'MISTICO' CD REVIEW
By Jim Macnie

Back in the fall of 2001, Charlie Hunter dropped at track called "Rhythm Music Rides Again." Years later it seems more than just another song title; call it a perpetual statement of purpose. Through his years on the Blue Note and Ropeadope labels, the terrific guitarist with the undeterred interes in both rockadelic high jinks and braniac abstraction has found one thing he can't do without. Whether playing arranged duets with Leon Parker ("Calypso For Grandpa") or inventing instantaneous ditties with Bobby Previte ("Up There"), he prioritizes the groove.

The music on Mistico always works the beat. "Wizard Sleeve" takes a vamp, chops it into sections and redelivers it as fractured funk. "Drop a Dime" finds drummer Simon Lott getting his Al Jackson Jr. on. The stop-start design of "Spoken Word" may mess with the group's rhythmic chug-a-lug, but even its cartoon antics keep a forward motion in the air. (If you want to hear a real cartoon theme, check "Special Shirt" - Hunter hasn't lost his Whimsy.) Like Marc Ribot's spin on Arsenio Rodriguez's Cuban gems, all the high flying guitar maneuvers by the boss yeild to the swing that perpetually waves its freak fla in the fore-ground.

Rhythmic thrust serves as just one of Mistico's attractions. This time around Hunter can take credit for concocting an array of nifty melodies, too. The program has a jukebox vibe; as tunes spill from the speakers, not only the fat bottom turns your head: It's the themes themselves. Like the Meteirs cutting Disraeli Gears, the heads of these pieces have pop written all over them; I found myself doing a lot of whistling after just a few spins. From "Chimp Gut" to "Speakers Built In," several tracks are prime candidates for mix tapes or surf movie soundtracks.

At this late date, Hunter's textural choices help generate their own sense of dynamics. Some trios can get a bit claustrophobic, but the guitarist perpetually concocts new characteristics to keep this music distinct. Ditto for keyboardist Erik Deutsch, whose wonderfully ratty-sounding Rhodes gives the tunes a nice-'n'-cheesy effect. Though the album has a couple wan moments peformance-wise, the disc reaches for clarity and attains it. Hunter's done some editing, and the pith of his approach creates many perks.

HOT BOX CRITICS COMMENTS

Hats off to Hunter for making a simple, straightahead, down-and-dirty record. I adore the grittier sound (haven't always like Hunter's set-up), and the guitarists' cohorts help make the instrumental rockscapes powerfully evocative and just plain powerful. -John Corbett

So you stumbled on this stripped-down-and-dirty blues-rock trio in a backwoods jook joint dream; rootsy, raunchy guitar licks slathered in distortion, downtemp drum-'n'-bass grooves, mysterioso suspensions and dweezling keyboards. Sometimes it seems a bit self-consciously primitive, but when Hunters groove thing's on, look out. -Paul de Barros

Hunter's twangy trio rocks through the better part of 10 originals with a plodding rhythmic tedium. But the simple themes and riffs, though often a bit lumbering, care catchy, buildable and hammer their way into memory. -John McDonough

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