All Things to All Men (song)

"All Things To All Men"
Single by The Cinematic Orchestra featuring Roots Manuva
from the album Every Day
Format	CD single, 2 x Vinyl
Genre	Downtempo, Alternative hip hop, ambient
Label	Ninja Tune[1]
Writer(s)	John Barry, Phil France, Carolyn Leigh, Roots Manuva
Producer(s)	The Cinematic Orchestra

All Things To All Men is a song featured on the album Every Day by British nu-jazz group The Cinematic Orchestra. The song features vocals by London-born rap artist Roots Manuva and an instrumental composition from Welsh musician Rhodri Davies. It was released under the British-based independent record label Ninja Tune.

Track Description

The track begins with a sampling from legendary composer John Barry's soundtrack from the 1968 motion picture Petulia. After different instrumental variations and the addition of a bass rhythm, the track introduces rapper Roots Manuva with a 4 minute long segment over the original sampling. The track then tones down in intensity to a piano riff, and eventually finishing with a Harp solo by Welsh musician Rhodri Davies.

At just over 11 minutes long at extended length, it is the longest track on the album "Every Day".

Track Credits

British rapper Roots Manuva provides vocals for the track.

• Co-producer/electric bass — Phil France
• Harp — Rhodri Davies
• Piano (acoustic) — John Ellis
• Recorded by — Jamie Finch
• Soprano Saxophone — Tom Chant
• Vocals — Rodney Smith (Roots Manuva)
• Written — Carolyn Leigh, John Barry, Roots Manuva^[2]

Reception

John Bush of the online music guide service AllMusic describes the track as a "magisterial , spoken-word quasi-autobiography."^[3]

Paul Cooper of Pitchfork Media said the song is "contemplative, doubting, restless. For the performance of his career, Roots Manuva drops his Stockwell rudie schtick for a philosophical self-examination that never descends into navel-gazing or therapy-babble."^[4]

In a review for the entire album for BBC Music, Peter Marsh describes the track as "a cooly minimalist atmospheric funk workout complete with typically off beat rhymes from Roots Manuva and a lovely, kora-like Rhodri Davies harp solo."^[5]

Popular Culture

• The track features a reference by Roots Manuva to a TARDIS, a fictional spacecraft used in the popular science fiction television series Doctor Who.
• Roots Manuva's section features the lyrics: "from the wacky blacky man, they should have called me Michael", which may be a reference to the late American singer and dancer Michael Jackson.
• The song has been used in various different programmes and films, including the closing soundtrack to the 2006 drama film Kidulthood, the television series Hustle, soap opera Hollyoaks and the documentary series Wonders of the Solar System.

References