Review Summary: Revolution combines elements of hip-hop and house for a rather unusual mix.
Revolution is unknown. Not in the sense that they're wiped off this planet, but a major break in the music industry alone. I was recommended by some friends to listen to this CD, but I grew hesitant since flashy trip-hop wasn't my style at that time. A lot about the genre I found strange, one was the use of samples in which they tried to create an entirely new song out of. The idea was repetitive and stupid, eventually leading up to the day DJ Shadow released "Endtroducing", which shocked me as well as a few other sceptics. We then pushed aside our Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix records to buy this new and interesting invention. As the years passed, Trip-Hop became as nimble as pop or rock. It was accepted by most. Then Revolution came along and re-invented the genre in their own special way. After a few coffees, some brief toilet breaks and lots of thinking, the idea came into mind; why don't we take video games and turn it into music? Of course, the idea was already stolen, hooked and skunked by Junkie XL, but their was something interesting about Revolution's style of music.
"4U" is their appropriately named fourth studio album. The music, although rough around the edges at times, is just plain fun. The use of tribal drums has been dragged out a lot through Revolution's previous albums, now "4U" brings the whole package. Every little detail is crafted into this strange African-Zulu theme, still keeping its almost definitive hip-hop sound. The album kicks in with "Victory", a soothing 7-minute mix of ambience, tribal drums and flute. The piano theme shines high here, an incrediblely talented James Shovell at his best. It draws a lot of infuence from the 70's theme of the same name, but yet manages to burst with originality. "Feel The Music" is the following track, featuring pop singer Theo on the vocals. The production work is brilliant, zooming in and out with African drums and a smooth hip-hop rhythm. Theo's chorus is catchy, although only using the words "throw your hands up to the sky and feel the music/throw your hands up to the sky and points of life". Apart from that, the video game influence is shown here again, with the whole song looping a sample of the arcade classic Galaxian. Catches on very fast.
"4U" has its moments, "Victory", "Feel The Music" and "Revolution" are prime examples, but some songs feel often rushed and lacking replay value. While the album picks up through each brain-numbing catchy tune, the formula runs out fast. Its as if a geek had attempted to re-create one of Beethoven's Symphonies on a beep-box machine. Kraftwerk might have inspired Revolution to make "beep bop beep-a-dee beep" music, but they somehow manage to pull it off with the additional combination of tribal drums and cultural singing. "4U" could be claimed one of the most fun and exciting trip-hop albums of the decade, but thats all it will be. Their music will continue to inspire many generations to come, in attempt to try and combine a variety of styles. It works best here.
Recommended tracks
"Feel The Music"
"Victory"
"Revolution"
"Afro-Groove"
