Cheap Sleepwalking (Music) (Rae & Christian) Price

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Customer Reviews of Sleepwalking

Go Back to Sleep!
Alright, I don't really want to be mean, since I was really impressed with Rae & Christian's debut Northern Sulphuric Soul. It's *not that bad* and is a whole lot better than a lot of stuff out there, but honestly, I expected a whole lot more than this from this talented duo. While technically well-mixed and consistent with the brand identity of Rae & Christian, Sleepwalking is not an album that breaks doors into different realms of a genre. Instead, the best it does is only support an already existing genre with tunes that resonate as "this is what the genre is about... thomp thomp thomp." I looped this album twice and got bored because I wanted to hear Rae & Christian take a leap of faith and come up with fresh, new, original beats. Instead, Sleepwalking was a whiny, longwinded feat that should have been on a 2nd CD on Northern Sulphuric Soul.

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A Breath of Fresh Air.
While I am not famillar with "Northern Sulphuric Soul," I found Rae & Christian's sophomore effort to be a breath of fresh air in the world of tired, over-produced hip-hop.

"Sleepwalking" has Rae & Christian showcasing a truly eclectic group of vocalists: The Congos, Tania Maria, Bobby Womack, The Pharcyde, and Kate Rodgers (check out Aim's "Cold Water Music" if you like her). However, the true beauty of this album lies in the music. "Sleepwalking" is flawlessly produced, and finds the Mancunian duo relying more on their own musicality than samples (only three are used).

"Blazing The Crop" is one for the backyard barbecue, a refreshing summer instrumental. The Congos' vocals are a bit 'castrotti' for me, but I still enjoyed "Hold Us Down." Bobby Womack astounds in "Get A Life" and "Wake Up, Everybody" respectively. The blissful sax-infused trip-hop of "Not Just Anybody" caresses your ears, while Kate Rodgers soothes and seduces -- like a Singapore Sling on a hot day. "Ready To Roll" and "Trailing In The Wake" are two fine instrumentals in their own right, no less interesting than any of the vocalised songs.

So why, you may be thinking, does this get three-and-a-half stars? Both tracks that feature the Pharcyde stand out like sore thumbs. I'm sorry, but this group (after changes in lineup -- no more FatLip!) can never live up to the standard set on classics like "Bizarre Ride II" and "Lacabincalifornia." They come off sounding old and tired. Rae & Christian do their best to rectify....but the end result is not so satisfactory.

Tired of hip-hop? Pick up "Sleepwalking."

3.5 stars

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Soporific
After their tremendous debut on Northern Sulphuric Soul and last year's absolutely slammin' Blazing the Crop dj set on Mixer, Rae & Christian's second studio release is a serious disappointment. There are some good beats and pieces, but the parts just don't add up. The hip hop tracks featuring Pharcyde just sort of meander without really going anywhere. In fact, after a few listenings they get monotonous. Which is inexcusable given the dope magic these guys have worked with the Jungle Brothers and Kriminul on their own and other Grand Central releases. The trip-hoppy downtempo tracks featuring Kate Rogers, Tania Maria and Siron also come up short. None of them are horrible, just nothing new there. The first Bobby Womack track isn't bad, and it's nice to hear him given the Rae & Christian treatment, but like so much of this album, the song just never takes off. This seems to be more and more of a problem with producers these days. They get an old-school legend like Bobby Womack or Roy Ayers (on Planet-e's new compilation The Good Good 2000 Black) into the studio and really don't know what to do with them except let them scat a few lyrics over some looped beats. But let's not be too harsh, the album isn't unlistenable, it's just not exciting and certainly not what you'd expect from the two producers who pioneered the Brit-Hop sound. Grand Central remains one of the most essential labels to emerge in the last decade and as long as they keep pumping out killer cuts like Aim's Ain't Got Time to Waste and Only Child's I've Got a Right, then Rae & Christian can be forgiven for sleepwalking through their sophomore effort.