Jeep Beat Collective – 2001 Deathrace (CD) (2001) (FLAC + 320 kbps)

It only seems the other month that ‘For Jimi Hendrix’ came out. How does The Ruf manage to put out quality albums time after time, at such a rate? I hope you don’t expect an answer to that from me cuz I haven’t got a clue. All I know is that ‘For Jimi Hendrix’ was a wicked album, and this latest release again fully expresses The Ruf’s attitude – summed up in a combination of samples in the second track: ‘rock the house anywhere … until we drop dead’.

With his latest collaborators K Delight and Jabba the Cut, he’s put together an album of varied tracks, all of which uprock and uplift in their own way – from the straight rocking tracks like Devil Music and Thermonuclear Sound Wars to the more laid-back and atmospheric ones like Rain, Rain, Rain and The Day The Earth Stood Still. They all have vocal samples from god knows where, more often than not putting a smile on your face – either cuz they’re bloody funny (on Everyone Wants to be a DJ for example, which also has the wickedest guitar loop) or because they just fit in so well.

The Ruf does his vocal thing on a couple of tracks. Some spoken word styles on Supermarket of the Damned work really well. As always, he has a lot of stuff to say, all interesting and worth listening to.
‘Architects are no longer allowed to be artists, filmmakers are no longer allowed to be artists, artists are no longer allowed to be artists. All are just another asset to be stripped, owned, controlled, repackaged, censored, into just another product … everything is now worthless, everything has a price tag. Welcome to the supermarket of the damned.’

Back to Mindbomb mode for the other vocal track ‘Playing With The Big Boys’ – humorous and imaginative lines delivered in his inimitable style, over laid-back echoey guitars and booming bass.
Something for everyone, but at the same time an album to listen to from start to finish. There aren’t that many people that can do that.