Artist: Tigerhook Presents Randall Jones
Title: Pathwork EP (Part Two)
Label: Bedrock Records
By: Simon Jones | 8 December 2003
Tracklist:

• A: Up Out Of Here (Feat Miss Phoenixx)
• B: In & Out Of Love

Tigerhook Presents Randall Jones "Pathwork EP (Part Two)"

Part Two of the Pathwork EP sees Randall Jones team up some of Philly's other luminaries, bringing together another two tracks which continue the whole idea of the project, with some more of Randall's cohorts such as Miss Phoenixx and Rodrigo Ramirez adding their own touch to this project of his.

Enlisting the services of Philly drag queen Miss Phoenixx, 'Up Out Of Here' is as groovy house track with a different. Aside from the shuddering bassline and subtle bongo drums, the camp vocals of Phoenixx are eloquently spoken, and somehow sink into the middle of all the layered sounds that are brought into the mix. The laid back mood of the track allows more attention to be focused on the insistent groove, with the vocal just being an addition. It's an idea that has been done before, but manages to be recreated here in a way that doesn't grate on the ears.

'In & Out Of Here' continues on with the deep and spacey theme from Part One of the EP, but has a distinctly ethnic twist placed upon it here. Analogue style drums and piano stabs are prevalent as the vocal loops slide in and out of the quirky sounscape that is created by the bassline, but aside from some rising stab action, this track just doesn't live up to the rest of the EP, and the added acapella of 'Up Out Of Here' doesn't really lift the overall impact of this disc, which falls short of the brilliance of the first half of the EP on the other disc.

Nevertheless, a solid pair of house tracks, but the path got misguided somewhere along the line, and if given the choice, I'd take the other disc over this one any day.