VooDoo Dogs - VooDoo Dogs

VooDoo Dogs

By   VooDoo Dogs

Fair Condition due to shelf wear on original cardboard cas - C in very good condition

A Review

The brainchild of keyboardist Larry Goldings and guitarist Bob Ward, the self-titled Palmetto debut of Voodoo Dogs comes across like a crazy view of what might have happened if the Crusaders had incorporated world music and Native American elements into their mix. The duo starts out simply enough, with Ward's muted electric guitar making percussive statements over a Goldings' Fender Rhodes as a wah-wah clicks on in the background. But as soon as we're comfy in retro-land, "Beatnik" storms in with a thick, modern trip-hop groove. Here, Tim Reis' punchy flute melody trades off with Ward's six-string as Goldings alternates between Hammond B-3 arpeggios and playful acoustic-piano lines. "Uganda" gets wackier yet, with Native American vocals and flute sweeps dancing over a thick bassline. "You Dig" finds Ward on both guitars and keyboards, running a lively race to see if he can keep up with the breakneck pace of Joe Locke's funky vibes melody. The duo of Goldings and Ward even touches on some down-home blues with "The Crazy Man," which finds Goldings' B-3 rising in the distance as Ward wails on electric. Those who complain that there's no originality in contemporary jazz may take a few listens to dig this one, but they'll ultimately see the fallacy of their premise.