It's Not How Far You Fall, It's The Way You Land - Soulsavers featuring Mark Lanegan

I will listen to anything Mark Lanegan sings on. His voice opens up a world of whiskey and sin that I want to live in. So it’s lucky for me that in addition to his classic albums with grunge nearly-men Screaming Trees and his wonderful solo albums he sees fit to collaborate with plenty of other fantastic musicians. If anything, his cameos with Queens of the Stone Age, Isobel Campbell, Twilight Singers et al probably garner more praise and attention than his own career, a situation this record will most likely perpetuate.

The Soulsavers are a London-based production and remix duo who first came to my attention via some very bloody good indeed DJ sets which made their way out of London clubs, onto white labels and then onto the internet where people like me who love soul and hip-hop but can’t dance to save themselves got to hear them. I love the funk but I don’t got Da Funk.

It's Not How Far You Fall, It's The Way You Land is a surprisingly successful collaboration between these two disparate worlds. Soulsavers conjure up some gorgeous downtempo backing tracks mainly revolving around film score piano and strings, muted jazz horn and gospel choir, with everything underpinned by big phat rumbling bass and beats. It would be open to accusations of being just a little bit too tasteful but my boy Lanegan elevates five of the tracks here with his none-more-lived in croaky blues vocal and that special kind of intensity that musicians recovering from heroin addiction seem to conjure up so easily. The overall effect is like some kind of blessed collaboration between Spiritualized, Bernard Herrmann and, umm, Mark Lanegan.

Highlights include first track and lead-off single ‘Revival’, the compelling video to which can be viewed on YouTube and will most likely give you shivers down the backbone and two fantastic cover versions in the shape of the lesser-known Neil Young track Through My Sails and No Expectations by the Rolling Stones.

I recommend this album to anyone who likes comedowns and/or sitting on the internet while the rain pours down outside.

Posh · 24th November 2007, 1:43am

Staley needs to check the 'Zuma' cover on this fucker.

Hayabusa · 24th November 2007, 2:57am

Quote:

I will listen to anything Mark Lanegan sings on. His voice opens up a world of whiskey and sin that I want to live in. So it’s lucky for me that in addition to his classic albums with grunge nearly-men Screaming Trees and his wonderful solo albums he sees fit to collaborate with plenty of other fantastic musicians. If anything, his cameos with Queens of the Stone Age, Isobel Campbell, Twilight Singers et al probably garner more praise and attention than his own career, a situation this record will most likely perpetuate.

Couldn't agree more.