GALACTIC'S SECOND ALBUM - ANOTHER NEW ORLEANS CLASSIC

Now regarded alongside Coolin Off as a classic New Orleans record, Crazyhorse Mongoose also helped seal Galactic's place as one of New Orleans' major musical exports and most successful bands.

Recorded in just five days at Brilliant Studios in San Francisco. San Francisco producer/engineer Dan Prothero was again at the controls. The band moved in upstairs, allowing them to record during musician's hours (late in the afternoon til late in the morning). A combination of vintage recording gear (borrowed from The Phantom Tollbooth) and (at the time) cutting-edge technology (mixdown from 2" analog tape to digital via 88k, 24 bit HDCD A/D converters) was used to capture that new old school flavor. All recording was done live in the studio with the band set up much as they are for most shows. The results have (hopefully) captured the raw energy and loose mood of their live shows, and the relaxed atmosphere allowed for some extended jams - including the definitive, epic version of "Quiet Please". " We cut that a bunch of different times, it would always be the last tune we'd play at the end of each night in the studio. Just turn the lights down, a couple of candles, and let it happen, " says keyboardist Rich Vogel, whose awesome Rhodes-to-Hammond solo dominates the song.

The album kicks off with the bumping "Hamps Hump", which has become one of the most reliable weapons in Galactic's funky arsenal. While perfectly suited as the soundtrack to any striptease, the song has more respectable roots - its original incarnation was on a Lou Donaldson album. It's the first and only cover song to appear on either of Galactic's first two albums.

Theryl 'House Man' deClouet had joined the group just before the recording of their debut album Coolin Off, and his vocals are heard on only two tracks on that album. But by the time the "Crazyhorse Mongoose" sessions rolled around, the band had a few years of experience writing and performing together. As a result, Theryl's trademark tenor is all over the album - and his awesome delivery on "Change My Ways" raised more than a few neck hairs in the control room.

Drummer Stanton Moore had this to say about the band's direction: "In my mind, what we're doing is just going back to where the Meters left off. In the mid-'70s things started to take a turn for the worse. And through the '80s, music got pretty bad. We feel like we're going back and digesting what the good music was. But we're also coming out of that digestive stage and take the music in a direction that we feel is true to that tradition." (quote courtesy of Flagpole Magazine)

Listen to the Crazyhorse Mongoose album in its entirety by clicking here! (requires RealPlayer).

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‘‘ Most people would choose to see a funky jazz and soul combo in a live setting as opposed to hearing the band on disc - which explains why Galactic encourages tape trading of its live gigs. But Crazyhorse Mongoose, the sophomore disc by these versatile New Orleans cats, captures the loose instrumental interplay of a smoldering live set and tempers it with crisp studio production that recalls the warm, vintage soul of the Stax Records roster. Crazyhorse Mongoose is thickened by the heat of New Orleans jazz and soul, but there's also a touch of cool Chicago blues at work, balancing the mayhem with the mellow. There seems to be no defined musical star in Galactic - a sign that its members are listening to each other selflessly. Stanton Moore's drumming bobs and weaves inside the funky, dual sax attack as Rich Vogel's Hammond B3 (sounding very Medeski-esque) keeps things ultra good 'n' greasy. When vocalist Theryl deClouet lends his lusty tenor to a handful of tunes, Galactic becomes a slow-burning powerhouse. See Galactic live or wrap yourself around Crazyhorse Mongoose - you won't be disappointed with either choice. "
- Steve Ciabattoni, CMJ New Music Report MUST HEAR REVIEW
" On its second album, Crazyhorse Mongoose (Capricorn), Galactic serves up a truly delectable and palatable fusion of New Orleans-flavored funk and jazz with an acid edge. Right from opening instrumental, "Hamp's Hump," it obvious that these guys are not only superb, but are leaps and bounds beyond any other funk-jazz bands around today. This is funk for the new millennium. Beefy Hammond organ, loping bass, hard-driving percussion and sassy, soulful vocal permeate the disc. Different sides of the band's persona are shown in the funk and soul of "Love On The Run" and the more extraneous textures of the 10 minute "Quiet Please" which has a decidely progressive rock/jam badn mentality mixed with ultra funk and jazz textures. Also of note is the super funk of "Tighten Your Wig," which sounds like War-meets-the-Meters. Make sure you let the disc run for the extra bonus track. "
- Relix Magazine
" If you're searching for classic funk and soul sounds circa the late '60s / early '70s (sly, James, Isaac, Curtis, etc.), Galactic's Crazyhorse Mongoose is quite a find. Although this is only their second album, they somehow create gritty, authentic sounds and have strong tunes to back it up. Unlike many of today's retro bands, Galactic knows the importance of playing as a unit -- feeding off each other's energetic performances and ultimately communicating through the music. Most of the album is instrumental, but singer Theryl deClouet shines when he's given a chance to show his stuff (Change My Ways, Start From Scratch, etc.). But Galactic is comprised of fantastic instrumentalists as well: bassist Robert Mercurio, drummer Stanton Moore, guitartist Jeff Raines, keyboardist Rich Vogel and saxophonist Ben Ellman. Few bands today have the knowledge and musical vocabulary to compose such delights as Quiet Please (think Miles Davis at his most reflective), and the groovy tunes Love On The Run, Meter Maid, and the title track. Music this good and pure doesn't come along often, and Galactic's Crazyhorse Mongoose is a must-have record. "
- Experience Hendrix Magazine
" 1. FLASHBACK OF THE WEEK: God bless GALACTIC. Following an aesthetic something akin to that of classical music's period-instrument movement, this New Orleans-based funk group eschews any perceived advances made in the genre for the last 25 years. None of the concessions to the commercialism that de-clawed funk in the late '70s and early '80s -- processed guitars and keyboards, programmed beats, disco -- mar the band's second album, 'CRAZYHORSE MONGOOSE' (Capricorn, 9/1). Instead, this six-piece plays the kinds of beats and grooves smart hip-hop acts have been relying on for the last decade. Opening track "Hamps Hump" swings thick and fat, with brass croaking, Hammond B-3 churning and drums syncopated Big Easy style. Jazzier and more formal than James Brown or Funkadelic, harder hitting than the Meters (an easy comparison), Galactic also has a penchant for songwriting, led by vocalist Theryl "Houseman" deClouet. DeClouet, a contemporary of a pre-recording Neville Brothers, shines on "Start From Scratch," "Change My Ways (Pts. 1 & 2)" and "Love on the Run," his smoky, understated style adding a hard-earned authenticity to lyrics about troubled love and life. On other cuts--"Meter Maid," drummer Stanton Moore's showcase "Denny's Village Rundown," "Witch Doctor," the title track--the instrumentalists vamp like mad, always in service to the whole, never bowing to ego. A band with this much feel and pontaneity on disc must practically move the earth in performance; word is, the crew *has* been packing them in on the club scene at home, as well as in New York and San Francisco, on the strength of its fine debut, '96's 'Coolin' Off' (originally issued on Fog City, recently reissued by Capricorn). "
- Ned Hammad, Tower PULSE!
" Every once in a great while, a major label (not that Capricorn is exactly a major, mind you, but you get the point) stumbles upon a rare band that takes from the past and puts it into the future and gives us all a taste of the good life. Take Galactic for instance. This New Orleans band refuses to back down from its heritage, and therefore, every Crescent City influence from Professor Longhair to the Neville clan to The Meters is proudly touted in its funky fusion.
What makes Galactic such a blast is that they take the whole ingrained atmoshphere of N.O. and run with it as fast as they can. Not many jazz bands nowadays can muster gems like the mind-bending grease-jazz of "Love on the Run," the booty-kick if "Tighten Your Wig," or the improv, free-form coolness of the 11-minute, album-closing, slam-bam-thank-you-ma'am "Quiet Please," in the space of one record without experiencing total terminal meltdown. Galactic does it on Crazy Mongoose without even breaking a sweat.
While anybody can simply pay homage to the great ghosts of the past, it takes a special breed to recognize the greatness of masters gone by and build upon the lessons learned. With Crazyhorse Mongoose, Galactic has not only done that, but they have also made it mean something to people of today, and in doing so, they're paying the greatest homage of all. "
- The City Paper (Charleston SC)
" There's lots of creativity here, and fans of jazz and especially r&b will find much to savor. Just try to keep your feet still. "
- The Patriot Ledger , Boston MA
" A bone-chilling experience, funk with the force of illegal inhalants. "
- Flagpole Magazine , Athens GA