YOGI: Any Raw Flesh?

Yogi

Any Raw Flesh?

© 2001 Wonky Records (660355560828)

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Quirky guitar-based rock with a sense of humor, with harmony vocals nearly shiny enough to see your face in. Guitar Player (July 2001) says that 'Any Raw Flesh?' contains 'a truckload of inventive music.'

tracks

1 I Have A Very Bad Feeling About This
2 My Love For Lois Is Real
3 There Is No More Evil In This World
4 Strange Ways
5 Firefly
6 Throw Me A Bone
7 Truth
8 Do Not: Disturbed!
9 You Fell
10 What Have We Here?

notes

Seattle transplant Shawn 'Yogi' Farley has been recording and playing live for over 15 years. Yogi is an accomplished guitarist, vocalist and composer whose talents shine on his new album, 'Any Raw Flesh?'. This release marks his first solo effort of original compositions and is bound to be hailed as one of the finest releases this year. It features the talents of Chris G on drums, and both Bryan Beller and Tobe Ramsey on bass. Mr. Beller is nationally recognized for his work with Steve Vai, Mike Keneally, and Dweezil Zappa. The album was also produced by Yogi, and co-produced by Darin DiPietro at DiPietro Sound in Federal Way, Washington.

Yogi's new CD, 'Any Raw Flesh?' is a perfect example of what melodic, guitar-based music should sound like - with enough quirky twists and vocal harmonies to make it more intriguing than the standard rock fare. Check out the audio clip for the first single, 'My Love For Lois Is Real', or go to www.wonky.net to learn more. Thanks for supporting independent music!

reviews

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  • author: Perry

    What a breath of fresh air this cd is ! Part 'King's X', part 'Keneally' and part 'Galactic Cowboys', but don't get me wrong, this guy has his own thing goin' on here. I'm buying his latest cd right away ! Solid production, strong playing and great sounding cd. You'll be hearing more about Shawn Farley in the future, believe me.

  • How did I miss this?!?!
    author: Terrence

    I had heard some good things about Yogi, mostly from people hanging out at the King's X website, and I finally ordered this album. All I can say is HOLY SMOKE THIS IS A GREAT CD!!! There are some comparisons that can be made to King's X, Queensryche, Faith No More, etc., but it is all Yogi with his own unique, eclectic style. A very impressive first outing. I've since picked up his second release entitled "Salve" and I have heard that he will be looking to releases something next year under the band name "Half Zaftig". I can't wait. Nice one, Shawn!

  • The best music you've never heard of
    author: Ian Perge

    Despite the cries of musicians everywhere shouting "but my music is completely original!", influences are indeed a good thing if used to help shape one's sound and not create a carbon copy. Such is the case with Yogi's release, Any Raw Flesh? You can hear the influence of artists such as King's X and Mike Keneally in the songwriting and Steve Vai particularly in some guitar tracks, but this album sounds like anything but a hodgepodge of the above - in fact, Yogi even has the class to thank them in the liner notes. Instead, all the best of the above plus Yogi's highly unique writing and guitar playing plus the first-class backing of professional-level sidemen like Bryan Beller (whose tone is to die for here - the best he'd even recorded on tape until his own solo album) on bass and Chris G on drums makes this an absolutely killer rock album. Add in the crystal-clear engineering by Darin DiPietro and it's a killer rock album that sounds amazing, something most modern releases lack in their need for "Too Hot For Proper Levels!" clipping and digital distortion. It's also a "progressive" album in the true sense of the word - moving forward with different styles and sounds as opposed to "how many 32nd triplet runs and sections in 19/16 can I fit into a 25 minutes concept opus?"... and this, my friends, is a very good thing. Replicating even the most difficult of techniques is easy given enough time. Creating your own recognizable sound and style is much harder, but ultimately much more rewarding as a musician. Yogi has done so remarkably well, and it's to our benefit that he has. Sure, he may gain a few dollars from a sale but we gain the beauty of his music, and there's nothing more satisfying than that in my book.

  • Leaves you so satisfied you tingle!
    author: Hart!

    This is one of those desert island cds. I will have this close at hand everywhere I go. The production is stunning. The drum sound kicks you in the ass. Being a guitarist myself, I feel so satisfied by the guitar tones on the whole CD that I actually tingle in my feet when I hear them. Composition-wise, a couple of songs are ever so slightly weak, but all in all they are great tunes. Firefly has a hint of Foo Fighters meets Alice in Chains in Frank Zappa's living room to jam. Lots of different influences peek out at you in various songs. Beller's bass sound is perfect and his playing is even beter. It's cool to hear him on stuff other than Keneally, on which he also smokes completely. This is a must-have CD. Good job guys. Can't wait for the next one.

  • ANY RAW FLESH? a great CD
    author: Vinny V

    This is a great CD. Yogi is also a great singer. I read reviews about his guitar playing being good but you can't overlook the great vocals. Very reminisent of KINGS X and Mike Keneally. He does not hide his influences. I think he even thanks them in the liner notes. Very punchy. I like the STAR WARS ending.

  • It's CDs like "Any Raw Flesh?" that get me really mad at commercial radio.
    author: Christopher J. Kelter

    Although improvements in recording technology over the last few years is making it easier and easier for artists to pursue their musical vision without relying on music conglomerates, it's still hard to find independent releases with good production, good artwork, and good songwriting from top-to-bottom. And I mean that in a spare-no-expense, major label kind of way. Yogi's "Any Raw Flesh?" isn't merely good - it's damn near phenomenal. While I doubt Yogi's "Any Raw Flesh?" actually had anything close to a big budget, it does give you the sense that Yogi knows what he's doing with the instruments, the recording technology, and making something comprehensive from all the 0s and 1s that create our digital world of music. "Any Raw Flesh?" has that hard-to-define characteristic of a CD spearheaded by a singular vision, yet still gleefully slices and dices its way to being an exceptional disc. "Any Raw Flesh?" has the tone of King's X, the humor and honesty of Frank Zappa, and the pop sensibilities of Nuno Bettencourt in an engaging mix of song-craft that doesn't forget that songs are just as important as the sound of the music. It's CDs like "Any Raw Flesh?" that get me really mad at commercial radio. If commercial radio had any guts an artist like Yogi would get airplay constantly as it would appeal to many listeners. However, gentle reader, you and I know that the money-driven radio stations won't give an artist like Yogi a fair shake. As a consequence, I rarely listen to commercial radio - it's CDs like "Any Raw Flesh?" that remind me why I need not listen to commercial radio to hear really great music. History has shown that a CD's artwork can either help or hinder a band. Yogi has juxtaposed images in a surreal fashion giving your vision a humorous and frightening sight to go along with the musical ear candy. "Any Raw Flesh?" is highly recommended for connoisseurs of melodic music that cuts through convention without losing the listener. "Any Raw Flesh?" is a good combination of music, art, and thematic expression.

  • Hard to fathom that this is Yogi's first release.
    author: Ben Ohmart

    Here's one for this reviewer's private collection. When rock this exciting and slick comes along, you can't help but be arrested, cuffed and sentenced to 10 years listening. Yogi is the bright brain child of Shawn Farley, who alone wrote nearly all of the 45 minutes you're hearing. Now, it's hard to say who Shawn is, since the musician credits list Chris G on drums, Bryan Beller on bass, and Yogi on all vocals, all guitars, all programming. Yogi = Shawn? Regardless, the music is catchier than Beatles - because that is what prog does. Each track is a mini-opera filled with intricate construction, vocals, irregular rhythm patterns that cause the brain to react. Whether you agree this is prog or not, you can't get away from the fact that this is something supremely artistic and challenging. They've been compared to King's X a lot, but don't forget The Flower Kings and a little grind of Spock's Beard. Pop comes into the picture in equal measure to any prog rock you care to name for this album. 'Strange Ways' has loud and Extreme guitar work that keeps starting and stopping, almost faking you out but not quite. 'What is that disease I see inside of you / Makes you scream and holler like you do / Everywhere I see desire / A shopping list of fear picked out for you.' With Yes-like bass, the cd opens up with the mostly instrumental Star Wars line 'I Have a Very Bad Feeling About This.' Sets the tone beautifully for an epic quality of production and fine-tuned finesse. Follow that with some guitar-driven 'My Love For Lois Is Real,' and you'll find it very hard to stop the disc once it's started (maybe others in the bus will complain about the loudness seeping through the headphones, but ignore them). 'Oh - you frighten me / Compromise isn't a word that will enter your mind / Oh - enlighten me / Freedom of goes hand in hand with the freedom without.' Hard to fathom that this is Yogi's first release. However, with subsequent releases, they can just write their own glowing reviews and sign my name to them. Fine with me! (Along as I still get a cd...)

  • Any Good Guitar? Yeah!
    author: Guitar Player Magazine

    In the liner notes to his latest album, Shawn "Yogi" Farley thanks Mike Keneally, King's X, and Steve Vai, among others. That should give you a good idea of what Any Raw Flesh? is all about. Farley mixes those influences into an appealing stew of quirky, clever tunes that manage to be rock, pop, prog and shred - all at the same time. Farley spins intricate, interlocking parts in "Throw Me A Bone," with a great, slightly dirty tone, then follows with a cool, melodic neck-pickup solo. He fills every nook and cranny of "My Love for Lois Is Real" with single-note lines, power-chord stabs, and clangy open-string fills, but knows exactly how to orchestrate his numerous parts so that the tune never sounds overly busy. The solo section is very Vai - complete with the requisite bass/drums breakdown and a ton of vocal-inflected wah work. The chorus of "Firefly" almost sounds like a Living Colour outtake, from a guitar and vocal standpoint. Throughout Any Raw Flesh? Farley shows a knack for playing a truckload of inventive music without being intrusive. Any good guitar? Yeah.

  • Definitely in my top 10 of 2001
    author: Subtlerage

    This is definitely one of the best CDs I've picked up this year. I'm mightily impressed with Yogi; the songwriting is awesome (*LOVE* the lyrics!), the arrangements are tight, the guitar is smoking (the dude can *WAIL*), and the bass and drums just *groove*. If you're into really well put together music with intricate arrangements, great vocal harmonies, and has *A LOT* more to it than just a few power chords and some angst ridden lyrics, check out this disc -- you won't regret it.

  • Yogi fuggin' rawks!
    author: Ron Spiegelhalter

    I've been listening to Yogi's new CD "Any Raw Flesh?" pretty constantly for the past few days and I just don't think I can tell you how good it is, apart from telling you that I just can't tell you how good it is, which I think sums it up nicely. Major balls, let me tell you. Big swingin' ones. The tunes are kick-ass, the playing is top-notch, the vocals are killer, the production is wonderful. What else? The stickers are cool! The packaging is beautiful! Did I mention that the album is fuggin' phenomenal? Well it is, so buy it! If there was anything about the album that I could refer to as a marginally negative critique (oh here we go), it was that the first four or five times I played it I found myself thinking, "Jeez, this sure does sound A LOT like King's X." But funnily enough, the more I listen to it, the less that reaction strikes me. So that little tiny thing, which could just as easily be taken as a compliment, is the only remotely nitpicky thing I have to say about it. I'm officially blown away. And if you are thinking of passing because you don't like King's X, just forget I said anything about that. It's not THAT "inspired by." Just inspired.

  • Artist of the Week/Shawn "Yogi" Farley
    author: Musictoyz.com (march 2001)

    What can we say, where can we start! We just can't say enough about Yogi! If you dont like this stuff you just dont like guitars and grooves! Riff after riff - solo after solo and great lyrics. Sh*t this guy just rocks; we listened to "My Love For Lois Is Real" 20 times the day he uploaded it! It just rocks! Hints of Kings X in the harmonies, Vai wah solos, and great pop lyrics!

  • King's X + Mike Keneally + Nine Inch Nails = Any Raw Flesh
    author: Andre Lafosse

    A fabulous debut CD. Think King's X-style modern rock, coupled with a Keneally-esque sense of humor and tunefulness, sprinkled with some post-Reznor electronic flourishes, along with occasional detours into Zappa and Beatles territory. Highly inventive and accessible at the same time. The sound, production, and packaging are all major-label quality... and the music itself puts most major releases to shame.

  • The kind of cd that reminds you why you love music!
    author: Kevin

    Every now and then you stumble upon a cd that reminds you exactly why you love music. It's the kind of cd that isn't what everyone else is listening to, but they should be. The music is original, melodic, thought provoking, fun, well played, and leaves you feeling good and wanting more. Those cd's don't come along very often, but when they do they stay with you forever and make your world just a little bit better. This is one of those cd's. If you like melodic guitar, amazing vocals and simply great songs, buy this cd.

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