Rotten Tanx wrote:Bump. The only album I have by wu tang or any of its members is 36 chambers. Which album should I get next? A friend reccomended Iron Flag.
My favourite album of their's (that I've heard) is Raekwon's
Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. The subject matter is
Scarface-inspired fantasies circling round his own drug-dealing life, but over the top and skewed enough to be interesting and illusory rather than hectoring, obnoxious and objectionable. This is matched by some truly tripped out music.
I think that I've said it before, and I'll say it again: the song
Glaciers of Ice is a psychedelic soul monster masterpiece. The moments when the female vocal kicks in, peaks and loops are briliantly incongruous. I was bedridden and had a high fever when I heard this song for the first time, which added to my appreciation. It used to give me shivers; writing this I want to listen to it again to see if it still works.
There's reason to call bullshit on the gangster fantasist side, I think. But it is done exceedingly well - like a Loony Tunes version of NWA.
For me, the record marks when the rawness of the early work mixed perfectly with the slicker strings and soul stylings of the later records. I didn't like
Wu-Tang Forever as much because it was too slick, but the balance on
Only Built... is perfect to my taste.
