Advantages: DMX's RUFF RYDERS ANTHEM / superb lyrics, amazing DARK production, gritty flow - BITES! Disadvantages: DMX's lyrics can be X-plicit and frightening for young children - SO WATCH OUT, GRRR!
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THE RUFF RYDERS ALBUMS: IT'S DARK AND HELL IS HOT
The DMX Album Collection - Part I
Author: DJprimo
Published by DJprimo for DIJEH inc. / Works of Art
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INTRODUCTION
Emerging in the late 1990s, was DMX ( real name: Earl Simmons ), a hardcore rapper who presented a style, quite unique to the modern era of hardcore Hip Hop. His style combines anger, emotions, DOG sounds (e.g. GRRR, BARKS etc.), creativity, innovative lyrics and grittiness to bring out an artist with a DARK, fearsome image. For this reason, some Hip Hop fans have sometimes dubbed DMX as the Dark Man X.
My interests in DMX date back to 2000, when I first watched ...
Advantages: Flamboyant return to form for Lowestoft camp rockers Disadvantages: Not quite as many sure-fire hits as Permission To Land
For a band like the Darkness, a difficult second album seemed inevitable. Their perceived determination to fulfil every stereotype available in rock has, between 3.5 million selling debut 'Permission To Land' and the latest offering, seen the Kirkley High School graduates depart unpleasantly with non-Lowestoftian bassist Frankie Poullain (replaced by Ritchie Edwards - no, they haven't found him, it's a barren-scalped bassist of the same name), split temporarily, watch as lead singer Justin Hawkins releases a moderately successful solo single then seen the flamboyant singer enter rehab. It almost made sense to release a non-starter and come back with a classic.
But something went wrong in production and, overseen by former Queen (who else) producer Roy Thomas Baker, they've produced a good album. If the last wasn't overblown, this ...
Advantages: Some fun old style rock tracks Disadvantages: Moments of naffness
, if you listen closely, which makes me think of "Friday Night" from "Permission to Land" sometimes, but largely this is a full on, up tempo rock number and only the Darkness would be cheeky enough to include the French word for garden several times in a song called "English Country Garden" and make it work.
The album ends with another ballad in "Blind Man". It's another quite overblown number, with the orchestra again in attendance, and never really gets going as the rock song that you expect from the band. However, there are moments where the backing vocals sound like those on Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" and the overall feel is of "A Night at the Opera" style Queen. The generally laid back nature of the song does mean that the album ends disappointingly, on a whimper rather than a trademark falsetto squeal.
"One Way Ticket to Hell ...
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