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Wild Card: Beast From The East
ByA niche audience for organ trios remained though and it continues to thrive. British group Wild Card, led by the French guitarist Clement Regert, has built up a solid following since debuting in 2008 with Mixity (Top End Records). The band is a lot of fun and Régert keep things relatively fresh by weaving a variety of styles into the book. On Beast From The East, the group's fifth album, these include hard bop, funk, samba and ska.
The ace in Wild Card's pack, however, are its guest musicians, who allow it to paint on a sonic canvas larger than the one available to the core trio alone. A chicken-shack organ / guitar / drums vibe defines most of the band's music, but the toplines are enriched by the sounds of blown-through wind instruments, which even synthesisers, let alone Hammond B3s, simply cannot emulate. Saxophones, trumpets, trombones and, on Beast From The East, a harmonica, ring the changes.
Standout tracks are "Tales From Hanoi," a samba featuring percussionist Joao Caetano, "Do It Like A Girl," a poignant ballad showcasing Adam Glasser's harmonica, and "Beast From The East" and "Black Tower," both lifted by gutsy solos from Tim Garland on tenor saxophone. All the tunes are Régert originals except the closer, Norman Whitfield's funk classic "Papa Was A Rolling Stone," played fast. It is the least successful track. Funk needs bass and we are not talking lugubrious organ pedals but a carnal, percussive, heavy on the downbeat, string bass, preferably an electric one. Come in Bootsy Collins, we need you.
Track Listing
The Saga Of Harrison Crabfeathers; Beast From The East; Tales From Hanoi; Black Tower; Do It Like A Girl; Doctor K; The Struggle; Asparagus Moment 11; L’Empire Des Anges; Screen Walkers; Papa Was A Rolling Stone.
Personnel
Wild Card
band / ensemble / orchestraClement Regret: acoustic and electric guitars; Andre Noble: B3 Hammond organ; Sophie Alloway: drums; Jim Knight: alto saxophone (5, 8, 9); Duncan Eagles: tenor saxophone (1, 3, 6); Tim Garland: tenor saxophone (2, 4, 7); Graeme Flowers: trumpet; Rosie Turton: trombone (1, 3, 6); Barnaby Dickinson: trombone (2, 4, 7, 10); Alistair White: trombone (11); Adam Glasser: harmonica (5); Joao Caetano: percussion (1, 3, 6); Emilia Martensson: vocals (1); Imaani: vocals (1).
Album information
Title: Beast From The East | Year Released: 2019 | Record Label: Top End Records
Comments
About Wild Card
Instrument: Band / ensemble / orchestra
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