Tuesday 7 August 2012

jody watley - off the hook (kenlou mix)

this is from a single that i bought at a secondhand-store and i didn't know the track at hand but it did include remixes by masters at work, booker t & soul solution. i also had a clue about it being one of the last pure r&b albums of her career as it started shifting towards a more house-oriented sound.

it's also where i got interested in watley's music although i can honestly say that i didn't really know her previous records but i knew of her. but back to this track at hand and this wasn't really the version i first liked on the single, i thought booker t's more straightforward garage rerub was the best. then i really listened to the kenlou remix and my opinion changed.

louie vega & kenny dope gonzales created two sets of remixes with a main mix and a dub, they were billed as m.a.w. and kenlou. both very soulful bumping us garage numbers but the former being a bit more focused on the added instrumentation and the latter being a little rawer.

the track starts out with some low-key vocal samples and a few timbale & cowbell hits and then drums come in full force. the drums have their lively shuffle and the groove works in a bounce that reminds me of the uk funky movement. which isn't that surprising as rhythms the late 90's us garage and artists such as masters at work and mood II swing have been clear influences.

the production in general is quite clean the way all the sounds have their space even within the more chaotic regions is well done. the groovy bassline cuts through well and same goes for the horns that are a bigger part of the m.a.w. main mix are here in accents but take place in the chorus

watley's wonderful vocals are also treated to a backing up by a choir of talented backup vocalists that include eddie stockley, karlon taylor brooks jr., sheila epps, kenny bobien & russel soxton. mended together with cassandra lucas and watley herself from the original recording. they compliment her singing and really emphasise the subtle gospel feel in her voice.

to conclude this is a track in the best of masters at work stylings and i believe this remix eventually leaded to them to produce a track for her album. also the single "i love to love" together with vibraphone legend roy ayers on masters at works own label.

listen here (youtube)

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