#music collection
The GZA: Liquid Swords
© 1995 Geffen, MCA Records
- —–Professional Reviews—–
- Allmusic.com: 5/5 stars (Album Pick)
- Entertainment Weekly: B+
- Rolling Stone: 3/5 stars
- Pitchfork Media: 10/10 stars
- NME Magazine: 9/10
- Q Magazine: 4/5 stars
- —–Personal Rating—–
- 7/10(Excellent!)
Although the album is considered a classic, from a production and sound quality perspective, Liquid Swords has not aged well which is a trait that many of the first wave of Wu-Tang solo albums suffer from. This in turn may put off younger listeners who are just discovering the Wu-Tang’s catalogue. The GZA’s performance is the highlight of the album as the entire album is nothing more than a metaphorical chess game. His rhymes, which many will mistake as not making any sense, will leave you scratching your head. Whether newer listeners dislike this is an open question but it is worth a listen as The GZA’s lyriscm is rich in metaphor.
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Busta Rhymes: The Coming
© 1996 Elektra Records
- —–Professional Reviews—–
- Allmusic.com: 4.5/5 stars
- Entertainment Weekly: B+
- Rolling Stone: “Mixed Reviews”
- Q Magazine: 3/5 stars
- The Source Magazine: 4/5
- —–Personal Rating—–
- 7/10(Excellent!)
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Method Man: Tical
© 1994 Def Jam Records
- —–Professional Reviews—–
- Allmusic.com: 4.5/5 stars (Album Pick)
- Entertainment Weekly: B
- Rolling Stone: “Favorable”
- Melody Maker: 4/5 stars
- NME Magazine: 8/10
- —–Personal Rating—–
- 7/10(Excellent!)
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D.J. Krush: Meiso
© 1995 FFRR Records, Mo’ Wax
- —–Professional Reviews—–
- Allmusic.com: 4/5 stars
- RateYourMusic.com: 3.55/5
- SputnikMusic.com: 4.0 (Excellent)
- —–Personal Rating—–
- 7/10(Excellent!)
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Saxon: Dogs of War (2013)
© 1995-2013 Angel Air Ltd/Biff Byford/Demon Music Group Ltd.
- —–Professional Reviews—–
- Allmusic.com: 4/5 stars
- Record Collector: 3/5 stars
- MetalCrypt.com: 3.67/5
- Metal-Hammer.de: 6/7
- —–Personal Rating—–
- 8.5 out of 10 (Oustanding!)
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Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are: Black Star (2002 Reissue)
© 1998-2002 Rawkus, Priority, EMI, MCA, Universal Records
- —–Professional Reviews—–
- Allmusic.com: 5/5 stars (Album Pick)
- Entertainment Weekly: A-
- Sputnikmusic.com: 4.4 (Superb)
- Rolling Stone: 3/5 stars
- Spin Magazine: 10/10
- The Village Voice: A-
- —–Personal Rating—–
- 8.5/10(Outstanding!)
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De La Soul: Stakes Is High
© 1996 Tommy Boy Music, Inc.
- —–Professional Reviews—--
- Allmusic.com: 4/5 stars
- Entertainment Weekly: B
- RapReviews.com: 10/10
- Rolling Stone: 2/5 stars
- —–Personal Rating—–
- 6.5/10(Good!)
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Ice Cube: AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted (2003 Remastered Edition)
© 1990-2003 Priority Records
- —–Professional Reviews—–
- Allmusic.com: 5/5 stars
- Entertainment Weekly: B-
- The Austin Chronicle: 5/5 stars
- The Washington Post: “Favorable”
- Los Angeles Times: “Favorable”
- Uncut Magazine: 4/5 stars
- Rolling Stone: 2.5/5 stars
- —–Personal Rating—–
- 8/10(Outstanding!)
.The remastered edition also includes the E.P. “Kill At Will” which was originally released in 1990
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Wu-Tang Clan: Wu-Tang Forever
© 1997 Loud/RCA/BMG Records
- —–Professional Reviews—–
- Allmusic.com: 4/5 stars
- U.S.A. Today: 3.5/4 stars
- Entertainment Weekly: A
- Los Angeles Times: 3.5/4 stars
- Rolling Stone: 3.5/5 stars
- Spin Magazine: 7/10
- —–Personal Rating—–
- 8.5/10(Outstanding!)
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Queensrÿche:Greatest Hits
© 2000 Capitol Records Inc.
- —–Professional Reviews—–
- Allmusic.com: 4.5/5 stars
- Sputnikmusic.com: 4.5 (Superb)
- MetalCrypt.com: 4/5
- —–Personal Rating—–
- 7/10(Excellent!)
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Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth: The Main Ingredient
© 1994 Elektra Records
- —–Professional Reviews—–
- Allmusic.com: 4/5 stars
- Tiny Mix Tapes: 4.5/5
- Rolling Stone: 4/5
- RapReviews.com: 9/10
- Q Magazine: 3/5 stars
- —–Personal Rating—–
- 10/10(Perfection!)
While many cite Mecca & The Soul Brother as the duo’s definitive release, that honor should go to this album as it surpasses it in every way. The upbeat and jazzy vibes that dominated the early 90′s were kept to a minimum here and were replaced by a much more mature sound in the form of mid tempo paced songs with bass lines, thick drums and soul samples. C.L. Smooth also steps his game up both in his lyricism and his flow and this is without a doubt his best performance to date. Although I’ve never been a fan of Pete Rock as an M.C., he himself has improved and he even gets his own solo track called Escape. There is filler here but it’s not the usual kind. Most of the songs either start and/or end with a musical interlude. Normally I hate this practice but it was done right as the interludes compliment the songs very well. At 16 tracks total and with the average run time of each song being about 4 to 5 minutes, you might be concerned with the album running a bit long but it doesn’t. This is because of how strong it starts off. The first 5 songs, In The House,Carmel City,I Get Physical,Sun Won’t Come Out and the fantastic I Got a Love, will keep you wanting more and it only gets better as the album progresses. The Main Ingredient would prove to be the duo’s last album together. They would later work together again in 1998 for Pete Rock’s solo album, Soul Survivor provingthat the magic they once had was still present.
This album holds a very special place in my heart. I rediscovered it back in 2005 at a very peculiar yet significant time in my life. It is still my favorite Hip-Hop album of all time.
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Minotauri:Minotauri
© 2004 Black Widow Records
No professional reviews available.
—–Personal Review—–
7/10(Excellent!)
I’ve been on an unhealthy quest for doom metal albums lately, particularly Minotaurialbums. The band has long since disbanded and given the limited quantities released in Europe, what chance does a New Yorker have of obtaining a physical copy from a record store? The answer is 0 as no one at any record store has ever heard of this band. But what about Amazon and eBay? After all, this is 2016 right? With the current starting price at $244.00 for a used copy on Amazon and virtually no listings on eBay, I’d say I was pretty much screwed. Luckily for me, my prime membership came through for something. 1 new copy appeared for $22.99 but with 1 catch, it had to be imported. Without thinking it over I quickly purchased it and it arrived 12 days later in my mailbox.
The bulk of the album is made up of previously recorded tracks that go back as early as 1995, something that caught my attention right form the start. You may start out with a song recorded in 2005 but the next song might be from 1998 and this sort of random placement will throw you off as consistency was a second thought. You might be asking yourself “why is this a bad thing?” and my answer to you is, the production. Different time spans feature different sounding production and that is the album’s main flaw. Vocalist Ari Honkonen will sound young and full of life in one song but he’ll sound deep and miserable in the next song. You might even mistake him for someone else entirely. It’s inconsistent but it was a necessary evil the band had to accept. Overall, the music is good but I didn’t enjoy it as I much as I thought I would. Praise does go to the band’s decision to include many of the tracks recorded from previously released E.P.’s as they were limited to 500 copies each. Songs like “Cemetary of The Shadows” “Singing In The Grave” and my personal favorite, “Paid Love” were featured on such E.P.’s but have now made there way onto this album but with better mastering. A huge plus. The band would later give us a much more stellar and more focused project with their second album IIwhich is their definitive and sadly, their final release. Minotauri is one for the die hards of doom metal and a must have for that particular group of fans. It is worth tracking down especially if you can’t find the previous E.P.’s which were only released on vinyl.
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Ghostface Killah: Ironman
© 1996 Epic/Razor Sharp Records
- —–Professional Reviews—–
- Allmusic.com: 4.5/5
- Spin Magazine: 7/10
- Q Magazine: 3/5
- Entetainment Weekly: B+
- Rolling Stone: 3.5/5
- Richmond Times: ¾
- —–Personal Review—–
- 7/10(Excellent!)
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The Order: 1986
© 2012 Massacre Records
- —–Professional Reviews—–
- Dangerdog.com: 3/5
- Metal-Temple.com: 8/10 (Excellent)
- Planetmosh.com: 8.5/10
- MyGlobalMind.com: 9/10
- —–Personal Rating—–
- 9/10(Sexy!)
When it comes to the European Heavy Metal scene, living in New York means that we usually get the shaft. Finding certain albums is difficult unless you have a major record label backing you but if you’re a European band, it’s next to impossible to find it in my neck of the woods. I had to resort to pirating sites when it came to this band but how can you blame me? Record labels cry and moan all the time about pirated music and the profits that are being lost but 80% of the time, those same record labels don’t even properly promote or ship the said music outside of the European market which only hurts the artists in the long run. You might as well not have record labels anymore if this continues.
1986isThe Order’s 4th album and it is currently their best effort to date. The album’s title is a reference to both the musical style that was present in the mid 80′s and the actual music in the album. This isn’t hard hitting Metal. It is more Hard Rockish in sound and very similar to bands like Ratt,Van HalenandKiss. In fact, there is a direct reference to Kiss in one of the tracks but I’ll let you figure that one out for yourselves. Everything that was present in the 80′s can be found here. From the cheesiness in the some of the lyrics (songs like Why Dreaming Hollywood) to the so called Power Ballads that dominated MTV (A Kiss Under The Rain) and every hard rockers weakness…. women (Damn Hot Chick) as well as the occasional fast tempo songs (The Power of Love) All of which were done properly but most importantly, with respect. It is also full of catchy choruses that you’ll be singing for days which happened to me with the excellent track “Fire It Up” Lead vocalist Gianni Pontillo sings in a raspy yet effective voice that compliments the riffs very well which are rich in melody and full of groove. He’s no Rob Halford but damn it, you’ll love him after this. 1986 is all about having a good time and it was more or less my style of Metal. Snatch it up if you can find it.It’s worth every penny.
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Xzibit:Restless
© 2000 Loud Records
- —–Professional Reviews—–
- Allmusic.com: 4/5 stars
- Rolling Stone: 4/5
- Entertainment Weekly: B+
- Vibe Magazine: 4/5
- NME: 7/10
- Spin Magazine: 6/10
- —–Personal Rating—–
- 6.5/10(Good!)
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Minotauri:II
© 2007 Minotauri/Firebox Records
- —–Professional Reviews—–
- Metal-Temple.com: 7/10 (Good)
- MetalStorm.com: 8.7
- Metalfan.nl: 62/100
- Bloodchamber.de: 8/10
- —–Personal Rating—–
- 9 out of 10 (Sexy!)
Let me start of by saying that this was not an easy album to track down. Limited copies, virtually no record stores here in New York & outrages prices on both eBayandAmazon made this a mission that was almost impossible. Doom Metal. What can I say? A genre that for so long I’ve ignored only to find out that I had been a fan all along in the form of early Black Sabbath songs like Electric FuneralandHand of Doom.
Hailing from Finland,Minotauri’sIIalbum was actually my introduction to the genre in the form of a complete project. The band didn’t have a great vocalist. They didn’t even have stellar production but what they did have were a set of skills….. no wait. What they did have were a set of slow, heavy, riff driven songs that absolutely worked. The absence of quality production actually helped as the guitars sound even heavier and distorted despite the riffs having quite a bit of melody to them. This the highlight of the album and you’ll be humming the riffs for days. The lyrics and the songs cover a variety of topics such as love and the betrayal that may come with it (the track “Misery” is an example) or the cliché accusations of worshiping the devil as was the case in the excellent track “Under The Cross”. As with most Doom Metal albums, the lyrics are full of darkness, sadness, satanic imagery and despair which may put off newer listeners but if you’ve listened to Black Sabbath, then it should come as no surprise to you. At only 10 tracks total, Minotaurimanaged to record an album that was nearly perfect from start to finish. If you want quality Doom Metal, this is it.
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Ol’ Dirty Bastard: Return To The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version
© 1995 Elektra/WMG Records
- —–Professional Reviews—–
- Allmusic.com: 4.5/5 stars (Album Pick)
- Entertainment Weekly: A-
- Select Magazine: 2/5
- Los Angeles Times: ¾
- Rolling Stone: 4/5 stars
- The Source Magazine: “4/5 mic’s”
- —–Personal Rating—–
- 6 out of 10 (Good!)
Overall it is enjoyable and very entertaining. It hasn’t aged well due to the poor quality production which in turn makes the album sound quite dated. Ol’ Dirty Bastard will either win you over with his loud, abrasive and raspy voice or he will turn you off with his crude sense of humor. Return To The 36 Chambers deserves a listen even for those who are not fans of the first wave of Wu-tang solo albums as it is the most unique and the most original.
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Poor Righteous Teachers: The New World Order
© 1996 Profile Records
- —–Professional Reviews—–
- Allmusic.com: 4/5 stars
- Sputnikmusic.com: 3.3 (Great)
- RapReviews.com: 7/10
- —–Personal Rating—–
- 9 out of 10 (Sexy!)
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Queensrÿche:Empire (24 Karat Gold Disc)
© 2000 EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets/DCC Compact Classics
So good I had to buy it twice… or was it? If you’re not familiar with these gold C.D.’s, they’re essentially remasters by Steve Hoffman but done “right” There were certain qualifications to which album would get a gold remaster. I believe one requirement was it had have gone gold or platinum in terms of sales. These were marketed towards Audiophiles and the gold on the disc meant that the laser would read the information more accurately. They were also marketed as having outstanding quality that one could hear without the use of an expensive audio system. They have since been out of print and they command ridiculous prices on eBay. I bought mine at a yard sale for 10 dollars not knowing or caring about the actual sound quality.
What it comes down to is the actual mastering. I own the original as well as the 2003 remastered version of Empire and I’ll be honest, this one is much better. But does it triumph over the original? It’s hard to say. This release does sound much cleanerand I thoroughly enjoyed it. I still wouldn’t pay the large sum of money that some of these releases command online. Gold or not it’s ludicrous. Do not let my opinion deter you however as I am only talking about this particular release. There are other gold discs out that have superior remastering over their original releases such as the Creedence Clear Water Revival sets (for all you CCR fans) and if your are very much into high quality audio then these might be something to look out for in the future.
- —-Personal Album Rating—-
- 9 out of 10(Sexy!)
- —-Audio Quality—-
- Exceptional
- —-Recommendable?—-
- Debatable
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Nas:It Was Written
© 1996 Columbia Records
- —–Professional Reviews—–
- Allmusic.com: 4/5 stars
- Entertainment Weekly: A-
- Chicago Tribune: 3.5/4
- NME: 6/10
- Los Angeles Times: 3.5/4
- Q Magazine: 4/5 stars
- Rolling Stone: 2/5 stars
- —–Personal Rating—–
- 6 out of 10 (Good!)
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