The hip hop culture has changed a lot since the 36 chambers album. The grooves on the new album 'The W' is still raw, but it doesnt have the same underground feeling of their first effort, but this is inevitable as hip-hop has become very commercialised since 36 chambers, on the east cost too, with puff daddy's 'bad boy' influence. therefore their style has changed with time.
Lead single 'Gravel pit' is the main track that proves how commercial they are prepared to be. But openers like Chamber music & careful (click click)show the harder side of the clan that will always be there in elements. But overall the album is rather mixed (production-wise), unlike their first album which was consistently awesome. But considering their last album 'forever' was a long double cd of mediocre tunes, the W feels like a 'partial' return to a more natural sound.
Here is a review of some of the tracks
Chamber Music : Fades in from the opener, it provides a tense start to the album, with moody string samples and a very 'wu' feel to it.
Careful (click click): a good hardcore second track, with trademark wu bare beats, bizzare sound effects, along with gangsta rhymes concerning guns. Little else really, but another good starter track.
Hollow bones: a more mellow affair, but keeping to the tradition of sampled soul vocals. Not much in the way of beats, this is very chilled out and vocals are more reflective.
RedBull: This features popular east coast rapper Redman. The move on this album to feature guest artists is a rather sell-out move, and the large number of guests is silly, as the clan themselves have 9 very talented MC's of their own. This does not mean that Redman's vocal delivery is bad at all (it retains his normal high standard), but it defeats the wu tang's original philosophy. Beat-wise, it is rather too new school, with synthetic strings, but has an interesting fill loop!
One blood under w: With help of Ragga artist Junior Reid, this is james bond style cheese! The beats aren't too good either. Also the ragga singing is rather out of tune, so for some this is a very irritaing track on the album.
Conditioner: Bizarre, half cooked joint in which ODB and snoop dogg take centre stage. As ODB was being chased by the authorities during album recording, the vocals are phoned in! This is a track of muffled drawl along with snoop doggs slightly smoother gangsta style! Again a bit of a sell out using the trendy snoop, but thats what we get on this album!
Protect ya neck: This is an updated version of the debut single, probably the funkiest and best club tune of the album. But more widescreen sounding than the dirtier sounding debut single from 93. This track has to be the highlight, with its cute guitar sample!
Let my Niggas live: This time the guest artist is Nas, who is one of the best Rhymers on the east coast. Alongside Raekwon, Nas delivers thought provoking rhymes on streetlife to a very dark and dense backing.
I cant go to sleep: collaboration with soul legend Isaac Hayes, his classic tune 'walk on by' gets played, rewound, and then rapped over by a tearful but militant ghostface killah. The Rhymes are of despair in the black community, whilst towards the end Isaac Hayes advises all to 'stop all this crime...be a man'. A good and thoughtful track to be placed on the tail end of the album.
Do you really (thang thang) Brassy and piano sounding track; this has quite a party feel to it, the final uplifting song on the album. This is the only track not to produced by the RZA.
Gravel Pit: Not much to be said here! (Read earlier), this samples enter the dragon and was a 'major chart success'. A double edged sword in my opinion.
Jah World: Very mournful end to the album, accomponied by a slow backing, complete with Junior Reid on vocals.
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The Wflashes out once again across the tenements of Shaolin like a sigil of hip-hop ... more
vigilance. From the get-go, "Chamber Music" signals a return to the grimy depths of the Wu's36 Chambersdebut, riding on an attack formation of clattering hi-hats and th...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
The W flashes out once again across the tenements of Shaolin like a sigil of hip-hop ... more
vigilance. From the get-go, "Chamber Music" signals a return to the grimy depths of the Wu's 36 Chambers debut, riding on an attack formation of clattering hi-hats and...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Intro (Jah World) feat.Junior Reid Chamber Music Careful (Click Click) Hollow Bones ... more
Conditioner feat.Snoop Dogg The Monument Intermission (Jah World) Do You Really (Thang Thang) One Blood Under W feat.Juniour Reid Let My Niggas Live feat.Nas Gravel Pi...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Advantages: Incredible Lyrics, Rza Production usually intact, Nas and Redman Appearances Disadvantages: ODB is still MIA, Busta Rhymes, Too Much Cappadonna, Some Below Average or Horrible Tracks
bigdiship-hop 17.08.2004 (17.08.2004)
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Review of W, The - Wu-Tang Clan
Mar 22nd, 2001
(May 8th, 2001)
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