Joint Special Operations Task Force

by The X-ecutioners, General Patton

Overview

The methodology went like this: former Faith No More/Mr. Bungle/Tomahawk frontman Mike Patton sends hip-hopping turntable masters the X-Ecutioners a bunch of oddball records, then the X-Ecutioners create "sound blocks" out of the albums and send them back to Patton for final tweaking and song-building. Two years in the making, the collaboration feels more like a Patton project than an equal-footing outing, but that doesn't narrow the sound down much, does it? On one hand, there's Patton's penchant for the aggressively avant-garde. On the other, there's his not-as-wild-as-you'd-think appearance on Handsome Boy Modeling School's White People. Ridiculously long and cryptic song titles might point to a crazed, "out there" experience, but General Patton vs. the X-Ecutioners is surprisingly crisp and funky over half of the time, and it's a good guess the X-Ecutioners were the ones to bring the noise. Crazed turntable workouts that recall the crew's greatest underground DJ battle tapes appear throughout the album. They sound untouched for the most part, leading the listener to believe it was Patton's choice to make the overall experience smoother. It takes eight tracks to get to anything approaching John Zorn territory, but this hip-hop noir that Patton's pushing is surprisingly fun and filling. Dirty Harry quotes, kung fu sound effects, and that "this is a journey into sound" sample are some of the cliches that appear and make this album more Gorillaz than Boredoms. While the Gorillaz can brush against smugness and cleverness, Patton's passion for this project comes through loud and approachable. Free jazz, glitch, and whooshes of studio trickery are drama-building devices, each leading to the next hook or the next solid beat. There's an antiwar motif that pays off in the end along with a couple drop-dead hilarious moments, one involving some furious scratching and a porno movie. Not the most essential release from either of the parties involved, but these "sending tapes back and forth through the mail"-type projects rarely result in albums that are much more than "interesting." General Patton vs. the X-Ecutioners has enough passion and inspiration behind it to make it an easy recommendation. ~ David Jeffries

Product Details

Release Date:	02/08/2005
Label:	Ipecac
UPC:	0689230006022
Rank:	185661

Tracks

1. X-Men Doctrine and Declaration: Target=40:40:11N 73:56:38W
2. General P. Counterintelligence: Target=37:47:38N 122:33:17W
3. ¿¿Get Up, Punk! 0200 Hrs. (Joint Special Operations Task Force)
4. Roc Raida: Riot Control Agent/Combat Stress Control
5. Improvised Explosive Device 0300 Hrs.
6. ¿¿Vaqueros y Indios! (Joint Special Operations Task Force)
7. Precision Guided Needle-Dropping and Larynx Munitions (PGNDLM)
8. Duelling Banjo Marching Drill
9. Battle Hymn of the Technics Republic
10. ¿¿Fire in the Hole! 0400 Hrs. (Joint Special Operations Task Force)
11. Convulsive Antidote for Nerve Agent Autoinjector (CANAA)
12. Modified Combined Obstacle Overlay (MCOO) ...or... "How I Learned ..."
13. Surprise Swing Insurgency/Tabla and Tongue Twist Counterattack/"Dragon
14. ¿¿Kamizake! 0500 Hrs. ("Take a Piece of Me")
15. We'll Paint This Town -- Throat and Phonograph Fire Support ...
16. Imitative Electromagnetic Deception (IED)/Digital Nonsecure Voice ...
17. A.W.O.L. Block Party Brawl 0600 Hrs.
18. Eastside Multichannel Tactical Scratch Communications (EMTSC)
19. Pimps Up, Aces High! 0700 Hrs. (Westside Swashbuckling Parade)
20. Warcry/Infrared R'n'B Hallucination/Jungle Operations Exfiltration ...
21. L.O.L. - ¿¿Loser on Line! (Hate the Player, Hate the Game)
22. Low Altitude Vocal Parachute Extraction System (LAVPES)
23. Battle Damage Assessment and Repair/White Flag Surrender/"Wake Me ..."

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The X-ecutioners   Primary Artist
General Patton   Primary Artist
Roc Raida   Scratching,Turntables
Total Eclipse   Turntables,Scratching
Rob Swift   Scratching,Turntables
Mike Patton   Vocals,Guitar (Bass),Keyboards,Percussion,Guitar,Bass

Technical Credits

Martin Kvamme   Artwork
Mike Patton   Programming,Lyricist,Arranger,Editing,Artwork,Mixing,Producer
Gene Grimaldi   Mastering
Rob Swift   Group Member
Total Eclipse   Group Member
Roc Raida   Group Member