Soundtrack For A Lazy Sunday Afternoon
Landing On A Hundred by Cody ChesnuTT is yet another album that has been released with the help of Kickstarter this year. He might not be a household name, but folks will remember him from 2002, when The Roots remade his song “Seed” on Phrenology. This album is quite the departure from his debut, Headphone Masterpiece: instead of a 4-track recorder, he went all out with a 10-piece band and glossy production. If scientists ever spliced together Ben Harper and Curtis Mayfield, then injected it into Dionne Warwick, this would be the soundtrack during the delivery.
After the drum intro on “’Til I Met Thee,” the funky guitar sound hits your ear, and you know you’re in for a treat. “I was a dead man/I was asleep/I was a stranger in a foreign land/ ’til I met thee” are sung with such honesty that you have to believe, whomever this muse is, she is indeed a lucky lady. “What Kind of Cool (Will We Think Of Next)” slows it down, dropping a more bluesy feel into the mix, while moments later on “Don’t Follow Me,” the beats become more experimental as a haunting side of Cody arises, urging us “Don’t you follow me/I might do you wrong.”
“Everybody’s Brother” is a song about redemption, and by far, the standout track. How can you go wrong with lyrics like “I used to smoke crack back in the day/I used to gamble with money and lose?” The backing band relaxes some, sounding more like a basement jam session rather than a group of session musicians.
Landing On A Hundred is that type of album that is rarely made anymore. It’s honest, perfectly crafted and the artist truly sounds as though he is happy making it. The sound may be a throwback to the years of afros and Soul Train, but in the time of auto-tune and computer-controlled beats, it’s a welcome trip down memory lane.
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