A Much Better Tomorrow [Original recording remastered]

Product Description
Hip-Hop. The Title Track features the Wackiness of Kool Keith (Dr Octagon, Black Elvis) as his Sinister 6000 Alter Ego & the Other Tracks Are What Point the Listener to Nakamura's Better Tomorrow Vision: A World in which Hip-Hop is Free to Expand on the Myriad Sonic Possibilities He Touches On. This Reissue is Complemented with Brand New Mastering & the Addition of Six Never-Before-Released Kool Keith. Automator Tracks from the Original Dr Octagon Sessions.

A Much Better Tomorrow,The Automator,Tommy Boy,Alternative Rap,Hip-Hop,Pop,Rap,Rap & Hip-Hop,Underground Rap

Average customer rating: Much better? Yes. The best it could be? No. No,it's not better than DR. OCTAGON. But it's a good CD! gets old fast a much better re-release Ahead of it's time... obviously

A Much Better Tomorrow The Automator Manufacturer: Tommy Boy ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music Trip-Hop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music General | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music West Coast | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music Experimental Rap | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music Pop Rap | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Wanna Buy A Monkey? Dr. Octagonecologyst Deltron 3030 Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By Masters of Illusion ASIN: B00004VVHL Release Date: 2000-08-08

Tracks:

1. Better Tomorrow
2. King of NY
3. I Want da Mic
4. Sleep - Dan the Automator
5. Wiling - Dan the Automator,
6. Cartoon Capers
7. 4:17 - Dan the Automator
8. Buck Buck
9. Truth - Dan the Automator
10. It's Over Now
11. Better Tomorrow, Pt. 2

Album Details

Hip-Hop. The Title Track features the Wackiness of Kool Keith (Dr Octagon, Black Elvis) as his Sinister 6000 Alter Ego & the Other Tracks Are What Point the Listener to Nakamura's Better Tomorrow Vision: A World in which Hip-Hop is Free to Expand on the Myriad Sonic Possibilities He Touches On. This Reissue is Complemented with Brand New Mastering & the Addition of Six Never-Before-Released Kool Keith. Automator Tracks from the Original Dr Octagon Sessions.

Customer Reviews:

Much better? Yes. The best it could be? No........2006-04-13

Billed as "somewhat new and improved", A Much Better Tomorrow is an update of Dan the Automator's 1996 EP of the same name (minus the 'Much'). As Dan himself states on the back of the CD, this update contains "several vintage tracks" that further capture the feel of Automator's work in the Dr. Octagon era.

The leadoff track, "A Better Tomorrow", pairs a straight up, no frills drum beat with Kool Keith's spaced out stream of consciousness flow. The beat itself is somber yet infectious and makes for an instant classic. The tempo changes on "King of NY" as the beat gets a bit funky while a suave Keith asserts "I'm the king of New York / runnin Alphabet City". Legendary DJ Q-Bert drops by to provide scratches for "I Want Da Mic", a slightly sinister sounding Keith collab that would sound perfectly at home on the Dr. Octagon LP. On "Sleep", Dan goes the solo route and crafts a melancholy instrumental. The tone here is somewhat like Portishead's "Dummy" and it really works on a raw, emotional level. On "Wilin", Neph the Madman drops a standard rap about hard life in NYC. Unfortunately, his lazy flow comes off as kind of boring forcing one to wonder whether the haunting keys of Dan's beat would have been better off by themselves. Keith returns on "Cartoon Capers", a silly track that covers strange topics like Wolverine smoking weed and Tweedy Bird getting jumped. Thankfully another well-crafted instrumental follows in "4:17", a smooth track slightly on the jazz tip. "Buck Buck" changes the mood again with its upbeat, New York gangsta track. Rapper Poet drops a rhyme full of the references to 9 millis and streetsweepers that punctuated the mid-90s East Coast rap scene. It's a good song, though, and ultimately showcases the Automator's versatility. Dan goes instrumental once again on "The Truth", a song that's both quirky and haunting. Drums, flutes and a sad vocal sample make for a track that's as enjoyable as it is sorrowful. Keith makes a suprisingly composed final appearance on the downtempo "It's Over Now", a nice departure from his usual skittered flow. "A Better Tomorrow Pt. 2" rounds out the album as a slightly reworked and longer version of the title track. With some of Keith's vocals removed and a heavier emphasis on the beat itself, this superior version ends the album nicely.

The bottom line is that fans of the Automator, Kool Keith and especially the Dr. Octagon album will love A Much Better Tomorrow. Personally, though, I feel caught between two extremes. With a mere six tracks, and only three that are not a version of the title track, the A Better Tomorrow EP isn't a cohesive listening experience. With 11 tracks the A Much Better Tomorrow LP is certainly more of a complete album, but the guest vocals seem to water it down. To me, Dan is at his best when his finely crafted sounscapes speak for themselves.

Ideally I'd prefer an instrumental version of the A Much Better Tomorrow LP. But until Dan decides to grant my wish and make A Perfect Tomorrow, the Much Better LP will do just fine.

KM

No,it's not better than DR. OCTAGON. But it's a good CD!.......2004-12-04

You've got 3 MC's on this album and the best one is KOOL KEITH. The best songs on here are by KOOL KEITH. The other rappers ruined the disc from getting 5 stars. Even DAN THE AUTOMATOR's instrumental tracks had flavor!

DAN THE AUTOMATOR is the closest thing to CED-GEE you're gonna get. CED-GEE is the producer/MC extraordinaire of ULTRAMAGNETIC MC's (in case you didn't know) KEITH's first outfit. DAN and KEITH blend like cheeseburgers and French fries. The flows are incredible. All the tracks with KEITH on them never miss a beat. "A Better Tomorrow" (Parts 1 and 2),"King Of N.Y.","I Want Da Mic",my favorite "Cartoon Capers" and the sad "It's Over Now" (Keith talks about his group's departure).

'A MUCH BETTER TOMORROW' is choice if you like DAN's funky beats and KEITH's loopful rhymes. They are there. But it does not have the sickness and humor of DR. OCTAGON tho'.

gets old fast.......2004-08-06

Some nice ideas but the album gets boring really fast. Just too much repetition.

Kool Keith's stuff is good. It can't hold this album up though. Listen to it once, it a good album. Hear it again and it falls apart.

a much better re-release.......2004-07-14

years ago, "a better tomorrow" EP was released by the automator. it kinda sucked, so years later, he released "a MUCH better tomorrow" with more tracks, and making itself into a full LP. tony hawk underground players would be familiar with the first track, "a better tomorrow part 1". although it's the automator's solo project, his good friend kool keith is a frequent guest on the mic, as well as a few others including poet and neph. the instrumentals are good, but sometimes get old, but once you hear some of the kool keith tracks, and neph's track "wiling" you really discover that this album is a great underground classic. automator once again mixes at his best, being experimental and still including great beats, and kool keith still comes up with weird unique lyrics that make him addictive. it looks like a much better future for the automator and company.

Ahead of it's time... obviously.......2003-11-21

I first heard Handsome boy modeling school back in 2000, and being a singer/songwriter fan I wan't much akeen to hip-hop. When I heard that record I was thrown for a loop, the matter of what The Automator creates(no offence to Prince Paul, love him too), the artisty behind every move astonished me. He took hip-hop and created his own surreal sub genre. (trip-hop...blah, blah, blah) After that I searched down every project that I could find that The Automator was a part of. Dr. Octagon, Deltron 3030, loved them, discovered Kool Keith, and Del the funky Homosapian, in return. Then came a Much Better Tomorrow, having been to late for the origianl EP, I was thrilled. The perfect sullen and sultry sampeling on Wiling, the meloncoly of The Truth. Mr. Kool Keith carries his weight as the narator of this journey especial on King of NY, and the fun Cartoon Capers.
The Automator is a brillant, original, and talented producer with an ear to die for.
If you love his production check out the above mentioned albums +

Wanna buy a Monkey = a mix tape session that gives you an idea on what kind of music our man enjoys

Lovage: music to make love to your old lady by = One of my favorite albums ever. An entire consept album that almost takes the definiton of "trip hop" and bathes in it.

Gorillaz = I'm sure you heard Clint Eastwood on the radio a couple of years ago. This was a genius collaberation in my opinion. I had been a fan of Blur since 98 + Damion is cute, Cibo Matto since 97, Del of course and throw in the style and vision of Dan... you get the most inovative pop group ever!!

Ben Lee= A singer song writer who became famouse around 15. He's like 24 now and his last album Running with sizzors, was produced by The Automator.

This guy is the luckest guy in the world. I sing, and songwrite, amaturishly, and I always said that if I could have anyone to produce my album that it would be Dan the Automator.

Cause...he rules!

Average customer rating:

The Columbia Albums of Irving Berlin, Vol. 1-2 Manufacturer: Collectables ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | New Age | Styles | Music Meditation | New Age | Styles | Music General | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music ASIN: B0000AHEU8 Release Date: 2003-09-02

Tracks:

1. It's A Lovely Day Today/Blue Skies
2. Maybe Its Because I Love/I Got Lost
3. You'd Be Surprised/I'll See You In Cuba
4. Always/Remember
5. Shaking The Blues/Play A Simple/Alexander's
6. Here's No Business/Got The Sun/Girl I Marry
7. Say It Will Music/Cheek To Cheek
8. It's A Lovely Day Tomorrow/ Now It Can Be Told
9. This Year's Kisses/Be Careful! Its My Heart
10. Lady Of The Evening/ Better Luck Next Time
11. Steppin' Out With My Baby/ You're Just In Love
12. Let's Face The Music/Say It Isn't So
13. How Deep Is The Ocean/I Never Had A Chance
14. Change Partners/Mandy
15. You Can't Brush Me/Everybody Step/Waiting At The End
16. Soft Lights/They Say It's Wonderful
17. Puttin' On The Ritz/Marie
18. I've Got My Love To Keep Me/Top Hat
19. What'll I Do/All Alone
20. A Pretty Girl/Isn't This A Lovely Day
21. Lazy/I'm Getting Tired So I Can Sleep
22. I'm Playing With Fire/Let's Have Another Cup
23. Heat Wave/Let Yourself Go
24. The Piccoline/No Strings

Album Description

Full Title - The Columbia Albums Of Irving Berlin Vols. 1 & 2. Composer, conductor, arranger Frank DeVol scored more than fifty movies and is best known as the composer for the theme songs for the TV series 'My Three Sons', 'The Brady Bunch' and 'Family Affair'. In the 1940s DeVol was an arranger for Dinah Shore, Tony Bennett, Rudy Vallee, Vic Damone and Doris Day. Frank DeVol received multiple Emmy Awards and Academy Award nominations for his extensive body of work. Irving Berlin's medleys featured are 'Always/Remember', 'A Pretty Girl/Isn't It A Lovely Day' and 'Say It With Music/Cheek To Cheek'. 24 tracks. Collectables 2003.

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