Betweenzone - Last Ninja (Analog Synthmix)

Some drum lines funk, some don't. This does. Forget about the grandeur of sweeping landscapes, this is Ninja funk. A slightly out-of-time lead filters its way through the tune playing the intro. At 1:17 the tune finally gets started, but the lead doesn't quite work: it's just a little too raw, though you can hear what it's trying to do. Unfortunately when the tune starts, the driving force of the intro drums is lost. Partly that's because the bass and drums don't mesh properly and interact a funky fashion. Ben's guitar solo in the original piece was always a bit out-of-place stylistically, but here, though skilfully played by a human, has way too much modulation, and so sounds ill. Somehow if that bass and those drums could work together, this would have been funky mutha. But instead it leaves me strangely disappointed, especially considering their previous Ninja cover (Wilderness). A superior rework of a samey tune let down by the drums.