CD Reviews

Dr. Octagon

The Return of Dr. Octagon | OCD International

By FRANKLIN SOULTS | July 24, 2006

3.0 Stars

How much fun can a CD be that opens with images of environmental collapse punctuated by the plaintive chorus “Trees are dyin’ ”? Fans of Dr. Octagon — a/k/a the legendary hip-hop shape-shifter Kool Keith, in perhaps his most renowned incarnation — know that the question is moot. But maybe they know less than they think, because though the track is a blast, Keith is also for the first time living up to the standards of his most important precursor, the shape-shifting funkateer George Clinton. That is, even as he jokes and grooves his way through Octagon’s long-awaited return, he’s also serious as shit. So while fans search for the on-line comic strip that explains Octagon’s resurrection after his 1999 “murder,” the rest of us “Ants” (“Ants work together, jerk together, do concerts together, cry and get hurt together”) will find sustenance in the disc’s deep dichotomies. Keith’s international collaborator trio, One Man Sun, slice and dice their electronic funk but also polish it as sleek as Chic, underscoring his journey through a world of mad alienation with a cool sneer and leer. Perfect for airing out cramped apartments in any treeless urban paradise/hellhole.

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Topics: CD Reviews , Kool Keith , George Clinton

Comments

Dr. Octagon

Keith is a pretty vexing dude, and you never really know what to expect from him. Some of his stuff is genius, and some of it is pretty much unlistenable. Here are a couple of mp3s from the record, and in true Kool Keith style, they're bizarre, incoherent, and at times, brilliant: http://worlds-fair.net/media/dr_octagon/Ants.mp3 http://www.ezarchive.com/pugarros/AlbumSpace/90L88OQ3IP/Trees.mp3

By yo momma on 07/25/2006 at 10:55:45

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