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THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Story appeared in the SHOW section on page F50 ID: 2000217114 Illustration: BLACK & WHITE PHOTO Edition: MORNING Correction:

 SOUND CHECK
SOUL ON WAY UP, DOWN

Friday, August 4, 2000

Byline:
Credit: BEN WENER: The Orange County Register

+ R&B Morcheeba "Fragments of Freedom," Sire Toshi Kubota "Nothing But Your Love," Epic

Ah, how quickly the new breed gives up on its daring ways, retreating to safe havens the moment a trend appears to be dying.

At least, that's the best that can be said of Morcheeba, the South London trio that once lit up critics by infusing subtle funk into the dour drama of trip-hop -- sort of like a pumpin' Portishead fronted by a siren who has more in common with sweet soul sisters of the past than an alienated antiheroine like Beth Gibbons.

When the group burst onto the scene, its amalgamation of soul and sullen sonics was refreshing. Let everyone else play the chanteuse routine; Skye Edwards was too full of life to be so aloof.

Meanwhile, the dynamic brother duo of Ross and Paul Godfrey kept the sound engaging at all times -- moody, yes, but never sinister; lush, absolutely, but never maudlin or kitschy; grooving, sure, but never so much that you felt they were getting above their station.

So much for that. Now the Godfreys think they can get away with soul just as slyly as the greats, and Edwards doesn't just feel a kinship with Macy Gray, she imagines she can be her as well.

Dumb move, for what made Morcheeba worth watching was its preciousness, that it was academic but with honest emotion supporting its revisionist theses. You knew this bunch could spot classic R&B from several P-Funk platters away, but you knew they couldn't duplicate what they heard. Still, the fact that they tried made them endearingly quirky.

However, on the group's third album, "Fragments of Freedom," everything has become pedestrian. The mysteriousness that once shrouded the beats is gone, here replaced by "Flashlight"-esque thump and Zapp-like gimmicks. And Edwards no longer coos sexy nothings; instead she sings cliches like "Rome Wasn't Built in a Day." Indeed, much of it sounds like a sellout -- if only this were selling. (The faux-disco of "Shallow End," for one, already had its vogue moment a few years back when it was called "Lovefool" by the Cardigans.) There are moments when things click, and for as much as the best jams are approximations of George Clinton, they're good approximations. It's just that they don't amount to much more than that.

Meanwhile, Japanese artist Toshi Kubota is spinning circles around the Morcheebas of the world with his second English-language album, the wonderful "Nothing But Your Love" -- though it has entered the marketplace with little fanfare.

Racial stereotyping got you thinking an Asian can't possibly make you sweat like a loverman supreme? Check his passport before you jump to stupid conclusions.

He's savored the East Coast (and brings the Fugees' Pras along for the breezy "Never Turn Back"). He's been to Philly (and the Roots think he's off the hook, in a quiet way). He's been through Europe (and it shows in his cosmopolitan approach to dance music).

He's got big-city dreams, a high-pitched voice smooth like Sam Cooke (though not as fluid ... yet) and a sound that's the approachable yin to D'Angelo's dark-horse yang.

It's really just the same old song: Some unknown in a far-off land absorbs the soul of America, filters it through his more exotic experience (at least exotic to us), then blows it back our way like a lusty air kiss. Where it lands is for you to decide.

Just know this: Maybe he fakes it like Jamiroquai, and he doesn't have killer singles like that outfit does. But he's infinitely more consistent.

+ Morcheeba: C+>+ Kubota: B+> You might enjoy these if you like: George Clinton, Jamiroquai, Tony Rich, Rahsaan Patterson, Maxwell, Eric Benet