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John Scatman, born John Paul Larkin, will be remembered for giving us a couple of summer hits, but offering an innovative formula that cleverly combines jazz influences with '90s eurodance and scat singing.
Following the great success of '94's "Scatman", the artist releases an entire album that echoes, both in title and musical style, the debut hit: I'm talking about "Scatman's World", an album released in '95, whose concept revolves around the dream of a certain Scatman's Land (Scatland), a sort of locus amoenus where love for one another and for the world around us prevails, all seasoned with fun scat melodies.
After welcoming us to his Scatlandia, John Scatman begins with the title track "Scatman's World", which seems to be the continuation of the previous successful single; the rest of the work flows smoothly, simple, serene, and catchy melodies that grab you on the first listen, but not without staggering falls: some tracks, "Quiet Desperation", "Popstar" are decidedly below par, and especially "Song of Scatland", a ballad that describes the utopian Scatman's Kingdom, concludes in a banal and poorly produced piece.
There are certainly some peaks of virtuosity, listen to the hit (reproduced in the album) "Scatman (Ski Ba Bop Ba Dop Bop)", "Sing Now!" and "Hi, Louis", the final track where the incredible John engages in long and intricate jazz-themed phrases, concluding with a cascade of notes that leaves even the artist himself breathless.
"Scatman's World" is based on rather original and entertaining ideas, this blend of very different genres turns out to be quite pleasant overall, though a better production job could have been done, some songs are quite weak, moreover, the lyrics, at least in the moments when John speaks, are not thrilling, they rotate banally and constantly around the project's common thread; the world of Scatman indeed stands as a refuge against American society, rich in vices and social problems.
The formula that repeats is almost always that of scatting over a jazz/dance base, resulting in simple and direct songs that immediately convey a sensation of serenity (or at least this is my personal experience).
Charming, this mustachioed man.
Rating: 6.5/10
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