Blackball
Hope
Reviewed by Dan MacIntosh
With its second album, Blackball takes us back to when old school funk ruled the airwaves. Though they fall a little short of the glory which was Parliament-Funkadelic, Hope contains enough musical nuggets to bring back fond memories of otherworldly funkateers like Bootsy Collins, Sly Stone, and James Brown. Rocco Sigona certainly has the right idea when it comes to scratching out great guitar riffs. The opener "Funk For Breakfast," for example, is one love rollercoaster of a jam. While Sigona seems comfortable in his platform shoes, singer Christopher Scott often comes across as forever belting it out when he ought to be holding it back. If he really wants to feel the funk, then he needs to learn how to lay back and let the groove breathe now and again. Criticisms aside, Hope sounds great. Gene Eugene expertly produced this record by coaxing great performances out of the band, as well as providing keyboards on many of the house-rocking tracks. And as for brass, "I Just Don't Know" alone features enough horn parts to trick you into thinking you've been transported to the Newport Jazz Festival for just a moment. Elsewhere, many of the most musically adventurous songs here click like a seamless channel surf back and forth between groove-a-licious dance beats and chunky hard rock stomps. In other words, this is one hot 'n' spicy funk-rock feast for the ears.