Electric Mile [Import]

These guys have evolved throughout their careers with different focuses on each of their cds, rendering most of their albums very enjoyable. The Electric Mile, however, just seems unfocused. I can't fault G for trying to move in new directions because it served him well in the past, but the dabbling into ska/reggae territory with Unified and Praise Up comes off as paltry and cliched in comparison to G's other creative, authentic songs. Night of the Living Dead sounds more like the good old sway of the band that I've grown to familiarize and love, but the cd digresses again with Parasite. The music on this track, especially the bass, is pretty tight, but the superfluous execrations ("You're just a f***ing parasite" ad nauseam) water down the message which is good until the chorus. The rest of the songs on the cd are ok, none of them standing out in my mind as noteworthy other than 100 Magic Rings which is a soaring beauty and the bizarre, phsychadelic reprise of Free At Last.

The Electric Mile is packed with an accompanying disc entitled "Ridin' High." It has 10 songs in all, 4 reprises and 6 originals. Tracks 3-6 on this cd are really great. 3 is called Break Away. It's just very mellow and very easy to get into. I like it a lot. 4 is called Sea Shells- it shows off G's rhyming skills exquisitely. 5 and 6 are called House Stirs the Soup and Writing on the Walls, respectively. Both songs sound strikingly similar, using nearly the same guitar lines, possibly just in different keys. That doesn't matter much though because both of these songs are really happy and upbeat, and the unique chords are really bedazzling.

All in all, the purchase of "The Electric Mile" and "Ridin' High" is well worth the money of any G. Love & Special Sauce fans, but for people thinking about buying this as an introduction to the group, try "Yeah, It's That Easy," or the bands first album, "G. Love & Special Sauce" instead.

I thought this album by G. Love and Special Sauce would be the type you could pop in your CD player on a Sunny Day with no worries and just marinate in the afternoon sun with laid back beats. If anything its more like an album you would listen to if you hadn't ever heard of Sublime, Bob Marley, or the sounds of folk. Like many of the reviews i've read from Amazon.com and other sites this album TRYS to fit all the genras in one catagory but unfortunatly comes short (much like an "airball"). This is sad because all of the musical ingrediants are there, except the temperature of the creation was wrong, like they didn't keep it in the oven long enough to gain charecter in their lyrics and sound of instruments in which they used (inmature in a sense). Personally this album sounds like a cheap rip off of all the catagories combined to make a sound of confusion, nothing was directed to make the listener want to listen.
I, like many other music lovers have our favorite albums or songs durring certain emotional states or environments that add to the ambiance of the time. This album (for me) doesn't fit any of the catagories, it's not an album you would put in your CD player while you were driving with your buddies and your top down, nor is it an ablumn you would listen to while staying home on a dark and rainy Sunday. The only time I could really see myself listening to this album is if I had too, like when your girlfriend insist hearing it while driving you to work (in her car) at 7 in the moring with a hangover, making the whole situation worst from the combination. All in all at least listen to it before waisting your time and money on something that in my opinion does not amount to what you deserve.

You need a hammer, a hammer, a hammer, a hammer, to hammer this one down. G. Love & Special Sauce returns stronger than ever. Good vibes flow from Reggae, Hip-Hop, Blues, Ska, and Jazz coming together to make this a very powerful sound. G. Love hammers everybody down with his music. "Praise Up".