Apple Gabriel - another Moses torrent

Track Listing
1. Telepathic Wave
2. Another Moses
3. Be As One
4. Back Out Hyena
5. Power Struggle
6. Poor Man Street
7. Keep on Dancing
8. Heat Wave
9. Venus
10. I\'m Still Waiting

Another Moses (RAS, 1999)

RAS prints on the cover of Apple Gabriel\'s solo debut the heading \"Original Member of Israel Vibration,\" in case you were confused (like me) by the name Apple Gabriel being attached to someone looking remarkably like Albert \"Apple\" Craig. With the new moniker, Craig fancies himself a new Moses leading listeners to the Promised Land. Unfortunately, he makes this trek alone, leaving behind the other two members of Israel Vibration to carry on the group\'s name. With his departure, the quality of Israel Vibration\'s next album Pay the Piper, dropped noticeably, so was it worth it? Is Another Moses so great that Craig -- in my opinion, the most unique and entertaining of the group -- had to separate one of the all-time great roots acts? Did he need this album as an outlet for material he couldn\'t put forth on an Israel Vibration album? To quote Dawn Penn, \"No, No, NO!\" Granted, Another Moses is better than Pay the Piper, but neither is as good as most of the stuff the threesome so consistently put out for many years. I was apprehensive listening to this album, but initially my fears were silenced by the strong opening of Another Moses. The first 4 tracks -- and especially the first two -- are quite good, featuring Craig\'s appealingly froggy voice and typically slow, funky, almost bluesy style, but the drop-off in quality from there on is drastic. Of the remaining cuts, only \"Venus\" comes close to this standard. It seems that Craig is used to writing only 3 or 4 songs per Israel Vibration album, so the rest of the tunes on this album turn out to be filler. On the other hand, if he was to combine the best 4 or 5 songs from Another Moses with the best 4 or 5 from Pay the Piper, we the fans would be blessed with a decent Israel Vibration album, instead of two sub-par efforts.