Good Bread Alley
| Good Bread Alley | ||||
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Good Bread Alley Cd Cover, 2006
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| Studio album by Carl Hancock Rux | ||||
| Released | May 23, 2006 | |||
| Genre | R&B, electronic | |||
| Length | 52:09 | |||
| Label | Thirsty Ear Music | |||
| Carl Hancock Rux chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |
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| PopMatters |   |
| Robert Christgau |  |
| Tiny Mix Tapes | (3/5) |
Good Bread Alley is the third studio album of Carl Hancock Rux. Titled after a close-knit historically African American district of shotgun houses that once occupied a segregated neighborhood in Miami, Florida, the cd was released by Thirsty Ear Music, produced by Carl Hancock Rux with songwriting and co-songwriting credits from Geoff Barrow, Vinicius Cantuária, David Holmes, Rob Hyman, Stewart Lerman, Darren Morris, Phil Mossman, Vernon Reid, Tim Saul, Jaco Van Schalkwyk, and Bill Withers. The cd tackles religion, sexual politics, war and media overload, in the tradition of Marvin Gaye and Donny Hathaway, employing supersaturated, open-ended soul music with bluesy vamps, touches of minimalism, and slide-guitar licks providing a rich backdrop for Rux's sardonic baritone, achieving a pop-gospel synthesis.
"Carl Hancock Rux declaims vivid texts in a half-spoken, half-sung baritone somewhere between Scott Walker and Gil Scott Heron. The musical settings shoot off in half a dozen different musical directions, depending on the inclinations of his collaborator, or the sample or loop used as the germ of each idea. Rux works in the manner of a rapper but the result is somehow fresher than much rap, and less self-regarding. Lies, co-written with Vernon Reid, uses a vocal harmony hook reminiscent of Moby or Alan Wilder's Recoil, while Black of My Shadow marries the instantly recognisable acoustic guitar chords of Vinicius Cantuaria to Helga Davis's soaring spirituals. My Brother's Hands is oddly reminiscent of Virginia Astley or the Blue Nile. Rux also delivers a moving reinvention of Bill Withers' I Can't Write Left Handed. The most focused piece is the title track, where a majestic, dirty blues vamp underscores another heartfelt soliloquy: "Our religiosity has got to be more/ Than historical animosity." THE GUARDIAN
"For most poets-who-sing or singers-who-poet, the blues is a shirt to be worn instead of a whole wardrobe. But Rux is rooted in the blues, both musically and philosophically. “Geneva” features Dave Tronzo’s slinky slide guitar and Marcelle Lashey’s heroic testifying, both of which play perfectly against Rux’ tale of a hairdresser who somehow seems like the legendary Greek heroine Atalanta. Even during the Eno/Fripp/Bowie atmospheric cloud of “My Brother’s Hands (Union Song)”, collaborator Jaco van Schalkwyk starts to add congas and backup layers until everything simmers, and then Rux pours his vocabulary all over everything like gravy. Rux is the least pretentious of pretentious poets—he even has the courtesy to introduce the protest song “I Can’t Write Left-Handed” with a brief spoken intro giving props to composer Bill Withers, right before he sings the holy living shit out of the song. Just listening to it makes my eyes fill up, especially since it seems like this god damned war in Iraq is never going to end. Carl Hancock Rux is out there, making things weird and lovely and furious and deep. If it might not be your cup of tea, maybe you need to drink something besides tea for a change." POPMATTERS
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