The Supreme Genius of King Khan & The Shrines – Best Of : Album Reviews

The Supreme Genius Of King Khan & The Shrines is exactly that – supreme genius.

To begin to understand them, it’s best to put all previous thoughts about soul music aside, because this is a brand of fire-infused soul that has to be heard to be believed. The Supreme Genius of King Khan & The Shrines is essentially packaged as a best of record, and as it holds to it’s claim – this is one fine record that rarely falters over it’s 16 soul gems.

It can become easy to disregard a soul band in these rock and pop dominated times, yet King Khan & The Shrines often tread a fine line between rock and soul, so it becomes quite difficult to determine where they actually sit on the continuum.

Took My Lady To Dinner explores the tale of the King Khan’s deep affection for his girlfriend who orders “15 pounds of ribs” when he took her out to dinner. Although this sounds extremely insensitive, there’s no denying the overwhelmingly honest sentiment (and bravery) of the songs choral refrains  “She’s fat…She’s ugly, but I love her!”

Torture comes in with a cataclysmic bang, paving the way for the rest to follow. Land Of The Freak, which received some attention from Triple J in 2009, shows the rock versatility in King Khan’s supremely powerful voice. They push the rock ‘n’ roll envelope with No Regrets, coming off more Hives than James Brown, yet scale it back to an introspective slow-burner with Crackin Up, demonstrating the overall versatility of this unique act. Destroyer is the best definition of ‘hip’ your ever likely to come across in a song, whist Que Lindo Sueno has so much soulfully seductive poise, it sounds as though it could have been written by Burt Bacharach.

The production level of this collection is also something to behold in itself, especially given that my history of listening to contemporary soul music leaves me with a chilling reminder of a high-school music class. King Khan & The Shrines have managed to capture the essence of the traditional soul music with it’s unpolished sheen and general lo-fi tomfoolery. The guitars, bass, rhythm, brass and vocals all manage to meld together with the absolute clarity.

One of the best aspects of these guys is that apart from having a phenomenal stage show (which by all accounts, has to be seen to be believed) they transfer so well to the recorded format, the disparity that exists between the two is not nearly as sizable as it is with their peers.

It would be naïve of me to assume that everyone would warm to the sounds of King Khan & The Shrines with the same amount of gusto, yet it’s undeniable that there sound is quite accessible to a whole range of music lovers, whether their tastes lie within rock, pop or the deep reaches of soul.
Such is there appeal that people of all stylistic backgrounds can enjoy their music with some varying degree of intensity. Overall, The Supreme Genius Of King Khan & The Shrines is a big bag of fun. I highly recommend it to anyone.