Hyper Statue is a collaborative effort that was released in 2004 and which is hosted by drummer extraordinaire Carl Hupp. Amongst the guests who climbed on board we have Tony Levin on Chapman Stick and Stanley Whittaker from Happy The Man on guitar. Whilst the other musicians who assisted with this project are very talented in their own right, I regret that being from the Antipodes, these names are not familiar to me. After enjoying the songs on this project however, it will be interesting to see if I can track down some more material by these musicians, particularly Angelo Cammarata whose bass playing I found incredible throughout.
Carl began his musical career as a young boy when his parents bought him his first set of drums and in the accompanying DVD, he pays homage to his parents for allowing him to pursue this avenue of work and in the process, was instrumental in playing havoc with their eardrums. While watching the DVD, one is given a good overview of how well Carl plays as he is in charge of everything he does, despite having one humungous mother of a kit to control. In addition to the drums, Carl also has a great handle on the guitar and the keyboards. As Carl states in his DVD, he is influenced by many other artists and styles and in this regard, one will detect plenty of fresh ideas whether it be from the jazz, rock, jazz fusion or even blues side of the fence. All genres get a great workout as Carl and the band dispel any myths or misconceptions about the musical ability of any of the assembled players. These guys are supremely talented and it shows in just about everything they do.
Song wise, the standout tracks include the brilliant, "Skeleton Crew" which is also the featured track on the DVD, the sax-riddled classic, "Revenge of The Chair People", the quirky "Riff Raff" and even the softer ballad, "The Better Angels Of Our Nature". "Paper and Plastic" gets a double hammering as Jeff Avery lays down some mean and nasty blues licks and is assisted with some equally tasty trumpet and harmonica that give that added impetus to the sound. Surprisingly, I found the title track the least enjoyable, possibly due to the repetitive double crashing of the splash cymbals which reminded me very much of the slightly dissonant sound accompanying the Lion Dragon that weaves its way around people on Chinese New Year. This is only a minor gripe however and unless you spent your own wayward years behind a set of skins as I did as an aspiring young rockster, you'd probably not be affected by this at all. Tony Levin sounds superb on this track, however.
In addition, the CD includes a great rendition of Bill Brufords, "Five G" featuring some awesome bass work from Angelo Cammarata that is a good as the original and Billy Cobham's "Quadrant 4" which is given the appropriate treatment. All things considered, I found this to be a pretty good effort and one that I will keep playing until it all gels properly. This is certainly a class act by class musicians and those with a leaning towards this style of music will find plenty to enjoy here. Recommended!
Track Details:
1. Red Light District (2.00)
2. Hyper Statue (7.30)
3. Revenge of The Chair People (5.31)
4. Skeleton Crew (7.04)
5. Five G (5.14)
6. Riff Raff (4.00)
7. Seven For Seven (6.51)
8. The Better Angels Of Our Nature (4.22)
9. Paper or Plastic? (7.48)
10. Air-Ride Suspensions (4.07)
11. Black Tie Affair (6.42)
12. Quadrant 4 (4.20)
13. Mind Sweeper Part II (5.15)
14. Tagged & Enveloped (5.31)
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