Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back - 1988 - Def Jam
Just a year after their debut album Public Enemy return with what is an undoubted classic. Questlove from The Roots has often cited It Takes A Nation as the defining record that led to him taking music seriously as a career. And it's understandable why. This album certainly sounds like the time it was released, but the power is not diminished in the slightest. Produced by Chuck D and Hank Shocklee before they grew into the full on Bomb Squad, the tracks are full of that urgent and layered sound of sirens and shrieks. It's a dense, wonderful mess that also makes the more restrained tracks ("Show 'Em Whatcha Got," "Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos" ) stand out even more. It Takes A Nation spawned several of PE's biggest hits including "Bring The Noise" but this is a masterpiece that deserves to be played in full to hear all the various twists and turns that it takes including what is probably my personal favorite PE track of all time "She Watch Channel Zero?!" that features a jaw-droppingly amazing Slayer sample.
The Roots - Do You Want More?!!!??! - 1994 - DGC
The second Roots album scored them their first hit with "Proceed." I suppose not a hit in the grand scheme, but it at least put them on the hip hop map. This, their major label debut certainly felt more produced than their actual debut, but it still retained a very live feel to it. You can definitely close your eyes and picture them playing on a street corner or in a small club. In fact "Essayhuman?!!!??!" - their soundcheck song at the time - was even recorded live for this record (as it was earlier on Organix). What's great about this record is just how jazz it all was. From the chilled to frantic tempos of "Mellow My Man" to the scatting in "Datskat" to the drums-vs.-voice in "? Vs. Rahzel" to the Steely Dan-nod bassline in "Swept Away" to the goddamn bagpipes in the title track, this is an album built on jamming, improvisation and the absolute thrill of exploring what your instruments can really do. Even Black Thought's vocals (and to a somewhat lesser extent Malik's... and to a much greater extent Rahzel's) are more concerned with sound than context on much of the material. And then you hit the final two tracks: an insane (freestyle?) cypher over intense vocal-only backing track followed closely by a slow-burner spoken word piece by Ursula Rucker. It's a crazy melting pot of sounds that embrace hip hop and jazz totally 50/50 in a way that is impressive - even if not perfect (I mean "Lazy Afternoon" only has one verse repeated multiple times) in such a commendable way that it should serve as the blueprint for all live hip hop bands, which we seriously need more of.
noise, did you get to spend some time with Shabazz Palaces' new one? makes me wanna do a Diggable Planets - Blowout Comb writeup like yours, but i'm too lazy
Terminator x to the edge of panic and louder than a bomb always gets me all kinds of hyped. Get album the whole way around.
Another solid pick on the Roots' Do You Want More. That and Things Fall Apart are two must-haves in any Hip=Hop library.
I'd also love a review on DP's Blowout Comb. That's another under-rated classic. May the 4th Movement, Black Ego, and Blowing Down are what I think are the albums stand-outs. I display the CD artwork proudly in my office still to this day.
Great reviews noise. Keep em coming if yo would please.
i agree with you there. Reachin' was a great debut album that set the stage for their follow up of Blowout, of which i feel shows their progression and maturity. I so wish they would have released a few more albums. They passed away as a group far too soon.
yeah, the loss of Deck's album is fuckin' tragic. people often cite Meth losing Tical last minute, but the album we got was still great by me, whereas while Deck's first release is solid, his early verses & b-side stuff showed way more promise than what we ended up with, i thought. looking at what Rae, Ghost, GZA etc were able to do career-wise with the sound they were given, shit really has to sting.
