Glam Sam and His Combo - Groovy! (2009)

There is a lot of music on Groovy! the debut CD by the Swedish group Glam Sam and his Combo. And I'm not just talking about the fact that the record sports 18 songs. That's modern music and I might as well get used to it. What I mean is that these songs are long. In a way that's not surprising. Glam Sam's hybrid of jazz, funk, disco, rock, techno and hip-hop is dance music, and dancers and DJ's aren't quick to let go of a good beat. Groovy! has plenty of good beats. In fact, I can see a rapper laying some nice rhymes over these beats. Glam Sam and his Combo do a good job of avoiding the pitfalls that sour me on dance and techno music - robotic sounding and repetitive music. The band does this by varying the tempo within songs. A good example of that is "The Concept of Being Hip." The song begins with a bass laying down a jazzy groove that is joined by a horn and nice improv by the keyboard. That jazzy intro gives way to a funky hip-hop interlude before falling back into the jazz interplay between the piano and drums. Still with songs as long as 7:25, Groovy! might try to patience on some listeners. If that's the case, then pick and choose. For me, the funky, jazzy stuff like the aforementioned "The Concept of Being Hip," "The Dude" and "Mind Body and Soul," are more appealing than the dance/techno tunes. Others might beg to differ. To each his own.

Vocals: N/A
Lyrics: N/A
Music: 3 stars
Production: 3 stars
SoulTracks call: Recommended.

By Howard Dukes