Crack Era, The - Fat Joe

Advantages: Innovative lyrics and beats
Disadvantages: Only 12 tracks

...True Story is the new album from Terror Squad. The group consists of Fat Joe, Remy, Prospect, Armageddon and Tony Sunshine. The group has deep roots within New York which is expressed on the album. Track listing - 1 Nothings gonna stop me 2 Yeah Yeah Yeah 3 Hum drum 4 Lean Back 5 Take me home 6 Streets of NY 7 Bring em bck 8 Yes dem to def 9 Pass away 10 Let them things go 11 Thunder in the air 12 Terror era Terror Squad hit the scene with the top tune 'Lean Back' which is currently my favourite joint at the moment. Fat Joe is a massive producer within the USA, and has worked with many artists like Big Pun, Ja Rule and Jadakiss. On my first hearing of the album I was a little disappointed with it. I bought the album on the basis of my liking for 'Lean Back' and the other various work of Fat Joe in the past. I expected... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Catchy tunes
Disadvantages: Sometimes lacking in flow

...I bought this album after hearing 'Hold You Down' by Fat Joe and Jennifer Lopez, and was impressed. As white rappers go, most people can only name one (Eminem), but hopefully with this album, Fat Joe will be able to step up alongside Marshall and become a well known face in pop culture. Generally the album is pretty solid. Vocally, Fat Joe is reasonably fresh, and his slightly aggressive style goes well with the music. Melodically the album isn't incredibly strong (nothing compared to the instrumental masterpieces penned by the likes of Kanye West). The backing vocals can, at times, seem high pitched, very synthetic and generally aggravating. Occasionally, tracks can lose their flow due to poor lyrics or pauses in the vocals. However, in general this is worth a listen. The two 'Temptation' tracks are definitely a highlight. 'Hold You... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: blistering debut
Disadvantages: none

...Whilst punk was really about 7" singles and live performance more than albums, if you're looking for a vital document of the era you won't go far wrong with the Clashes 1st album. This has all the punk sensibilities of wild thrash guitars (particularly on "White Riot"), some dodgy vocals (Joe Strummer sounds as if he's gargling with Listerine on ½ the tracks), and some right on politics. But there is also a wide range of other styles reggae on "police & Theives" and rockabilly on "Protex Blue" which show a greater maturity than their peers and means this hasn't dated at all.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful