document

The Document II
$8.99
So Document (I) is great. Really fabulous, a single-disk education in funk, hip-hop and why a DJ matters. Andy Smith clearly has great taste in music, an ear for the strange and wonderful and does a great job of putting together a musical journey,with creative layering of tracks and an overall sense that he *loves* this music.

So here we go again: part II. I've been waiting for this disk for about five years. Could it be as good?

Well: nothing's changed really - all the above compliments apply. I mean, it's not like Andy has lost his abilities: the opening mix of Kate Bush into a sparse hip-hop loop, staight into James Brown, keeping the same vocal all the way is priceless. Cool. Smart.

The overall tone is a little more heavy with rap and novelty records and the tracks just don't quite have the same impeccable quality control as last time - it's as if he used all his favorite records of all time in the first mix, and this is a collection of his second favorite tracks of all time. Kind of like "More Abba Gold" to the originals "Abba Gold".

Not that there aren't great tracks here: Quantic Soul Orchestra and Sugarman 3 bring some energetic funk noise with style, as do Boca 45. If these aren't names you're familiar with (I'm not) this is as good a place as any to pick up some new stuff. Maybe my luke-warmness is just a side-effect of hearing the same trick again - the freshness, the surprise and some of the magic isn't here in quite the bucketloads it was first time around.

Still - it's a decent disk. You don't have many choices when it comes to well-mixed, diverse and imaginative DJ sets will to take risks, and if you like any two of Funk, Soul or Hip-hop, you'll get a persuasive introduction to the other.

One quibble: 'pologies if this sounds snobby, but I don't need another DJ disk with "Give the Drummer Some" on it. It's not exactly an imaginative selection. For example - putting "No Omega" (Eric B & Rakim) is a much more refreshing choice...

Anyway, all in all, start with Document I. If you love it, this is a great second purchase. Otherwise, just keep darn well listening to it until you do.

Words of our Fathers: Declarations of Freedom (Contains some of our countries most important documents)
$1.00
Some of the World's greatest words ever penned. These documents are what America is all about. No one talks like they used to. American leaders need to remember how our country was founded. Our founding fathers build our country on solid principles. We as a nation cannot comprise our great standards. If we do, we are no better than the heathens of old and our country will continue to dilapidate from the in-side. Remember who you are AMERICA!

Documents of the Christian Church
$29.95
An amateur Church historian, by love but not by training, I looked forward to perusing this compendium of church documents. The editor, Chris Maunder, claims to 'provide the global perspective essential in contemporary church history and theology' -- I read in the forward. Uh-oh. The Table of Contents elaborates on this: "Black Theology, the Origins of Liberation Theology, The Ordination of Women, Feminist Theology, Ecotheology" are some of the listings in this new section.

If this is what you are looking for, by all means you will find these new ear-tickling theologies explored. I will look for the original edition, written in the early 1960s.

Come Clean
$0.99