Last Chance To Dance Trance (Best Of 1991-1996) (Gramavision)
Rating: 5 out of 7
By Michael Lipton
Bending and combining genres--and then stretching them to the extreme--has been the hallmark of ΓÇÿ90s music. If genre-hopping musical gymnastics be your thing, you most likely already own a MM&W disc or two. If not, this ΓÇ£best ofΓÇ¥ collection from this virtuoso NYC trio is a great way to play catch up. With roots in avant jazz groups like Marc Ribot and John LurieΓÇÖs Lounge Lizards (and more recently, backing John Scofield and Iggy Pop), MM&W has successfully (critically and commercially) bridged the gap between the noodling of hippie jam bands like Phish, the intricacies of fusion, and the solid rhythms of Booker T. (For a more interesting take on the genre, youngsters may want to backtrack and check minimalist British prog-rockers Egg.) The grooves--notably on tracks like ΓÇ£Bemsha SwingΓÇ¥ (from 1993ΓÇÖs ItΓÇÖs A Jungle In Here) and ΓÇ£MachaΓÇ¥ (from 1997ΓÇÖs Bubblehouse)--are earthy and solid. In addition to sampling cuts from the bandΓÇÖs first five releases, the disc includes a previously unreleased live version of ΓÇ£Night Marchers.ΓÇ¥
All recordings written by J. Medeski, H. Martin & C. Wood, courtesy of Rykodisc Records. ΓÇ£Chubb SubΓÇ¥ and ΓÇ£Last Chance To Dance Trance (Perhaps) courtesy of Beatworld Music (BMI). ΓÇ£BubblehouseΓÇ¥ courtesy of Beatworld Music/ Pubco (BMI).
