Ikebe Shakedown produces a lush distillation of ‘70s funk
I first reviewed Ikebe Shakedown in the summer of 2018. At the time I was so struck by their music that I produced such gems as “Quentin Tarantino ought to have them on speed dial,” and “music for facing down martial arts bad guys.”
I mention that because today when I sat down to listen to their latest release, Kings Left Behind, I found myself on the verge of saying exactly the same thing. I might have, if my own words hadn’t seemed so familiar that I looked up some older articles.
I hate speaking in reruns, although at my age it is inevitable, so rather than repeat the obvious I’m only going to say that I completely stand by that initial assessment and go on to explain why these things are true.
To say it simply, everything cool about the seventies is captured in the music of this soul/funk/afrobeat band that, at the tender age of eleven, has far more authentic cool than they have any right to. They play (and compose) with the ease, confidence, and polish of a band that has been making this kind of music since it was new, almost fifty years ago.
An absolutely lush brass section, cool jazz percussion, and the funkiest of guitar and keys combine in some of the most sweeping instrumental music of any era, but with the particular edgy flavor of seventies instrumental music most especially.
Yes, Tarantino should have these guys on retainer; so should Aaron McGruder (of Boondocks fame) or ANY artist or director looking to capture the heart and soul of a bygone generation of music that was at once precise and fluid, gritty and real.
I recently found myself spoiling a cliché conversation (as I am wont to do) in which the first speaker was both praising the music of an older decade while bemoaning that there was “no good music today.” This runs neck and neck with “you don’t buy beer, you rent it” as one of the most tiresome, threadbare banalities people like to repeat as a substitute for actually thinking about what they’re saying.
I pointed out that every decade, every generation, produces some truly stellar sound but for every revolutionary guitar player, socially conscious band, or whatever iconic trope you prefer, there is an exponentially larger volume of garbage.
Thing is, as time passes you tend to forget the garbage and only reminder the best of the best so in retrospect, it does seem like “music was better then.” The cream rises to the top, as they say, and the lousy bubblegum crap is interred with the bones (as I say).
The point of recalling the conversation is that the seventies aren’t quite so far gone that people have entirely forgotten the worst of them and too often (at least speaking for myself, who grew up in that decade) the best isn’t always the first thing you think of.
So, I am grateful for Ikebe Shakedown, because they are a potent reminder that for every whiny, bloated, self-indulgent crooner or flash-in-the-pan, dated novelty song, the seventies did produce some truly powerful music. If you don't remember what was genuinely cool about the era (or never knew in the first place), put on a Shakedown album—put on this Shakedown album—and you will find it, distilled to its purest, most bad-ass essence.
Punk arose in response to what was worst about the musical era, but Ikebe Shakedown has refined what was best. If you’re old enough to remember, you’re already in love with it before you’ve even heard it. If you aren’t old enough to remember, hearing it now will grant you the insight into why your favorite modern funk/jam bands owe their existence to the folks who, while disco was collectively dumbing down a nation, kept the flame of cool alive and well.
Why do you want this album? Because Ikebe Shakedown are the kings of seventies cool. No one else even comes close.