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Satori

Savor Every Moment.
2005
Asian Man

Satori - Savor Every Moment. (Cover Artwork)


Review by: Anchors
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Asian Man Records (Logo)

Published on December 4th 2005

When I first listened to Satori's mix of reggae and bluebeat, I immediately wondered if any members of the RX Bandits had their hand in the recording, and after a little research, I discovered my presumption was actually correct. More correct that I had even anticipated, as it seems that Satori actually features all members of the RX Bandits, and features some prominent guest spots by the Exit's Chris Murray.

So, what sets Satori apart from the RX Bandits exactly? Well, while the Bandits fuse energetic punk rock with their reggae and ska stylings, this band drops the punk rock and throws in some bluebeat and dub.

Virtually the only quick work with the guitar comes in the first 10 seconds of the opening track, "Celebration," but that quickly leads into the band's reggae funk sound. Each song has its own unique groove, and they all flow extremely well together. If nothing else, this is an album in which each track seamlessly fuses with the one before it. The instrumentation is pretty minimal, but it accomplishes exactly what it needs to. Thick bass grooves, light tapping of the snare drum, and tight, fluent harmonies provided by the guitar -- it's all there. "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" is an ultra slow but hypnotic track in which the band features some great backup vocal harmonies, providing the 'oohs and ahhhs' more or less. Hypnotic, soothing vocals, and slow, rhythmic instrumentation is what the band is all about, and the songs come across in just the right way. Satori's vocalist is a strong one, but not that his voice needs to be all that powerful for this sort of music. It's a subtle sort of power. Melody and groove are still the most integral parts of this album, however, and that's well represented, but oddly enough, one of the best songs on the album is an instrumental one. The song displays some great saxophone work, and it's just a fun jam all the way around.

A bit of a departure for the RX Bandits, but ultimately, a departure that was well worth the effort put in to make it.

There's not a single bad song to be found anywhere near this album, and while they may all run too closely together after repeated listens, the album has an undeniably great spirit and a unique sound to boot. Between "Move!," "Wise Up," and "Don't Hide," there's already three songs worthy of checking out an entire album, and once you do, the rest is simply a bonus.



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    Posted by iheartadam on 2005-12-09 03:38:02
    My Score:

    Album was okay. This band definitely does not live up to their name though. It's a start, I'll give them that.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, December 6, 2005 at 10:02 PM (EST)

    "Why didn't they just release this as an RXB album with guest musicians?"

    well, in addition to what the guy below said...its also not rxb with guest musicians. its steve borth with guest musicians. not enough of the rxb guys are involved to go with your suggestion, matt embree isnt on vocals, and it sounds nothing like rxb (well not "nothing" but it is obvious this is two completely different bands)

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, December 6, 2005 at 9:48 PM (EST)

    "Why didn't they just release this as an RXB album with guest musicians?"

    Probably because they didn't want to alienate their ska/punk fanbase with a dub record, something Big D and the Kids Table should have thought of. Not to say Big D's new direction is bad, but it definately caused some unrest among their fans.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, December 6, 2005 at 3:05 PM (EST)

    this record is def worth 8$
    most of what these guys (rxb,c.murray, exit) do is pretty fucking good

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, December 6, 2005 at 2:34 PM (EST)

    you can send asianman a check or cash concealed for this. only 8 bucks. skip that next couple trips to jack in the box

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, December 6, 2005 at 2:00 AM (EST)

    Sorry I don't have the Slackers newest live album or their dub album.

    -Not-To-Regret

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, December 5, 2005 at 7:28 PM (EST)

    do you have the slackers- live in japan?

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, December 5, 2005 at 6:28 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Can someone please do me a huge favour and add me to msn or e-mail this album in a zip folder. I don't have a credit card and I love the bandits and I really want this album. I'll send you something equally good in return. I've got every single album by Bob Marley, The Smiths, The Slackers, QOTSA and many more...

    lessthanmillencolin@hotmail.com

    -Not-To-Regret

    (Please excuse the e-mail adress it's from grade 10.)

    Posted by stevejonestherealbones on 2005-12-05 17:42:01

    excellent!

    more than one "L" !!!

    - jones the bones

    - stevejones8770@yahoo.com

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, December 5, 2005 at 5:40 PM (EST)

    i listen to this cd and i savor every moment of it ! HA! excelent

    - jones the bones

    - stevejones8770@yahoo.com

    Posted by ejaculine on 2005-12-05 08:31:33
    My Score:

    This album is just awesome! You can't miss with people from RxBandits and Chris Murray.

    And by the way for people who don't know, Chris Murray played with King Apparatus and not the Exit. Chris Murray, a canadian legend! The score is for the cd cuz I can't stop listening to it... can't stop listening to the new Bruce Lee Band cd either.

    Posted by roboattack on 2005-12-05 06:19:42

    the slackers chris murray = slackness is also awesome.
    very similar.

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, December 5, 2005 at 5:44 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    Score is for the reviewer and earlier commenters' complete failure to mention Link 80.

    Posted by Fuzzy on 2005-12-05 04:58:59

    Sorry Jordan, didn't mean to come off as overly harsh. I just know that sometimes I see people who make totally outlandish claims about a band (I remember this happening with Avoid One Thing) and them being blatantly not true, in terms of member shifts and band affiliations. It's just one of my pet music nerd things. Good review, especially given that I know you're not neccessarily a predisposed fan of this stuff.

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, December 4, 2005 at 10:53 PM (EST)

    chris sheets from the RXB shows up on a few tracks on trombone and back up vox

    Posted by Anchors on 2005-12-04 20:34:03

    Alright, so I apparently I fucked up some of the names. I don't know how, I definitely did my research, including looking at their page on Asian Man Justin. Oh well, my bad.

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, December 4, 2005 at 5:53 PM (EST)

    I don't know any of the guys from the exit, but when I saw Satori play, it was Steve on guitar/vox, Matt on bass, and the guitar player and drummer from the Exit.

    Posted by Jesse on 2005-12-04 16:42:59

    Yeah, Chris Murray isn't from The Exit. You'd have to be dumb to think that.

    Posted by Fuzzy on 2005-12-04 14:57:36
    My Score:

    This isn't all the RXB. It's Steve Borth singing with help from the dudes from the Exit and a bit of guesting from Chris Murray and some of the RXB. It's so frustrating to see people not do any research. All you had to do was go to Asian Man and click on the Satori link.
    Steve Borth
    Matt Embres
    Chris Tsagakis
    Gunnar Olsen
    Ben Brewer
    Chris Murray

    Steve fronts it, Matt helps, Chris Plays drums. The Gunnar and Ben from the Exit and Chris guests.

    This album is on my "best of list" for sure. So refreshing to hear someone play laid back original reggae and ska without ripping off the Slackers.

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, December 4, 2005 at 1:13 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Nobody knows about this record.

    I really like the Rx Bandits, but I think this is better than The Resignation. It's not better than Progress, though. Progress is an amazing record.

    Posted by ElVaquero on 2005-12-04 12:32:36

    Yeah, this record wasn't bad at all... it just utterly failed to make an impression

    Posted by skaboom on 2005-12-04 12:15:19

    I haven't heard this album yet, but was aware of the RXB connection. Why didn't they just release this as an RXB album with guest musicians? Every album these guys write strays further from ska and more into post-whatever/reggae territory (Not that this is a bad thing, mind you. They are one of the very few bands to move away from ska and not completely suck. I'm looking at YOU, IV4K)

    Posted by kirbypuckett on 2005-12-04 10:24:22

    I snagged this @ a Bandits show...it's pretty good.

    Posted by roboattack on 2005-12-04 10:01:08

    hm i said great like 3 times.

    Posted by roboattack on 2005-12-04 09:59:35

    its actually ben and gunnar from the exit and chris murray from ... uh chris murray. but seriously this is a great record. some great covers in this and the dubs are great.

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, December 4, 2005 at 6:23 AM (EST)

    finally a hot chick on the cover of an album...

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