Song review-City Boy Blues by Action Bronson Chauncy Sherod produced by 88-Keys and Party Supplies

by Dan-O

Modern movies aren’t sleek anymore. You can’t get out of a romantic comedy nowadays under three hours running time and the director will try and make you feel better in interviews by specifying that the REAL cut was four hours; they had to trim it down.  A lot of albums are very similar; three or four bonus tracks, lots of bad songs you have no idea why they exist, albums running way over an hour.

I had my concerns about what Action Bronson’s proper album debut would sound like. My hope above all else was that it would be weird; the stranger the sample, sloppier the guitar riff, the more comfortable Bronson is. It turns out Mr. Wonderful is weird and then some. He tones down the off putting hooker talk and keeps the whole album around 45 minutes with no fat on it. Yes he spins high energy pop fun with a Billy Joel piano sample on Brand New Car but the risks he takes are what I like the most.

City Boy Blues is something I never envisioned hearing from Action. I love 88 Keys and Party Supplies production so their powers combined create something truly funky/sloppy. Bronson really goes full blues singer on this track and it sounds like the lost lead gem of a single for some obscure 70’s funk troupe from Buffalo. Mr. Wonderful is an affirmation that weird is not outside his wheelhouse it is his wheelhouse. If you still want a reason to buy it let me give you the production listing; Statik Selektah, Party Supplies(4), Mark Ronson(2), Oh No, The Alchemist(3), and Noah “40” Shebib.  This is the kind of album that is much better than its reviews because while it may not represent the voice of a generation…it’s impossible to get away from this jubilant a listening experience, and you can’t help but feel how sleek is.