All Kooked Out!

Album Review

Recorded the week after Mardi Gras in February and March of 1998, All Kooked Out highlights a core band led by Galactic drummer Stanton Moore and featuring eight-string guitarist Charlie Hunter and Critters Buggin' saxophonist Skerik. Supplemented by an array of New Orleans musicians, including Brent Rose (tenor and soprano sax), Brian Seeger (guitar), Matt Perrine (tuba), Ben Ellman (tenor sax), and former Sun Ra and Kool and the Gang trumpet player Michael Ray, the music has a lot of space and light in it, despite the sleeve's claims towards heaviness. Most of this can be attributed to Hunter's unique guitar style. His guitar, which features three bass strings and five regular guitar strings, is run through a good amount of reverb, making him sound like fusion guitarist John Scofield run through a Leslie rotating cabinet. Moore's rhythmic sensibility is best demonstrated on "Stanton Hits the Bottle," on which he plays percussion on a resonant sounding glass bottle, skipping on top of the groove with ease. The music is enjoyable, but would probably do better in the club setting in which it was conceived.