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AQUARIUM RESCUE UNIT
The Calling (Inio)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
Even without Col. Bruce Hampton at the helm, The Aquarium Rescue Unit had all the kick and chops necessary and more, as evidenced by this mid-90s recording, just finally surfacing after being locked away for unfathomable reasons.
For the most part, this music is energized, up tempo funk, informed by jazz with enough of an impact to be interesting to fusion fans, and the players didn't fall down on close inspection. Guitarist Jimmy Herring tore up the fingerboard on his solos, but it's the razor sharp funky rhythms that just blow me away. Otiel Burbride's bass playing is downright exciting and often incendiary, not quite slap but with enough bite to make you feel the sting. His brother, Kofi, is one of those keyboard players who will make any fan of the Hammond B3 go totally fuckin' nuts. I'm not just talking about someone who knows how to time the stabs with the spinning Leslie speaker. This is a guy who must have done nothing BUT play the Hammond for most of his life. He not only fills all the dead spots, he makes them pop. Sean O'Rourke... Either I have a major hole in my education or this drummer is under appreciated and criminally underutilized. He keeps it simple when he should and he mixes it up like nobody's business when the time is right. Vocalist Paul Henson is also very good, but it must be a difficult job to be a standup vocalist when you have to stand up in front of four guys who play their instruments at this level. Unless you play your voice like Thijs Van Leer (Focus) used to, I think you're going to feel a bit naked out there no matter how good you are. And his performance here really is quite good. Give that man a maraca, for God's sake.
It seems there's been a tendency to label bands from a dozen genres "jam band" out of laziness. I'm not sure there's even an actual criteria for it anymore. I do know that ARU are and were considered a "jam band," but the negative connotations I hold for that term don't line up here. There's some jazz, some funk, even a few riffs that smack of old fashioned metal, and there's some good, pounding rock and roll to be found here. If you're squeamish about the "jam band" label but the description sounds good to you, then maybe Aquarium Rescue Unit is your calling.
© 2003 - DJ Johnson