20 years ago today, the eldest clansmen released arguably the best Wu solo LP. Celebrate it in this post. This was another trip to Sam Goodys in Underground Atlanta for me. I had it #2 behind OB4CL... but over the years it has become my favorite.
5. "Favorite Wu album..." In response to Reply # 0 Sun Nov-08-15 09:22 AM by Anonymous
The atmosphere that album creates is greatness. OB4CL did a great job of the same thing and it was a concept type of an album but I think that RZA perfected his craft with the world he and GZA brought the listener into on LS.
The guest spots are great as well. Deck kills his two verses. ODB's presence was great here and missing on Cuban Linx. Obviously Shadowboxin' is great but Meth's spot on Living In The World Today is perfect as well. Ghost and RZA pop up on one of the best clan joints in 4th Chamber. And Killah Priest has damn near the best song on the entire album!
Everything is just placed perfectly.
The Intro is one of the most memorable. The opener (title track) is one of the best openers ever. The concepts and album are precise and cohesive.
14. "Completely agree... nm" In response to Reply # 5
>The atmosphere that album creates is greatness. OB4CL did a >great job of the same thing and it was a concept type of an >album but I think that RZA perfected his craft with the world >he and GZA brought the listener into on LS. > >The guest spots are great as well. Deck kills his two >verses. >ODB's presence was great here and missing on Cuban Linx. >Obviously Shadowboxin' is great but Meth's spot on Living In >The World Today is perfect as well. >Ghost and RZA pop up on one of the best clan joints in 4th >Chamber. >And Killah Priest has damn near the best song on the entire >album! > >Everything is just placed perfectly. > >The Intro is one of the most memorable. >The opener (title track) is one of the best openers ever. >The concepts and album are precise and cohesive. > >Top 5 favorite Hip-Hop album of all-time to me. >
------------------- I wanna go to where the martyrs went the brown figures on the walls of my apart-a-ment...
10. "?" In response to Reply # 9 Mon Nov-09-15 12:15 PM by Anonymous
>Shadowboxing is incredible. I don't think Meth ever came that >hard again.
Shadowboxin' is a classic but that's a pretty odd statement. Meth has currently been killing all his guest spots especially on OB4CL2. Not to mention Blackout! is a great album.
11. "'Living In The World Today', 'Duel of The Iron Mic'.... man" In response to Reply # 0
I was sold IMMEDIATELY by "Cold World" and then "Shadowboxing"
I also love the way that in those "first wave" Wu albums, how there were common themes, even common music. the beat to the title track was heard outside of that album, or as part of other albums before it found life on GZA's LP.
12. "a great, great album" In response to Reply # 0
that i don't quite feel as much as others, mainly because GZA, while technically amazing, is just a little too Rakim monotone smooth for me on this album. He can clearly get rough and rugged as evidenced elsewhere, and i wish more of that would have come through here.
but that's just my personal tastes. technically, he's as hard as steel, rza at his apex, great other Wu contributions. i still listen to this a lot.
---- bshelly
"You (Fisher) could get fired, Les Snead could get fired, Kevin Demoff could get fired, but I will always be Eric Dickerson.” (c) The God
29. "interestingly enough, I was hella disappointed in the 2nd" In response to Reply # 24
album when it dropped
over time, I've come to enjoy it too
Return to the 36 was just so much personality, and underneath the jokes and persona were great bars / memorable lines. it was also the rawest of all the first seven releases.
31. "I guess the thing with me is..." In response to Reply # 29
I didn't enjoy the personality.
Some of it was funny.
Most of it was not.
Even Raw Hide..."I wanna see some bloooood"
Lol...yeah, I ain't trying to listen to that.
Brooklyn Zoo is and always will be the shit. Shimmy Shimmy is gimmicky but cool.
Some other joints are cool.
But overall is sounds like a sloppy mess with attempts at being funny.
Not to mention, ODB comes off like your boy who is an alcoholic and acts like a damn fools when he's drunk. And most people laugh at him but you can't stop thinking "I need to get this dude some help."
Just not something that has replay value whatsoever for me. And I'm not into giving points for originality just because it's original. It still needs to be quality.
19. ""weakest" track on LS?" In response to Reply # 0
prolly shoudve said "least greatest" cus theres hardly a weak song on the album..
but to me its Swordsman.. I never understood the love it gets, and surprising, its often listed as a favorite song. GZA drops gems as usual but the beat's kinda dull imo and the mixing is poor, thus an underwhelming song for me..
35. "RE: Liquid Swords Turns 20 Today" In response to Reply # 0
I haver a funny Gza story. He puts CACS on subtle notice.
I was on board off words from the genius. life of a drug dealer holfs up and would have been a canonized classic if meth or dirty opted to sing it in the mid slimeys
41. "You went to a Newbury Comics store in person?" In response to Reply # 40
Or you bought one from the website? I wish the chain was located near NYC. Seems like a superb store. Then again, with the high prices for rent here in the city and the fact people buy music digitally for the most part, that kind of chain might have a hard time surviving in NYC.
The price for the actual vinyl is pretty cheap considering the cost for the regular version is about the same. And it's somewhat limited according to the website.
"Sean sparks like John Starks, nah, Sean ball like John Wall" - Rest In Power Forever Sean Price.
I wish I had known of Newbury selling limited edition colored vinyl sooner. Browsing around on a site featuring colored vinyl, I saw a special edition vinyl for Midnight Marauders. Gorgeous color pattern AND a classic album to boot. So upset I don't have that in my possession.
"Sean sparks like John Starks, nah, Sean ball like John Wall" - Rest In Power Forever Sean Price.
43. "life singing on the killah hills skit" In response to Reply # 0 Tue Dec-01-15 10:49 PM by cbk
this album's been with me for 20 years, and it didn't hit me that life was playing a character--"singing homeless guy on the street"--until my listening to the wax this weekend. i was like "OH, THAT'S what he's doing!"
for real, it used to annoy the shit outta me. and i was thinking "why did rza sample and fly his singing into the end of the song?!?!? it ruins the song!!!"
but after this weekend's listening session, now i think it's awesome. it made me appreciate the amount of thought that goes into the skits on all those wu-albums. the atmosphere, setting the scene, etc. all that stuff is intentional. like rza told life "yo god, sing like a drunk bum!"
and the side wu-members committing to their roles...
-papa wu playing the guy that shot ghost before "can it be so simple remix"
-takeitha playing the lady cop on "the city"
-supreme playing woodrow the basehead!
idk... it's those little things that amaze me nowadays.
52. "The Wu Flood wiped out Deck's RZA produced LP..." In response to Reply # 51
....or at least thats what i remember being the story ...that also lead to the "new" cleaner Rza sound which began on "Ironman" but was in full effect on "WuTang Forever"
54. "Serious question: how many floods of the basement were there?" In response to Reply # 52 Thu Dec-03-15 03:52 PM by mrhood75
Because I've always heard the famous one that apparently destroyed the RZA-produced Deck album (I've also heard accounts that an entirely RZA-produced U-God album was destroyed too).
But about a year ago, when Rolling Stone interviewed RZA regarding the "A Better Tomorrow" album, RZA talks about a 1994 flood, which he says destroyed a lot of the material that was supposed to be on "Tical" (he blames it for why that album wasn't as good as it should have been), plus tracks (some completed) for the planned second Wu album.
So is it one flood that's somehow become two in the story-telling, or did RZA just neglect to do the proper repairs after the first one?
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