The Illustrated Band

The Illustrated Band Artist: Vida Blue
Label: Sanctuary Records
Category: Music


Average customer rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1


UPC: 060768466029
EAN: 0060768466029
ASIN: B0000CG8HH


Release Date: 2003-10-14

The Illustrated Band


Related Categories:

General General
Categories | Rock | Styles | Music
Funk Jam Bands Funk Jam Bands
Categories | Jam Bands | Rock | Styles | Music
Rock Jam Bands Rock Jam Bands
Categories | Jam Bands | Rock | Styles | Music
Pop Rock Pop Rock
Categories | Pop | Styles | Music

Tracks:

  1. THE ILLUSTRATED BAND (THE ESSENCE OF AMERICANISM)
  2. CHARMPIT (TRAD YORUBA CHANTING)
  3. YOU DON'T KNOW (I FELL IN LOVE WITH A PROSTITUTE)
  4. LITTLE MIAMI (MY MAN! WILD MAN!/ PREACH ON SISTER, PREACH ON/ LA ULTIMA FAMILIA)

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Amazon.com

What a difference a year makes. Page McConnell has revamped the direction of his extra-curricular band, Vida Blue--named after the Cy Young award-winning pitcher--nudging them more in a traditional jazz direction and leaving all the obeisance to rock posturing of the first record far behind. On this second outing the Phish keyboardist doesn't sing a single note, but instead employs what seems to be snippets of training films to provide some kind of quasi-political cohesive narrative arc on the title track "Illustrated Band," adding the shrill squawks of tropical birds, and oddly a sample of LaWanda Page, who you might remember as Aunt Esther from the seventies TV show "Sanford and Son"--again displaying McConnell's fascination with the pop culture of his childhood. A trip to Miami introduced him to the Afro-Cuban rhythms of the Spam Allstars, who provide a saucy Latin exuberance to the disc's four tracks; their feral and dangerous rhythms and witchy incantations grounded by Otiel Burnbridge's solid and steady basswork, and the Meter's Russell Baptiste's graceful and deft drumming. <I>--Jaan Uhelszki</I>

Customer Reviews:

2 out of 5 stars What's the use.......2005-02-07

I am not a phan of this cd. It seems a little drawn out and the jams really never go any where.

4 out of 5 stars Surprise!.......2003-10-17

Of all the Phish spinoff projects, the one I enjoyed the most was the first Vida Blue disc. Like most really good music, it didn't sit well with me at first because it defied my expectation that it would contain a lot of Page's wonderful Piano noodling. Still, it grew on me rather quickly and I have been really looking forward to this new release.

If you are expecting more of the same from "Illustrated", you're going to be disappointed. Page is frequently mixed into inaudibility and the "beat-centric" performances leave little room for the sort of rambling yet melodic atmosphere that made the debut so strong.

But don't give up too easily. After three or four times through, Page is more easily heard than on the first listening. Oteil get's a lot more use - to good effect - kinda makes one wonder where they were keeping him on the first release. The songs are long, wonderful run-on sentences; and the horns contributed by SPAM are an emphatic punctuation mark.

Music Album:

  1. Histrionics ~ Higher
  2. Trees Are Dead and Dried Out Wait for Something Wild ~ Sikth
  3. I, Too, Have Seen the Woods ~ Kid Creole & the Coconuts
  4. London Symphony Orchestra, Vols. 1 & 2 ~ Frank Zappa
  5. Going North ~ 22 Jacks
  6. 5ive ~ 5ive
  7. The House That Lords Built ~ Lords
  8. Rivers of Stone ~ Jade Redd
  9. The Very Best of Sandy Nelson ~ Sandy Nelson
  10. Sky's Gone Out ~ Bauhaus

Music Album

Music Album

Music CD

The Best of Groove Collective ~ Groove Collective

Edmond Hall's Last Concert ~ Edmond Hall

Baraka ~ Herbie Hancock & Albert 'Tootie' Hea

By Request ~ Jon Lucien

Final Call ~ Fessor's Big City Band

Jazz-Club Mainstream: Alto Sax, Clarinet & Flute ~ Various Artists

Ahimsa ~ Maya

Complete Tracks ~ Rangers

Ofukuro No Umi ~ Mikio Shima

Lobi Traoré Group ~ Lobi Traor%C3%A9