Galactic’s hip-hop-influenced 2007 CD From the Corner to the Block is further proof that I have seriously misjudged this band. A few years ago, having heard only a few songs and met plenty of hippie-ish fans, I was quick to write Galactic off as a jam band.
Don’t get me wrong; the New Orleans-based funk-rock-jazz-fusion band, with its abilities to stretch songs out with extended solos and their ability to swing back and forth effortlessly between mid-volume funky pockets and loud, sustained sections of rock energy make them very jam-like.
But From the Corner to the Block is something else entirely. Songs on the CD average about three-and-a-half minutes, and have definitive verses, choruses and bridges. Guest hip-hop MCs like Lyrics Born, Mr. Lif, Boots Riley, Lateef the Truth Speaker, and Gift of Gab anchor the songs and make this album a veritable who’s-who of today’s (mostly Bay Area) hip hop artists. And listening to tracks, it sounds like everyone had a helluva good time making the album. The artwork, a stylized, brown-toned sketch of people walking through what looks like an artist’s rendition of the French Quarter, is a nice touch also.
When interviewed about collaborating with Galactic, the deep-voiced Jurassic 5 MC Chali 2Na said, “I’m shocked, but yet I’m not surprised. It’s a no-brainer. When we were in practice, it felt good, it felt right.”
