Search - Rick Wade :: Good the Bad & The Deep

This is the first full-length release for Yore Records by Detroit house legend Rick Wade. The Good, the Bad and the Deep finds Wade continuing his very own deep strain of late-night house music he has been drawing upon since 1991, while still keeping his feet in the future. In fact, when the artist, DJ, and label head (Harmonie Park and Bass Force) sprinkles a little Chain Reaction dust over the funky handclapping swing of "Prime Expansion," Wade acknowledges a relatively recent style before shifting the spotlight back to his preferred territory. Wade naturally references techno and house but also pulls classic disco, smooth jazz, funk, and Philly soul into its expansive orbit. One hears traces of Barry White in the soulful strings that sometimes course through Wade's steaming tracks, Gamble and Huff in the sparkling arrangements, and The Crusaders' Joe Sample in the Rhodes flourishes that caress the grooves. Following an intro of soft chords, triangle, and congas, "Focus" achieves lift-off when the beats kick in, after which Wade sweetens the deal with twilight synth colors and silken strings. A smooth jazz spirit infuses "Xavi" with a feathery sax motif and a springy bass line buoying a sleek disco-funk pulse. "Hustler's Den" bridges three decades in a single gesture -- the cut's pounding stomp is overlaid by a see-sawing Rhodes motif and a '70s-styled bass slap, which are then joined by horn accents and a soaring string line. Wade's tracks are rich with detail but their essence is first and foremost groove. The Good, the Bad, and the Deep also features vocals on the last track by Marissa G. (Marissa Guzman). This eight-track set impresses as a polished portrait of the artist and should not be missed.