The Spirit of Apollo Compiles Many Talents
But the Megamix on their MySpace is better
N.A.S.A.
The Spirit of Apollo
Released on Feb 17, 2009
N.A.S.A (North America South America) received mad hype since rumors about The Spirit of Apollo started circulating last summer. Turntablists Squeak E. Clean and DJ Zegon revealed an early tracklist that boasted an appropriately star-studded and eclectic cast of cameos, a constellation of cross-genre talent as many-sided as Apollo himself. Tragically, the arc of the album never ascends to any great height, and in fact only lends itself to a plethora of atmospheric puns.
I’d hoped this album would rekindle
in me the same appreciation for spinning records as did Tony Touch’s
masterpiece, The Piece Maker. And yet, The Spirit
of Apollo is like The Piece Maker without the minimalist
synth of “The Abduction,” or the outrageous affront of the “Diaz
Bros”. Where Touch allowed the artists room to breath, space
to spit, the cameos on Apollo drown in the beat.
In the first instance, the 60s-inspired track “Way Down” falls unfortunately flat, at once energized by the nostalgia-haunted chorale of Barbie Hatch, and driven into unbearable redundancy by the RZA, soundtrack generating genius (Whatever happened to GZA anyhow?) though he is, lazy, half-slurred, half-shouted lyrics recall more a rap act past his prime than the brilliance of his Gravediggaz days.
Though the Wu is well represented
on the album, at least Touch had the good sense to keep them altogether
on the same track. The Wu-Tang Clan is not unlike a Baptist choir after all,
strength in numbers. It’s odd to hear ODB from beyond the grave
(and incredibly coherent), moreso than perhaps an old Tupac track remastered,
since the former was never nearly as prolific in the first place.
Ghostface and Scarface come together (with The Cool Kids and DJ AM and…)
over an only okay, in fact, nearly nondescript sequence of sounds.
The latter tracks on the album eventually
find their place. MIA & Santogold together salvage “Whachadoin?”
though the sound varies little from anything already on either of their
albums. “O Pato” is pretty gangster, and allows the trackmasters
to showcase their skills on the wheels of steel. I’d have much preferred
six minutes of such scratching to three and a half of sample-mashing
and shitty rapping. “NASA Anthem”, which features no features (finally),
is most excellent, until it cuts out about five minutes in, only to
resume with about five minutes left. I just…don’t understand.
As it is, The Spirit of Apollo satisfies neither fans of electronica nor hip-hop, a mash of many genres but ultimately left without any to call its own. The album is entertaining enough, but only if you’ve not another already on queue in iTunes.
High Point
Ironically, the LA Riots remix of “N.A.S.A Music,” available at their MySpace.
Low Point
That the aforementioned track is attached to so many others not worth mentioning.
Posted by Diego Baez on Mar 10, 2009 @ 6:30 am