G. Love and Special Sauce is:
Garret "G. Love" Dutton - Guitar/Vocals/Harmonica
Jeff Clemens - Drums
Jim Prescott - Bass
Three Philadelphia boys playing Blues/Rock/R&B/Funk really get it done on The Hustle. This is one of my favorite CD's because it is good for just about any occasion. Whether you are in a mood for something that rocks, something that has soul, or something with a good beat and some rap, you can dig G. Love. While most of their songs sound alike, they do it right. They have a constant formula with rapping verses, a catchy chorus, and a harmonica solo to finish the song. Bass and drums hardly change but they don't need to since they are doing it right to begin with. All in all G. Love and Special Sauce is a band that is hard to not like.
In my ratings do not be suprised that I do not give out 5/5's because for me to judge a song that high is very hard and those epic anthems are very rare.
Astronaut (3:23) 4/5
Catchy catchy catchy, that's the main thing you can say about this song. Great music for whatever you are doing. Party? Kicking back? Driving? This song is for it. The lyrics are pretty repetetive but you're not bored, and the guitar solos and the way the bass takes off in the beginging you know that you are in for a good time.
Don't Drop It (2:45) 3.5/5
The G is rapping more here and it flows really well. Great beat, great harmonica, just a great song. It runs a little short at 2:45 and there is lack of a good chorus and composition because it is mainly just constant rapping, it is still very entertaining and with the harmonica fills, you can let this bad boy flow through your stereo!
Love (3:39) 3/5
The Special Sauce brews a very repetive and poppy track but with a groovin' bassline and catchy drum beat you can still be very entertained by this song. While 3:39 is a little long to say "love" over and over again, the band itself still puts out good music so you can still enjoy this song.
Booty Call (3:25) 4.5/5
Very good song and possibly one of the best on the ablum, Booty Call devlivers the groove and jam that you want from G. Love. He combines good rapping verses with catchy chorus while Prescott is just giving you a bassline that just works. Still a very consistent composition for the band and the harmonica finish makes this song very enjoyable.
Give It To You (3:22) 3.5/5
Here we get a very reggae-esce song and it works. One of his less repetitive tracks, you find yourself just groving to the reggae instrumentals and the awesome guitar and harmonica combo in the end. There are lots of changes through the song guitar wise, but drums and bass stay the same through out the whole thing. Chorus is very catchy and you find yourself singing along without relising it.
The Hustle (3:21) 4/5
The title track for the album does not disappoint. Very funky beat, good flows with good rap verses this song is very entertaining. Good harmonica fills and piano lines make this song. Drums and bass again stay the same through out the whole song but they provide the ground that the song needs. Harmonica solo shows the blues influence and again finishes the song like most of their others.
Front Porch Lounger (3:57) 4.5/5
This is my favorite song off of this album. The bass and drums finally change every once in awhile. The rap is very smooth and when the chorus kicks in, you just feel cool. It is a mood song. It gives you a laid back feeling that just grooves. Vocal melodies along with the rapping really show how talented the G really is and you can really hear that there is a good band behind him.
Loving Me (3:21) 3/5
Really good acoustic intro kicks off this song. Light drumming in the back and just a standard bassline gives this song a very easy feel. The light atmosphere of everything really makes this song relaxing and enjoyable but it doesn't have that swinging catchyness that the rest of the album has. He again finishes the song with a harmonica solo that just feels out of place.
Waiting (3:19) 3/5
I wouldn't call this a "filler" track exactly but it really doesn't have much substance to it or at least compared to the rest of the CD. Don't get me wrong, this isn't bad song but it isn't as good as the rest on the CD. There is more of that acoustic light drumming atmosphere and he repeats himself a lot by saying "waiting". Nothing really stands out about this track and it quite possibly is the lesser of this album .
Fishing Song (2:44) 3.5/5
G. is back on this track. Really catchy rhythm guitar, good bassline, drumming that doesn't exactly stand out but is in place and does the job. Really nice gutiar fills during the chorus, nice catchy verses, this song is a keeper. Nice, short, and to the point guitar solo, which is an easy way to decribe the rest of this song as well.
Back of the Bus (3:31) 2/5
A poor song, isn't exactly catchy until the generic "shalala lalalala". He does more rapping in the verses but it is very repetetive with the phrase "kids in the back of the bus" and there again, isn't much substance to it. Nothing instrumentally stands out and it basically does the same thing over and over again. If I wanted to hear "bus" over and over again for three minutes I could have walked in a kindergarden classroom instead of listening to this poor excuse of a G. Love song.
Two Birds (2:08) 3.5/5
The intro gives you a tropical kind of feel. Nice to hear a change, it has been awhile. Very relaxing song and a very nice listen. This is an above average song because the feel is nice but there is NO change in the song itself at all. Sure this song provides change for the album but the same thing over and over again in the song. Thank god it is only 2 minutes long, nice and short, got to the point, because if it was any longer, this wouldn't be getting a good rating.
Stone Me (4:23) 3/5
There is a nice melody effect in the vocals and the acoustic fills are nice and they get to the point. The song bridge is very nice, guitar solo is what you want to hear, not over the top, but there is something to it. Harmoica kicks in, still very nice. Bass and drums make a few subtle changes which is nice to hear. Still this song is kind of a filler and there wasn't that much to it. It is more of an average output.
Sunshine (2:07) 3.5/5
Very nice and relaxing album closer. The harmonica is nostalgic remind me of Billy Joel's Piano Man, but not too much. This short song contains a very nice acoustic guitar which G. is singing over. No drumming here and I'm not really sure if I can hear any bass. The track really illustrates how the later half of the album went and it closes in the same way. Good closing track.
Final thoughts on this album:
While it starts off with a bang, it ends with a wimper. First 8 tracks illustrate this to be a 4.5 star album but the later half really drags it down. It was all good music but the quality really shoots down, it just goes to show that G. and gang had a lot of room to go down during this album, but that can't be taken as a bad way, that just means the first half is THAT good. The CD is worthy buying, in fact it is one of my favorites. Don't let my review discourage you from buying it just because of the second half because in all honesty it is good, really good, just not nearly as good as the first half. I give this CD 3.5/5 stars overall but the first 8 tracks are totally worth it. Hardly any filler on this CD, a recomended buy for lovers of funk/blues/jazz/rock.
