lambchops's Full Review: Parts of the Process by Morcheeba
The ever-morphing British pop/rock/hip-hop/trip-pop trio Morcheeba has for the past seven or so years proved their worth time and time again. Their journey to the top began innocently enough with a darkly stained album called Who Can You Trust?. From there, thing have been generally pretty good for the three.
Morcheeba is the brainchild of a pair of talented brothers. Russ Godfrey and Paul Godfrey collectively produce the songs created by the band. Rounding out the trio are the ethereal vocals provided by one Skye Edwards whom the brothers met at a party in 1995. The rest, as they say, is history. Not content to ever rest on their laurels, Morcheeba has been relatively prolific since their formation releasing four very different albums.
First, of course, was 1996’s lovely Who Can You Trust. Dark, thick, and distinctively “trip-hop” (though the band refuses to admit the fact that much of their music does fit that mold), the album put them on the map with divine singles like Trigger Hippie, Tape Loop, Never An Easy Way and Who Can You Trust? among others. But it was with 1998’s Big Calm that the trio had their first real brushes with fame. That particular album sold a million copies and became the “cool” thing for the “cool” people to own. Of course, “cool” people don’t necessarily have the best taste but in the case of Big Calm nothing could be further from the truth. It was a rousing, rich blend of dark undercurrents and pop. Songs including Blindfold, Part of the Process, Shoulder Holster, and Let Me See made the album an important and invigorating purchase.
Morcheeba couldn’t sit still for a moment. And intense tour followed the successful release of their sophomore effort, and the band ended up eventually recording an entirely different kind of album. Consider 2000’s Fragments of Freedom the pop side of the band with massively appealing songs including Be Yourself, Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day and World Looking In to be evidence of this truth. The trio’s influences were culled from a variety of sources and it was with the disturbingly diverse 2001 addition to the Back To Mine series that this was crystallized.
Charango, the band’s fourth album of new material, hit shelves in mid-2002. Once again, Morcheeba switched gears this time turning toward hip-hop and rap to make new music. Rappers like Slick Rick and Pace Won made contributions to the album and tracks including Otherwise, Women Lose Weight and Way Beyond are indicative of the band’s overall appeal.
Finally, just this week, the band released their first collection aptly titled Parts of the Process. Four albums isn’t necessarily an expansive amount of material to pull such a collection from, but it will definitely please new fans of the band. And with the inclusion of two new tracks--What’s Your Name and Can’t Stand It It--old friends will also have a reason to pick the disc up. There are a few glaring omissions, but in all I’m pleased enough with Parts of the Process to recommend it to most people at least mildly acquainted with the band.
First, the problems. They are indeed minor, but definitely worth mentioning. I believe that Parts of the Process is a bid to further rope in a mainstream audience. Rather than forcing new listeners to purchase each of their four older albums, this will give them a taste of their talent that will in turn (hopefully) lead to an increased number of a) fans and b) sales. But that’s fine enough—tons of bands use that strategy to their advantage in the long run. Another more pertinent issue I have with this release is that there are a few omissions. Why, for example, are songs like Shoulder Holster, Women Lose Weight and Who Can You Trust? all three are representative of different styles and all equally worthwhile.
But in the scheme of things these are very minor issues. The eighteen tracks that populate the album are worth the few that are omitted and the probable reason behind the release of Parts of the Process. The release does in fact act as a relatively long career retrospective spanning from their first album through their last and including all of their biggest and most important hits starting with The Sea and ending with the new track Can’t Stand It.
The arrangement of the tracks seems pretty haphazard. It isn’t really chronologically nor is it by feel. But with that said, the release does sound good so I can’t really criticize Morcheeba. In the past, I’ve spoken pretty extensively of my love for Morcheeba. Heck, I even fantacized about what the perfect mix tape for the band would be. So it comes as no surprise that I’m relieved to have such an album in hand—and with so many tracks! Will wonders never cease.
The Sea is a lovely start to the fun. A cool, soothing, sweeping masterpiece it works well as an introduction. The songs that follow are all pretty darned impressive. I am especially impressed by a few including the loud, funky rock of Tape Loop. That’s always been a particular favorite. Blindfold is also amazing with a thick, haunting melody and a memorable melody. The impressively inviting nature of most of these selections is what has in my estimation made the band successful.
Other magnificent tracks include Trigger Hippie, Over And Over, World Looking In, Moog Island, Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day, and Never An Easy Way. But those are just personal favorites and another individual could easily have different feelings (and for good reason, as Morcheeba’s music doesn’t easily commit to any category).
The two new songs, What’s Your Name and Can’t Stand It, fit nicely into the overall feel of the album. The former is more along the lines of the hip, rap-dance explored on Charango. With a little help from Big Daddy Kane, the track combines electric and acoustic guitars with synths and a great rhythm. It is just as classic as anything else here. I can’t help but really love Skye’s voice paired with the striking and uncharacteristic acoustic guitars. Morcheeba did it right on What’s Your Name. Can’t Stand It is anything but funky. It begins with an acoustic guitar and xylophone. Mix that with the wondrous upright bass and light instrumentation and the overall appeal is amazing. The band takes the ball and runs with it—combining with seamless ease elements of pop, country, and alternative. It is truly beautiful.
Often when bands add new songs to albums, they are rejects from earlier projects. Both of these are newly recorded Morcheeba classics. They ooze with painful emotion and wonderful production. As with their earlier four albums, if there is one thing that is consistent (and it’s not their influences or style), it is the fact that the Godfreys take their work very seriously and always utilize perfect production.
Parts of the Process is a great album. Fans should pick it up for the new material and to have most of the best all in one place. Probable and future fans should get it as a starting point to explore the rest of the catalogue. As with everything else from Morcheeba, this is damn near a masterpiece. I can’t wait to see what is in store for listeners next. In the meantime, this will do brilliantly.
Track Listing:
01. The Sea
02. Tape Loop
03. Otherwise
04. Blindfold
05. Be Yourself
06. Part of the Process
07. Let Me See
08. Undress Me Now
09. What’s Your Name
10. Trigger Hippie
11. Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day
12. Over and Over
13. What NY Couples Fight About
14. World Looking In
15. Moog Island
16. Way Beyond
17. Never An Easy Way
18. Can’t Stand It
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