Morcheeba: Hip-hop meets disco

"Fragments of Freedom"; Morcheeba; Sire Records.

In "Fragments of Freedom," British group Morcheeba presents its very own fun, upbeat, somewhat hip-hop version of `70s pop disco. Sometimes, the optimistic songs can get cloying, as in the poppy song "Rome Wasn`t Built in a Day," when Skye sings "in this day and age it`s so easy to stress" or belts out lines like "why can`t we get along?" It`s moments such as these when the "fun of the `70s" turns a bit too sunny and Brady Bunch-esque.

Brothers Ross and Paul Godfrey speak about the new album`s cheery style in a recent press release, explaining that the group became tired of the dark, brooding sound of their past albums. Prior to recording "Fragments of Freedom," they were listening to such soulful music as Michael Jackson`s "Off the Wall" and plenty of Stevie Wonder.

However, it`s not either of these influences that are most apparent here. What you get is more K.C. and the Sunshine Band pop-style disco. There are the funky bass lines on "Love is Rare," chilled-out steel drums on the instrumental "A Well-Deserved Break" and out-and-out disco on "Shallow End," which sounds like it was penned by a Gibb brother and improved upon by the members of Portishead.

Morcheeba also invites such rap notables as Mr. Complex, Bahamadia and Biz Markie for guest appearances on the album. Biz Markie`s "In the Hands of the Gods," while completely out of sync without the more mellowed-out sound of the rest of the album, is a slightly harder but highly danceable piece of hip-hop.

Clearly, with these 12 tracks, Morcheeba succeeds in fulfilling its mission of creating shiny, happier music. And using the sounds of `70s disco is a fairly clever way for the group to achieve this sound. The question is, do we really need this kind of update? None of these songs stands out the way classic tracks such as Jackson`s "Don`t Stop Till You Get Enough" or even K.C. and The Sunshine Band`s "Shake Your Booty" do now. They`re too modern and sophisticated.

And while artists such as Beck can take retro sounds and re-craft them into something entirely original, Morcheeba can`t quite make it that far. But to condemn "Fragments of Freedom" for not being a work of genius is unfair. It is just as it sets out to be, fun, upbeat, and funky.

"Rancid"; Rancid; Hellcat/Epitaph.

While disco represented the upbeat, smiley (read: phony) face of the `70s, punk always honestly portrayed the severely depressed, inflation-riddled, high-crime decade. Rancid`s brand of punk continues this tradition - this straightforward punk is as angry as it is innocent.

Rancid`s fast-paced shotgun drums, zig-zag guitars, and rage-riddled vocals are hard-core mosh-pit punk at its best. And lyrically, these guys are anti-establishment in a way you just don`t hear anymore. Note "Rwanda," a song about the recent brutalities in Africa. Lyrics such as, "So listen very closely to a half a million dead souls / It`s complicated when facts come slow / Mass destruction / Mass confusion." Or in "Corruption," "you`re selling sexism, you`re selling racism, you`re selling anything you can get your hands on."

And these guys aren`t just "talking about a revolution," they`re wholeheartedly true to the cause. The popular band has turned down record deals with major labels Matador and Epic and remained loyally with indie label Epitaph. Sometimes you wish these guys would pick up a melody or something, th way fellow nonsellout Fugazi tends to do.

But very quickly you`ll thrash your head to your senses. Melody? Harmony? Not in this messed-up world. Punk is not pop. And Rancid charges up the rhythms just enough to keep you interested, breaking midtune to change speeds, adding cool keyboard distortions and weird little transitions to almost all of these 22 remarkably short songs. And unlike some of the band`s hard-core rock contemporaries, the music on this album is alive, breathtaking and pulsating. No whining. No guitar ballads. This is the music that makes a mosh pit. Refreshingly raw and not at all rancid.

(c) Copley News Service

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Author: Emily Friedlander