Why use drugs when Medeski, Martin and Wood can take you on a musical trip?
This organ, bass and drums trio never finishes an album where it began, and its latest release, “Uninvisible,” is no exception.
It may seem to be the same old instrumental MMW vamps and grooves at first.
But looking deeper, one finds a journey that starts with traditional jazz — including a horn section — and finishes with a wild sound experiment that includes a conversation held over a ping-pong game.
To get the most from this album, the listener must pay attention to detail.
The album opens with the title track. Chris Wood’s cyclic bass line punches out the beat as John Medeski’s barking Hammond organ sets the groove.
And so goes the soulful sound that screams traditional.
But it only takes a couple more tracks before the listener finds spoken word on “Your Name is Snake Anthony” and DJ P Love’s scratching samples on “Pappy Check.”
As the album progresses, the band’s direction becomes more obtuse.”Retirement Song” has a trance-like beat that gives the feel of a tape loop.
Meanwhile, Medeski overlays spooky electronic sounds provided by a Mellotron, a Mini-Moog and an Arp.
With each new song, it becomes harder to find the beat.
“Smoke” locks into a rhythm that can leave you guessing what is up and what is down.
But on top of it all is the soulful organ and bass that make MMW so potent.
By the time the album closes with “Off the Table,” the beat is completely lost.
Instead, the abstract rhythm is provided by a ping-pong game.
The band took a unique approach in composing this album.
Many of the tunes began with studio jams and were later supplemented by the techno and hip-hop sounds that give the album a thicker texture.
The band was helped by producer Scotty Hard from Wu-Tang Clan.
Hard believed the band’s 2000 release, “The Dropper,” was too abstract. His response was a beat-heavy album that avoids monotony by using progressive development.
Losing focus on this album means losing the meaning.
This album will find a nice home with a listener who wants a background soundtrack.
But the record is more for the listener who wants a true album — one that works on every level.
MMW, which is comfortable jamming on anything from Thelonious Monk to Jimi Hendrix, is scheduled to play the Saenger Theater tonight.
