Robert Randolph and the Family Band - Unclassified

Genre rock Publisher Warner Bros External Links Robert Randolph Warner Bros

The press kit attached to Unclassified, the latest release from Robert Randolph and The Family Band, is an impressive docket of uplifting articles and positive three and four-star album reviews that range from multi-faceted entertainment news sources such as Harp, Esquire, and Vibe to CMJ, NPR, and VH1.com. From the New York Times to the Los Angeles Times everyone seems to agree that Robert Randolph and the Family Band bring something special to the rock and roll table.

Rolling Stone lists it among their 50 Best Albums of 2003 and gives it a 4 star review. Vibe and the NY Post each give it 4 star marks and Blender gives it a 3 star rating. Rolling Stone has listed Robert Randolph as one of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. Harp calls him the Chosen One. About a year and a quarter since it's release, just about everything that could have been said about this band and its funk soul leader has already been written.

Unclassified is aptly titled. It can be filed into the Funk bins, crammed into the Jam trays, and still be popular enough for the Pop section in your favorite record store. You can put it just about anywhere and be satisfied. It's a fresh blend of one part rock and one part roll sprinkled in with dashes of R&B, Gospel, and Soul.

The album begins with "Going In The Right Direction" which starts out with a Southern-fried steel guitar strum with Marcus Randolph revving up the drums, sounding like a motorcycle kicking into gear for a good long ride. Once Robert Randolph starts to bend his steel strings the ride begins. Immediately you can sense this band will be going in the right direction.

They hit full stride with their funk soul staple "I Need More Love." It's a full out funky hit with Danyel Morgan jamming the bass and hitting the high notes along with the backing vocals. This is as close to George Clinton and P-Funk as you are going to get nowadays.

"Nobody," "Soul Refreshing," "Calypso," and "Run For Your Life" are all very good tracks which fill out the album nicely. There is a feeling of freshness to their studio performances, in addition to the sense of vitality of their live shows, perhaps because Robert is backed by a fully talented lineup that features close friends and family.

On "Squeeze" John Ginty lends a hand with organ pumps that raise the songs' tension like the crescendo of a techno beat. Robert Randolph gets most of the credit on this album but it's really a full collaboration from the band, especially in concert, where each member gets a chance to jam behind the pedal steel stool while switching out instruments with the rest of the members.

There have been a lot of good things written about Unclassified. Robert Randolph and the Family Band released an album seemingly untainted by the latent pretension and greed usually brought upon by labels, critics, industry, and fans alike. A good majority of great rock and rollers tend to sound best on their debut, before the hype and the popularity and the follow-up tensions. Robert Randolph and the Family Band sound great on their first proper studio release, too. They are loose, are having fun and are making great rock and roll music. I hope they keep doing what they're doing. And for God's Sake, I hope they don't read too much into the lavishing praise found in the reviews and grow swelled heads and inflated egos (let's hope The Chosen One keeps a cool head) as there is little room for improvement here and no need to mess with a formula as sure-fire as this one.