This album is the immaculate album of The Time. True Time fans will tell you that while this was the breakthrough album for the band, it was not their best. Ice Cream Castles broke through via the film Purple Rain where a good bit of the songs found a home in the movie, but strangely not on the soundtrack.  It was a bizarre marketing tactic that just seemed off kilter. Regardless, it worked, but for some funksters that have followed the band since the early days, the album was dreadfully short on songs only offering a paltry 6 songs not even totaling 40 minutes in length.

But the songs showcased the bands capabilities and they all were at rare form. The inevitable funkiness of The Bird and Jungle Love quickly became dance hall favorites and songs that would be forever engraved on The Time’s playlist even to this day more than 25 years later. My Drawers was another amazing song that was just as funky as the other aforementioned hits, but it never saw much radio play.

The remaining 3 songs were pretty much solely designed to further the bands image as a jokingly egotistical, womanizing, well-dressed gang of funky talented musicians. All of which were pretty much penned by Jesse Johnson with exception to the title track which was penned by Prince and Morris Day.

All in all, Ice Cream Castles is a funk classic that helped the world stand up and recognize that The Time was truly a force to be reckoned with. It is a must have for any funk fanatic that is filling in their collection of missing classics. While it’s short on time and short on songs, it’s undeniably a classic funk album and an imperative addition to all funk collections. But because it fell so short on expectations compared to other Time albums, we only give it 4.5 out of 5 afros. If it had a couple more songs to further showcase the bands talent, it would have hit the 5 out of 5, but Paisley Park did the band a huge disservice by cutting them short. Shame on you!  Compared to the other Time albums, this one was a good funk fix, but we felt cheated.  Leave them wanting more just doesn’t cut it, but when you can pick this album up for under $5, you better own it or be ridiculed.

The Time guitarist Jesse Johnson not only is bringing his amazing talent to the masses, but also the latest news of the rumored Morris Day and The Time reunion.  At the 50th Grammy Awards, The Time announced a reunion of sorts, but since then, not much else has been announced. Luckly, during the January 13th Atlanta show Jesse stated, “The album is done. D’Angelo heard the music and..all I can say is that no one will see it coming.  The music is amazing.”  Jesse’s business manager Mark Wallace also confirmed to Funkatopia that the album is indeed completed and should be released soon.

When asked about a Time tour, there was an overall agreement that there would be something done to support the album, but what no one would say  However, Funkatopia.com asked about what cities would be hit on the Jesse Johnson Verbal Penetration tour and only Philly was mentioned as he slipped and said that he has to finish up these appearances and then do the “Time thing”.

So for Morris Day and The Time fans, the album is finished and apparently amazing and we can look forward to something in the near future to support the muchly anticipated album.  But like Jesse’s Verbal Penetration, will it be enough to gather back the masses that have wandered off during their two decades of an absence since 1990′s Pandemonium?  Regardless of the answer, you can guarantee that Funkatopia will be there to let you know how it turns out.

Review: It’s tough to keep an unbiased review of anything related to Jesse Johnson since his legendary status in funk music is felt all across the music industry. Verbal Penetration is Jesse’s first jump back in the murky depths since 1996′s Bare My Naked Soul (BMNS).  Like BMNS, Verbal Penetration is a continuation of the rock peppered guitar heavy prowess that he has become very comfortable delivering and his fanbase definitely appreciates being able to really hear Jesse’s guitar the way it was meant to be heard.  Only recently has Jesse begun touring to support the album even though the album has been on virtual store shelves for over a year already.

That being said, there are a lot of hits and misses on Verbal Penetration.  Moreso on Volume 2 than Volume 1.  Volume 1 of VP seems to be the best picks of what he had to offer on this outing, while Volume 2 almost came across as an afterthought or “leftovers” CD.  Volume 1 is full of instant hits such as the title track, Propoaganda and 100 Watts of Funky. All of which have the standard funkified riffs everyone loves Jesse for.  But there’s also a overpowering strange presence of what appears to be unnecessary ego-maniacal diatribe throughout the entire album.

Case in point would be the multiple canned references to his “greatness” such as various poorly read/acted excerpts from women making comments such as “Wow, where do I start?  We have a very special guest today. He is an extraordinary guitar player..“, and girls woo’ing “Look it’s Jesse Johnson“, and even an entire 8 minute track entitled Redemption For the Soul which is a story told by a French accented woman about some country that has banned music.  The story continues that a group of music-listening rebels have excitedly gathered in a secret location to listen to Jesse’s new album and are caught by the music-hating government from hidden mikes in the room.   But instead of said government arresting the rebels, they simply want a copy of the album.  It’s a bit much.

Volume 1 is very well done and would easily garner a 4-1/2 out of 5 afros, but Volume 2 is actually detrimental to the collection.  It doesn’t have the continuity of the album and just feels thrown together like a bunch of B side riffs that he simply didn’t want to throw away.  And the added ego bits are unusual since Jesse is extremely open and approachable in person.  It’s out of place and out of character.  Volume 2 does have some pieces of genius such as In The Key of Nudity and Ali Vs. Frazier, but overall it simply lacks any consistency.  It just seems as if the better bits could have been stuffed onto a longer single CD to create a true masterpiece of an album instead of muddying it down this way.

Overall, we give Verbal Penetration a 4 out of 5 afros. While the comments above make it seem like it would be lower rating, that’s simply not the case. Verbal Penetration is way too good to ignore and a must have for any fans of Jesse Johnson.  His guitar prowess is evident on the album and the musicality of the song collection makes it a great funk album to have.  But 14 years between albums can definitely hurt a fan base. Either way, Verbal Penetration is definitely Funkatopia approved.

Review: While this album may have gone unnoticed to the general public, hardcore Prince fans were shocked at the release of Rainbow Children which had Prince all over the musical map, but clearly displayed Prince’s musical prowess.  The album is blended with a good dose of jazz and pop with only a minor funk infusion, so for true funk fans, you’ll like the album, but it won’t give you your funk fix.  However, this album not only delivers a good dose of funky, it literally takes you on a fantastic journey unlike any other.  Headphones are required to truly appreciate the vastness of this album.

This album was Prince’s dive into the religious arena to speak more passionately about his newfound faith as a Jehovah’s Witness. The album is actually a masterpiece with a lot of great song writing that was obviously meticulously poured over note by note to polish every crack and crevice. There is a deep gothic booming “God-like” voice that tells a story throughout to maintain a good continuity though some listeners found it to be distracting. The title track is like a sonic roller coaster with highs and lows and ethereal guitar, and his female fans will most certainly love tracks such as Mellow and She Loves Me 4 Me.

And while it may not have funk fans frothing at the mouth, what funk it does offer is amazing. 1+1+1 is 3 is a funkafied gorgeous groove and Everlasting Now has super funky breaks that reminisce back to the days of Baby I’m a Star.  The off kilter well thought out placement of these songs truly remind everyone of just how powerful of a musician Prince truly is.

Long story, short, this is one of Prince’s best albums in many years and worthy of picking up at whatever cost. We debated about giving this album our highest possible 5-Afro rating because of its lack of full-on funk, but this album doesn’t have any weak points to be found. Even on the bizarre diatribes like The Digital Garden and Deconstruction, they all work together to create one of Prince’s best masterpieces since Purple Rain and even ups the ante further. Get it now.

It’s hard to get a good solid feel for what Jesse Johnson brings to the table with his music until you’ve actually seen him live.  And for the lucky 50 or so individuals who caught him at Londzell’s in Roswell, GA on the night of January 13th, 2011, they will certainly tell you the same.

Atlanta was still recovering from its worst winter beatdown since 1993 bringing 6 inches of snow and mostly ice to the unprepared southern state with freezing temperatures keeping the roads treacherous and icy.  But that didn’t keep Jesse Johnson and his three piece band from bringing a show to Roswell, GA and those few dozen in attendance would soon be witnessing a show they may not soon forget.

The night was threaded together by DJ Nez (Jesse Johnson‘s official DJ) who introduced opening acts Chaundra Nicole and Georgia Clay (aka Chip Maniac aka Theopolis Glass). Chaundra is a new vocalist to the scene who wowed the crowd with amazing range covering everyone from Jill Scott to a jaw dropping rendition of Somewhere Over The Rainbow.

Not to be outdone, Georgia Clay, who most Atlanta natives have seen share the stage with George Clinton and the P-Funk Allstars as well as various other musical ventures, turned everyone’s heads with versions of Journey’s Faithfully, Terrence Trent D’Arby’s Sign Your Name, Pearl Jam’s Black, Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy, and an original tune called Broken Picture.

By the time Jesse Johnson hit the stage, most expected to see keyboards, synthesizers, horns, back up singers and the works that you would typically hear on a Jesse Johnson album.  But Jesse only brought 3 friends along due to the bad weather; Jeremy Suttles on Drums and Del Atkins on bass.  The third was a background vocalist who stayed off to the side to help fill out the sound.  The result was a raucous mix pulling from every album from Jesse Johnson’s Revue through his new album Verbal Penetration.

The setlist was discarded in lieu of what Jesse referred to as a private party. “We figure that if you guys could brave this weather, we’ll just do a private party. Is that okay with everyone?”, Jesse asked.  Everyone approved and the requests began.  “You just call out the songs and we’ll play it, if we know it.”

And on went the show for over 2 hours pulling slimmed down versions of Be Your Man, Free World, My Life, Verbal Penetration, Can You Help Me, I Want My Girl and many other rarities that wouldn’t have normally seen the light of day.  Jesse’s love for all things Jimi Hendrix came through in his fashion and hairstyle as he offered up versions of Little Wing, Crosstown Traffic and others.

There was very little cohesiveness to the evening that started out with some semblance of order but quickly became a musical journey into what felt like sitting in on a rehearsal.  It was an endless stream of songs, intermittent riffs, pieces of the past, segues and stories.  All in all, it didn’t matter since the night was filled with amazing music from front to back even though the evening didn’t seem to have any clear ending.

After playing for nearly 2 hours, Jesse sat on the front of the stage while people gathered around him asking him questions about songwriting, memories and bouts of sing-alongs.  Del stayed behind the bass and Jeremy brought the snare and stool up to the front to sit behind Jesse.  By this time, the crowd had widdled down to around 20 or so, but Jesse and the band kept on.  Jesse would play notable riffs from old Time songs like 777-9311 and Jungle Love, and the crowd would sing the songs while he played the part of their band. Meanwhile, he swapped stories of meeting Prince for the first time, talked about being roommates, cars they drove, songs they wrote, and many other 80′s memories that kept everyone hanging on every word to re-live the history that everyone there had come to see. An honest piece of Minneapolis history.

It was one of the most fantastic and rewarding concerts that I personally have ever been to.  For fans of The Time, you got your fill of the writer of most of those infamous riffs completely at your disposal.  Everyone received one on one attention from Jesse as he entertained questions about the past, the upcoming new album from The Time (which will be discussed later in an  Funkatopia interview with Jesse Johnson and his business manager, Mark Wallace), and whatever came to mind.

Most fans gushed about their past favorite experiences with Jesse’s music and Jesse listened intently while he played along with his guitar.  Not one autograph or photograph was denied. It was a true Minneapolis paradise for Georgia fans.

The next stop is Philadelphia on January 16th and anyone in the Philly area would be truly saddened to know they had missed the show. The Roswell, Georgia concert went mostly under the radar and was not a typical concert event. It was truly a private party and easily the show of the year even though the year has just begun.

Without a doubt, if we could give higher than 5 out of 5 afros, you would certainly see it here. Do NOT miss a Jesse Johnson show at any cost.

Jesse Johnson Set List (Actual)
(as played in Roswell, GA at Londzell’s on January 13, 2010)

Slow Burnin
Be Your Man
Blues For The Snow
JesseSpeak – Private Party
Free World
Bare My Naked Soul
JesseSpeak -Give Your Requests
Cry Like The Sky
I Want My Girl
Verbal Penetration
JesseSpeak -6 Hours Airport to Hotel Story – Recession Tour
Get Next to U
Don’t Throw Your Love Away
Jimi Hendrix Riffs
Instrumental
My Life
Lovestruck

Can U Help Me?
Love Letters
U & I R We R Us
Black in America
Ali vs. Frazier
Instrumental
Little Wing
Stone Free
Hendrix medley
- Jesse sits on stage-
777-9311
Jungle Love
Crazay
Burn U Up
Various riffs and crowd Q & A

Setlist that didn’t happen…