Funky Monkey

Albums

The Ladder - Yes
Supernatural - Santana
Poland - Tangerine Dream

Supernatural - Santana

This was an album hat caused a little bit of a stir when it was released (in 1999 I think). It had several top selling singles on it and made a bit of a splash with the public, a bit of for a latin-blues guitarist who had his British heyday in the seventies. Part of the success was because of some superb marketing from BMG, part because many of the tracks were collabarations with other well known artists spanning many boundaries (Wyclef Jean, Eric Clapton, Lauryn Hill and so on) and partly because there is some great music on there.

Sanatana is a great guitarist, not maybe as good as he thinks he is, but pretty good all the same. He is backed up with some atmospheric bass and organ work that fatten out the sometimes sparse guitar parts. The songs are strong and consistant, full of energy but relaxed, an oxymoron that the latin style really can pull off.

It does feel a bit like an ego trip for Santana at times, but that is to be entirely expected of course. And E.C. shows himself to be the better guitarist in the last track (entirely my opinion of course...).

Recommended to:
-those looking for a good long album to relax and get funky to
-Sanatana fans
-people who buy few albums but want some good latin style music that is both good and popular
-fans of skillful guitarists (who don't already own some Santana)

Not recommended to:
-fans of proper blues
-people who think ego and music don't mix
-snobs who think popular equals bad, you deserve to miss out on a good album

Laser Squad Nemesis

The LSN meet was a grand time, lots of brilliant people and fun to be had. More details when I get my photographs processed.

Tonight's clans are Rogue Element and The Dragons.

RE:
Last season's shock promotion, no-one rated RE but they won matches. They look underpowered to be taking on division one, but a confident start may reap rewards. It is hard not to see them dropping back to division two, but they took us all by surprise last time.

Dragons:
The Dragons took a beating last season. In part this was due to line-up problems and too many players defaulting games, but even with that taken into account, it wasn't pretty. With a stabilised line-up things should be better in division two and they have no little strength. I don't think it will be quite enough to face down the main contenders in the end, but this season will be a good confidence booster.

Other People's Mistakes

Don't take on more than you honestly think that you can handle. It is better to let people find alternatives at the start than to let them down and break your word at the end. It could end up costing you anything and maybe everything. Do enough well, rather than too much poorly.