Behind Enemy Lines - Enemies Swe

Advantages: Great, hardcore, and definitive.
Disadvantages: Couple of weak links.

...The sticker on the front of this CD states 'The definitive collection', so, let's see. First a little background: Public Enemy have been going over 20 years now....I cannot thing of another rap group that have, certainly not as 'hardcore' as PE. They do not compromise, their lyrics are always hard hitting, the backing music is always funky, edgy and often sampled, by them, and in turn their music is sampled. They have influenced many other rappers, and they remain original, they are unapologetic in their songs and embody, for me, the early days of rap, and yet move woith the times. Great website by the way: http://www.publicenemy.com/ It may seem strange a white, middle aged bloke writing about this CD and group, but in 1979 when I first heard Grandmaster Flash, at 17 I was hooked on rap, and Public Enemey have long been one... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Amazing Production, Powerful Lyrics, Great Subject Matter, Social Consciousness, Guests
Disadvantages: Not as Political or Hardcore as other albums, one weaker track

...Public Enemy seemingly vanished out of the spotlight after 1994. Personal problems, legal problems, and the infamous Professor Griff / Anti-Jewish situation was pushing them closer and closer to retirement and away from music. On Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age, they sort of closed the casket. Or so we thought. In 1998, Public Enemy made their amazing return, on a soundtrack? Even though this is a soundtrack to the motion picture He Got Game, in this humble reviewer's opinion, it is also a full Public Enemy album, due to the fact that they are on every single song, and their name is in the title. At last, fans of Public Enemy who had been listening to their classics for so long had some brand new material to sink their teeth into, courtesy of Chuck D, Flava Flav, and Professor Griff. Track List & Rating 1. Resurrection f/ Masta... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Musically excellent AND politicised!!!
Disadvantages: none spring to mind.

...Bringing a battery of special guests onto a project usually says one of two things about the band concerned. Either they are held in such high regard that everyone wants to be involved in what they are doing or else the band are short on confidence in their own abilities and are bringing everybody and their dog on board to bolster things up. Even the most cursory listen to "Enemy Of The Enemy" by Asian Dub Foundation will make you realise that this is an album on which the guests are there for the right reason because the album is every bit as impressive as "Community Music" and the Mercury Music Prize-nominated "Rafi's Revenge". Strange as it may seem, the title track is one of the album's less impressive moments, propelled along by a quickfire rap/toast from Vivek and Bald and staccatto percussion that doesn't have the melodic... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful