G. Love and Cake are two of the hardest bands to critique. Everyone loves them, and there's little variation from one release to the next. The only thing you can tell readers is, "Hey, they just put out another album that sounds pretty much like all the previous ones. Go buy it." But there comes a point where personal style becomes schtick to the casual listener. And that's where true fans come in. Hardcore G. Lovers will be less interested in songs offering little new material, like the painfully trite "Holla" (written probably four years too late to have any important social context). However, Lemonade is best not judged against its filler. Once listeners get past a few tracks of expected jam and G. Love signature rap, the CD starts to get quite interesting, in large part thanks to its collaborative efforts. "Banger," featuring Blackalicious and Lateef The Truthspeaker, along with "Thanks And Praise," featuring Jasper, takes the album away from the blues and puts it into a distinctly more urban setting. From there, Ben Harper and Jack Johnson lend some heavy influence to the songs they guest on. The contributing artists on Lemonade seem to come in at exactly the right moment. Just when the musical scenery is starting to look a bit too familiar, they help expand the sound in ways and directions that are very much needed. Is that to say G. Love is stylistically limited? Maybe, when playing by himself. But his strength--and what will keep him relevant for many years to come--is the fact that he can collaborate with almost anyone out there, producing a sound that's uniquely his own. And that's exactly what keeps Lemonade, and many of his other recordings, from being just another G. Love album. By Eric Seeger |
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Eargasm |