Pete Rock:
The Surviving Elements

Release Date: 31 January 2005

Reviewed By: Leo Hall

1. You Remind Me

2. Hop, Skip and Jump

3. (Pimp) Strut

4. Glowing

5. Smoking Room Only

6. Flying

7. Marching On

8. Placebo

9. Standard

10. Midnight and You

11. Fairground

12. Stormy Weather

13. Hip 2 Hip

14. U Are What U Are

15. Intrigue

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They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but the cover of the CD quite suitably epitomises the style that the album embodies – the sound, like the scene depicted, is clean, crisp and minimalist. Those vintage chairs are more suited to modern arthouse deco than to old skool barbershops, and after all, that’s a stencil on the wall not wild style and Banksy wasn’t around in the 70s, was he (at least, not painting the town red)? In lounge terms, it swaps the heavily cushioned sofa for a cool leather chair and glass table.

While the cover of ‘Petestrumentals’ was colourful, bleary and personal (with a picture of the man himself, not an impression), ‘The Surviving Elements’ is more bare and clinical. The beats are overly fresh to an almost genetically modified degree with sounds that resonate with pangs of Jamiroquai, LTJ Bukem, and house music: tracks like ‘Hop, Skip & Jump’, ‘Glowing’, ‘Standard’, ‘Midnight & You’ and ‘Hip 2 Hip’ perfectly illustrate this.

This is not to say that there aren’t echoes of the old Pete Rock on the album, for the ricochets of old funk on a couple of the tunes have slight throwbacks to some Parliament and Sly & the Family Stone pieces. And of course, it’s inevitable that there are going to be some of those classic tracks that bear the standard hallmark of genius-cool that would make Miles Davis smirk! Equally, there are a couple of those smoky, lazy, sleepy numbers that can knock you out for the siesta count quite easily. But that’s not to suggest that the album lacks punch or zest; tracks such as ‘Placebo’, ‘Fairground’ and ‘U Are What U Are’ with a little bit of tinkering could masquerade as some of Premier’s productions. The final track also shares samples with Madvillain’s ‘Mad All Caps’.

When I first listened to ‘The Surviving Elements’ I was unimpressed, almost annoyed, because I have been listening to ‘Petestrumentals’ for years, and I have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of more of those distinctly unique warm, fuzzy, jazzy melodies that are very apt for certain occasions. While ‘The Surviving Elements’ is not a bad album by any means, it is no ‘Petestrumentals’. There is a severe progression (perhaps even a decline) in style. I know this sounds like a bit of a tirade but that is only because I have very high (and probably very particular) expectations of this unprecedented producer. There are, it goes without saying, some absolute gems on there. Yet, they are more hollow, distant and cold than the likes of ‘The Boss’, ‘What You Waiting For’ and ‘Play Dis Only At Night’. Moreover, there are, sadly, no tracks that feature CL or the UN.

There are markedly different forces at play in the construction of these tunes. Those forces are undoubtedly more modern and urban. And in the metropolitan environment, as everyone knows, time is money. This is to suggest, perhaps overly audaciously, that not enough time has been spent on these tracks. They are, at times, bland and monotonous but they are, at other times, atmospheric and arresting. There is not however, the continuity of the genuine or the consistency of the authentic.

And thus, the album is suitable for the air-conditioned rooms of the schmoozers of the modern world… I reminisce.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Top 3 Tracks:
5) Smoking Room Only
3) (Pimp) Strut
12) Stormy Weather

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