enough information to give an opinion. It seems there are two different releases of Incognito's latest album, and this is the one I have. So my review will be on this one, although I have read the critics about the other version here on Amazon, and I will refer to them.

First, it is true that Maysa is not on this one. She has been on and off Incognito's Albums for some time and when this first happened, I wondered if there were problems with Bluey. Maysa is a big "plus" for any band, but the truth is that Bluey is trying to keep the members of the "Incognito family" working on his projects. The family is quite large, as I recently heard on an interview on a local FM station, so it is normal to see all these changes. My opinion is that the vocals (men and women) are not a weakness on this album, and no reproach can be addressed to Jean Paul Maulnick for keeping the tables turning, like any good coach would do with a team. It keeps the level of involvement of the members, and it guarantees different sounds and approaches (you can't expect any artist to keep on sounding the same forever, can you ?).

Second, this new album is more consistent than the previous release. It is more soul-funk oriented, with more bass play, and less experimental. True enough, it has a couple of weaker tracks (the opening "stay mine" is not a materpiece, "There will come a day", with its gospel flavour, doesn't call my attention either, "Got to know" is a bit repetitive), but what about the rest ? Can anyone tell me that the album is boring or poorly executed ? What about the super "Rivers running black", or "Reach out" that literally get me out of my seat to dance ? "On the road part II" is another masterpiece. I would not be as sure as one of the reviewers that this is full of fill-ups, and that the band only had half an album but decided to stretch it to release a full cd... I really don't agree that the band "should" have released this cd and the previous one under only one release. If you want a best of, make it yourself on MD, Cassette or cdr...

Third, I have read that the lyrics are stupid on this album. Well, what about the average quality of the lyrics in the music industry ? Not to talk about the quality of the music itself... Way below Incognito's sounds in so many cases.

Fourth, the family is alive ! The band has been there for over 20 years and it doesn't seem we are close to any kind of fall. Bluey has his own record label (RICE records), he has worked on the Inner Shade and Citrus Sun projects, the Incognito family is large, his Son is even getting involved in this, and the reaction of the crowd to songs like "Skin on my skin" when performed live is amazing.

Even if this is not Incognito's best album to date, it is better than the previous one and a must have for acid jazz and good pop soul lovers. Is it worth 25 dollars ? No, but what album is worth that ? Get it for the same price you can buy any other cd, and you will certainly not be disappointed.

Music CD:

  1. Primal Blue ~ Kenny Burrell, Ron Carter, Tim Hagans, Craig Handy, Cedar Walton, Lenny White
  2. For Lady Day ~ Zoot Sims
  3. Weather Report ~ Weather Report
  4. Short Stories ~ Bob Berg
  5. My Sentimental Heart: 1946 ~ Carmen Cavallaro
  6. The Engine Room: A History of Jazz Drumming From Storyville to 52nd Street ~ Various Artists
  7. The Rite of Spring ~ Hubert Laws
  8. Classic and Boogie: The Original Recordings ~ Freddy Martin and His Orchestra
  9. Time's Mirror ~ Tom Harrell
  10. That's Right ~ George Benson

Music CD

Music CD

Music CD

Caroline ~ Lime

Remixed ~ Bond (string quartet) , Grant / Bond Crichton Stuart / Black , Trevor / Bond Crichton Stua

Please Don't Touch! ~ Steve Hackett

Rockabilly Rebel ~ Graham Fenton's Matchbox

Past Go: Collected ~ Peter Hammill

Broken Ear Record ~ Black Dice

Beat Latino

Disco de Oro ~ Los Angeles Negros

We're Not Making Love No More ~ Dru Hill

Game Related ~ The Click