Herbert
Bodily Functions

THE REVIEW

Herbert is the undisputed prince of this cross-genre that manages to blend the most intelligent dance with old-style jazz, chill-out with electronics, giving his works, and particularly this one from 2001, a unique and unmistakable cut. The colorful electronic sound tapestry on which he weaves his slightly dance plots, contrasts with the singing of his partner Dani Siciliano, apparently cold and detached but well integrated into the stylistic mood (listen to "Suddenly" or the more markedly jazz/fusion "I Know" and we'll see that jazz is at the center of the "Goodbye Swingtime" project from 2 years ago).

What to say, classifying this album as dance or chill-out is reductive because the album is a varied multi-flavor fused together by the great remixing ability of our friend (the excellent and irresistible "You Saw It All" that would make even a deaf person tap their foot!), who found in Dani's fragile but alluring voice his very "Everything-but-the-girl-oriented" alter ego.

I love this album, as much as I was disappointed by his subsequent work, the already mentioned "Goodbye Swingtime", where the jazz component (played by a real orchestra!) was more pronounced but at the same time less original. I know nothing else of him, although there is a lot of praise for this "dish of the day" but that's it... characters like these should be taken with a grain of salt and... in small doses: you never know what to expect. Which is the beauty and the limit of the thing. Will our artist be able to reinvent himself and offer us something equally valid and "cool"?