Here at Everybody’s Dummy we like to think we’re at least up to date on the musical activities of artists we’ve reviewed in bulk. That’s no excuse for why we remain oblivious to so, so many other things, but somehow this alleged supergroup featuring Mick Jagger completely passed us by. Hands up if you’d heard of—much less heard—SuperHeavy before reading this paragraph. Okay, good to know. The project may have descended from Mick’s soundtrack to the Alfie remake, which was a collaboration with the mildly parasitic David A. Stewart and featured contributions from British belter Joss Stone. This odd trio got together a few years later with Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley (Bob’s youngest acknowledged offspring) and composer A.R. Rahman, probably most famous for the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack. The result was an album that mixed trip-hop with Jamaican and Indian influences, which the Los Angeles Times came just short of calling a “cross-cultural trainwreck.” (Rolling Stone loved it, of course.)
We don’t want to begrudge Mick trying to stretch, but reggae was always Keith’s territory. Wisely, he lets Damian rattle off the high-speed toasting, and Joss does most of the overemoting. But he himself is mostly reduced to yelling melodically instead of singing, as displayed on “One Day One Night”. “Energy” certainly displays some Stonesy grit once you get past the synths, but “I Can’t Take It No More” is another socio-political rant from one of the world’s richest men, and a knight to boot, mostly notable for Joss’s opening f-bomb. (She’s more suited to the humanist plea of “World Keeps Turning”, if you like that sort of thing.) “Never Gonna Change” is a country-gospel near-weeper sung all by himself, and he sure gets into enunciating the Sanskrit of “Satyameva Jayathe”.
Those who have to have more would spring for the deluxe edition, which boasts four extra tracks. But overall, SuperHeavy is neither super nor heavy, and that’s probably why they haven’t been heard from since.
SuperHeavy SuperHeavy (2011)—2
the mildly parasitic David A. Stewart. Very amusing. He's had a crack with just about everyone. I too had never heard of this, and after reading this not sure I'm in a hurry to do so.
ReplyDeleteDavid A. Stewart has definitely done more harm than good, repeatedly. The Joss Stone record he produced and played on (LP1) was awful, but so were many/most others. The "2" rating is generous. You shouldn't even waste your time unless you're feeling masochistic.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, I very much liked Eurythmics (first few albums anyway) and "Don't Come Around Here No More" was a kick Tom needed (before he ran off to hang with another parasite with sunglasses and paisley undercurrents). I also have a fondness for "Dreamtime" by Daryl Hall. But when I see his name in credits, my eyes tend to roll.
ReplyDeleteOf course he did a few good ones, but just like T-Bone Burnett, he's made more errors of judgement than classics.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember this record at all, which I think is a good thing.
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