Greenskeepers Albums (3)
What The Critics Say
For a collective that does as much remix work as it does, the Greenskeepers sound an awful lot like a rock & roll band. And not just a rock & roll band, but a '80s rock & roll band -- on their latest album, the lead track sounds an awful lot like a Devo outtake, while "Bedtime" channels Talking Heads to an almost creepy extent, and "15 Minutes" sounds almost like the Cure with Ian Curtis on guest vocals. And yes, that's all a compliment. Electronica is nice and everything, but when a band shows itself to be equally adept at crafting deep electro grooves and writing worthwhile songs, that's pretty impressive. Other highlights on the program include the synth-poppy "A Week Ago" and the charmingly silly "Love Lobotomy," which sounds something like a collaboration between Blondie and Kraftwerk, if you can imagine that. The package comes with a bonus disc: a continuous DJ mix by the Greenskeepers' "electro-percussionist" James Curd featuring deep house remixes of Greenskeepers tracks by a variety of producers and DJs, along with selected cuts by colleagues like One Fingered Pocket, Tracey Cooper and East Coast Boogiemen. Recommended. ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
In a genre where quirkiness is pretty much standard, the Greens Keepers stand out as more than usually twisted. Witness, for example, the first single from this new album. "Lotion" derives its lyrics from one of the nastier scenes in the movie Silence of the Lambs -- the one in which Buffalo Bill lowers a bucket containing skin lotion down the well shaft to his naked captive and intones, with creepy casualness, "It puts the lotion on its skin, or else it gets the hose again." It's hard to imagine a more tasteless basis for a dance track, but musically the song works just fine; apparently the video was even grosser. You can groove to the old-school funk of "Slippin'," the broken beat swing of "Get It" and, best of all, the faux-'80s new wave strut of "Man in the House." You'll also get off somewhat on "Dots" swaying house beat and the remixed version of "Back in the Wild," which features fine vocals by los Chicros. Don't bother to skip over the more mediocre "Sailing" and "Keep It Down," mainly because you'll still be so tired from dancing to "Man in the House." ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide
'Present the Ziggy Franklen Radio Show!'
Release Date 4/29/2003
Tracks 13
Label Classic
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
From a listen to "Upgrades," the opening track from Present the Ziggy Franklen Radio Show!, Greens Keepers are on-point creators of latter-day electronic funk with the deep grooves of P-Funk and a playful sense of sampling akin to the Avalanches. It's a shame the rest of the record sounds nothing like it, despite half-hearted attempts at interstitial witticisms provided by a mock radio announcer. An assortment of Greens Keepers producers contribute, but most of the tracks come off as either addled Brazilian-electronic fusion or Basement Jaxx knockoffs. "Fluid" is a sparser version of Primal Scream, "Dark Sky" a restrained bossa-sampling number with melody line by Casio, and several tracks are simplistic swing-house numbers -- not necessarily bad productions, but far different from the insanity that wold appear to be on tap from the opener. A version of the early single "Low and Sweet" is the only other intriguing track, taking a Chet Atkins-style guitar-picker sample and dropping some heavy-duty beats over the top. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
