Reviews (page 6 of 8)
Probably the 3rd best Roots album, surprised it’s on the list but really enjoyed revisiting it, I listened to it a ton when I got the CD when it came out but hardly at all since then. Thought is incredible and somehow is just as good (maybe better?) today. Somewhere between a 3 and a 4 for me
как обычно оценила только знакомый роллин уиз хит. остальное какое-то непонятное и незапоминающееся( надо продолжать
An interesting mix of many genres with emphasis on beats, rhythm and hip-hop styling. Worth the listen and a lot of it is really good, but isn't something that will have me coming back for more.
Why are hip hop albums so long
I think this is an okay album, it shines in its production and flows and bars but some songs go on way too long, long enough for me to realise the beat has stayed the exact same for the last four minutes
Never heard of the roots before, so wasn’t sure what to expect going into this. But this really is a great hip hop album that was pushing the boundaries of its time. Just a bit on the long side but apart from That a great album and deserves to be on the list.
Some nice beats. A little too experimental for my taste though.
Pretty good as far as rap goes.
My room mate played this album a lot in college. It's very enjoyable.
the transitions in the first half of the album were really smooth, I barely noticed when the next song started. The waters was way too long, I wish it ended after four minutes all in all it was decent
Liked most of it.
3.2
I have this on vinyl. It has a really good mix of different things on here (although the Pussy Galore track sounds distastefully sexist). The Roots are a really interesting band. There are no standout catchy tracks for me.
I enjoyed it, plenty of head bopping beats!!!!!!!
3.5
The mainstream gateway to underground backpack rap, this album is feels like the conclusion of the arc of 'conscious hip hop' that kicked off with the Native Tongues scene in the late 1980s and is the representative of that tradition within the amazing cannon of 2002ish rap. There's fun production and some great (if not especially innovative) beats with a neo-soul psyche flavour - taken to it's furthest in 17minute combo off Break You Off > Water. This isn't a party album with big choruses, anthemic hooks or danceable repetition, instead the emphasis is on the verses' complex lyricism: all densely packed-with allusions, playful and incisive lines and rapid fire delivery.
Normally love The Roots but this album was not to my taste
3.4/5 Best Track: Sacrifice
I think my only familiarity with The Roots is when Jimmy Fallon things go viral. I think they’re the band on that, but I’m not actually sure. Aside from that, even though a lot of hip hop wouldn’t be exactly to my taste, I do love that I’m hearing more and more through my daily reviews. It’s always nice to have a wider palette. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Sacrifice, The Seed (2.0) I found this album to be fine. It didn’t blow me away like occasional rap albums have, but it also didn’t leave me feeling bored. I couldn’t help but laugh at the song Pussy Galore, as it sounds like an Austin Powers character. I think it might actually be the name of someone in it. Anyway, I digress. I can definitely see the appeal with this, but I doubt I’ll be returning for a second listen.
I was liking this but got tired of it. I think I would like most of these songs a lot if they had more dynamic range. 70 minutes is too long for how much of this sounds the same. This list seems to be picking these albums, where the artist got ambitious in songwriting/production/scope & yet the end result sounds more generic than what they'd done before.
Odd to think of these guys as a late night house band, and I guess that is how they would be widely known at this point. This is a very cool record.
Ewig nicht gehört und inzwischen so ne weirde Abneigung dagegen zugelegt. Finds aber eigentlich direkt wieder ziemlich geil. Bis zu „The Seed 2.0“ ziemlich gut. „Break You Off“ ist dann leider so ein bisschen ein Downer, weil es so ein langweiliges, säuseliges souliges Lied ist. Danach dann etwas experimenteller („Water“), geht wieder klar! „Pussy Galore“ auch wieder so ein Tiefpunkt. Der Song danach auch („Complexity“). Das Album ist zu lang. Ich bin froh, wenn ich durch bin. Am Ende wirds dann noch mal stressig, mit Technobeats. Werds wohl so bald nicht mehr anhören, aber gutes Album.
Ecoute assez agréable, grande variété au niveau des rythmes, des styles, des samples, des influences... "Thought @ work" et son sample de l'Incredible Bongo Band, "Rhymes and ammo" est très efficace. "The seed (2.0)" est très soul. Quelques morceaux plombants et interminables ("Water" et "Something in the way of things " font déjà 17 minutes à elles deux), je ne sais toujours pas trop quoi penser de "Thirsty" qui part en boom boom techno party 90's de fête foraine.
rock you. de shit isch geeeeil interlude funny sacrifice. ischmer chli preachy? und de beat findi nöd so geil. rolling with heat. ok geeeile beat, ghöri chli homophobie? aber nai geile song. thought @ work. mmmmh bongos und mega schöne hall. BARS goht huere los. wieder chli homophobie time.cocksucker und so. blöser und keys huuuere geil. the seed 2.0 was ischs. sample??? keis sample! has afoch schomol ghört. aber tönt sehr 70er. er singt cool bitz kravitz aber cool. break you off. sehr nice beat, gitarre swells sind niice. schluss huere schöni chords. water the first movement. boah bass und giti haut iiine. und dbreaks mit klatsche und alles uuuuh geil. hook findi etz nöd meega strong. oke jetz wirds sochli laitmalerei theremin wasserfallgrüsch time. aber immerno piano bitz hinedra. oke ich glaub das isch sochli lautmalerei vo drogeproblem wenni d text über s album richtig verstoh? aso kakophonie und so. aber isch organisierter als einstürzende neubauten. Quills. schnufige beat geeeil. sehr geile song. pussy galore. oke sozialkritik time, college mit strippe finanziere und so. beat triibt und macht harmonisch öpis instrumentierig änderet immer wieder. die gsunge bridge/outro au nice. complexity. holt mi etz nöd meega ab isch mega lowkey. something in the way. meega jazzy chords questlove macht de modal jazz shit no cool. spoken word stuff drüber. Rhymes and Ammo. beat huuere hard. geili hook am ahfang. thirsty goht jo loooos. oke seehr geili beats Questlove isch en geeeile siech. sehr schöni instrument sehr energetischi parts, sehr guet grappt.
Hans (nötig) es album gfunde, wo sehr guet flowt, hie und daa hets denn aber cooli sache geh, wo chli überrascht hend, !!!! zB mengisch recht neo-soulig d beats sehr nice, schön ruhigi keys und d snare findi crisp trotzdem hets für mich chli vor sich her gspielt und es ischmer schlussendlich wenig blibe p-word galore hani sehr geil gfunde oder sacrifice oder au complexity, jill scott huere schöni stimm ja, ich han adem album wenig uszsetze eig, ussert, dass es mich halt schlussendlich trotzdem nöd gross mitgrisse het, also au emotional hets mich jz nöd gross ahgsproche? für das müsstmer wahrschindlich au no meh lyrics ahluege die letschte paar lieder sind absolut geil aber ich muss jz nochli danko jones lose demit ich wenigstens es paar lieder wiedererkenne
wtf was water
Phrentrow - 7/10 Rock You - 8.5/10 !!!!! - 7.5/10 Sacrifice- 8/10 Rolling with Heat - 8.5/10 Thought @ Work - 7/10 Thought @ Work - 8/10 The Seed(2.0) - 7.5/10 Break You Off - 8/10 Water - 7.5/10 Quills - 8.5/10 Pussy Galore - 8/10 Complexity - 7.5/10 Something in the Way of Things - 7/10 Rhymes and Ammo - 9/10 Thirsty! - 8.5/10 TOTAL - 126/160
Music that would be playing at an art museum
First album of the Roots I've listened to. Diverse musical palettes to create the background for the background. I seem to like the collabs with Nelly Furtado (Sacrifice), Cody Chestnutt (The Seed 2.0) and Jill Scott (Complexity) more than their own tunes. Something in the Water is interesting as it's more a spoken piece. Water's coda doesn't seem to enhance the song for me. May have to listen to this more to appreciate it better but it feels uneven.
I'm aware of The Roots because of Jimmy Fallon. I hate Jimmy Fallon but The Roots have seemed pretty alright. So I guess that is my expectation. Alright. Let's check it out. So my issue with hip-hop is that it is super focused on the lyrics and the music is very much an afterthought. When you listen to the music its basically the same 4 bars repeated for the entirety of the song. That really irritates me. However, this is overall a pretty good album. The music and lyrics compliment it each other and its not the typical overdriven bass you get in most hip-hop. 3 out of 5.
The Seed 2.0 is the only song I knew by the Roots before listening to Phrenology. I didn't listen very closely, but it seemed like this album had a narrative, so I'll likely give it another go sometime later on.
Pleasant enough I guess, but not really ground-breaking, which is what I was expecting. Very middle of the road R&B in places, with the odd bit of progressive hip-hop thrown in. Hovered between 2 and 4 stars throughout my listen through, so 3-stars seems fair.
Les instru sont sympas
J'ai trouvé ça correct mais la dernière musique est vraiment chouette !
I'm super picky about hip hop but I liked this. I can understand why it's on the list. Good variation between songs and interesting hints of other genres.
"y'all niggaz on the titty in your formative stages" I haven't listened to any of The Roots' records before this one, and I enjoyed it a lot. The flow on most of the songs was really sweet, and the lyricism was well done. My biggest gripe is the runtime of the album, in conjunction with a good few songs that are sub-par, or have a vocal section that took away from the album for me. A real stand-out track for me was T11- "Quills," it has a really nice backing bassline and the rap flows really nicely ontop of it, playlist track. Other tracks, such as T2- "Rock you" and T13- "Complexity" really hit the spot that they're shooting for, but most of the rest of the album could've been done better, or been cut out. 3/5
Decent, fikk ikke hørt gjennom alt men det virket ganske bra, kanskje ikke helt min stil
Favorite track was "Break You Off"
hip hop.
Interesting beats, orchestrations, and appearances by guest artists. My first time listening to The Roots, and it sparked by interest in other work by them.
3.7
I know of the Roots via Jimmy Fallon.. hah. I guess they were a pretty well formed band based around hip hop. The first half of this album was pretty... I don't know aggressive?, but it seemed to mellow out in the back half. I don't have a lot to say on it, it was probably influential at the time - I enjoyed A Tribe Called Quest's Low End Theory a bit more than this one, I think I would revisit this album when I am in the right mood for exploring a foundational rap album. Best Track: The Seed (2.0)
Not my favorite album by them
Some tracks were good to great, some were forgettable, and some were just off putting--trying to be experimental but came out as noise.
Pretty decent.
Some things I liked, other things I didn't. Overall mixed feelings
I enjoyed it. I am familiar with The Roots but I have not listened to an entire album.of theirs before. There were a couple of songs that were just noise and not good. Also the album is about 70 minutes long.
Solid but not great
I've heard a few tracks of this album before, Thought at Work, The Seed, and Break You Off. All three of these songs sound like what I would expect from the Roots, great hip hop. The rest of the album goes into wildly different directions, from punk to electronic, definitely not what I expected, but it somehow all works.
Weird, better than hoped
Not bad, pretty chill/groovy
Se démarque par ses rythmes joués live plutôt que par ses échantillons. Les textes me semblent particulièrement excellents.
I like many things about this album, but I don't feel like I like it as a whole. I would still give it a listen every once in a while, but I've got to be in a specific mood.
It’s alright.It’s kind of annoying actually and goes too long.Just alright rapping.
Some brillant moments this album is so scattered and chaotic that it's hard to take it all at once. It will demand some more spins before I can truly apprectiate it.
It's alright, but clearly not their best work.
I wonder
Gillade övergångarna mellan vissa låtar och tycker allmänt att albumet hade ett coolt sound. Värt att nämna är att jag tyckte det blev lite repetitivt efter första halvan. Favorit låtar: Rock You och Thoughts @ Work
Bästa låtar: Sacrifice, Thought @ work, The seed (2.0)
Bra! Men inte riktigt tillräckligt memorable typ. Favvisar kanske rolling with heat och quills
Bra album, vissa låtar va väldigt bra och vissa va väldigt dåliga Bästa låt: Break you off
One of those hip hop groups whose name I've known forever but never really bothered to look in to. I like them. Like a solid 3.5.
Yea.....more hip hop i like .... thoughtful intelligent beats and lyrics that bears repeated listens. Smooth.
Jammer, good vibes
Not as good as I hoped it to be
handful of really good songs, including the longer tracks (break you off & water), but also plenty of somewhat dull songs. i could've went my whole life without hearing "pussy galore" but unfortunately that's how the cookie crumbled today.
not bad
It was better than some of the other hip-hop albums I've heard on here. That's about it. Still long and could have cut 10 minutes but at least it flowed so much better than other similar albums.
A curiosity. A handful of good songs, an incredible sound and band but overall a bit boring. I don't love it but don't hate it, so it's bang in the middle I'm afraid.
Feels generic, but has some standout tracks, making it an above average album for me
Ágætis plata. Fíla vel fönkið sem leynist þarna inn á milli.
I wouldn't say it's bad: there were moments on this album that enjoyed the sampling, the rapping wasn't my favourite but to a good standard. Coming from a group I have never heard of it was enjoyable, wouldn't say I would listen again but wasn't that bad tbh.
Heard it before?: No Enjoy it?: Yeah, it was really stylish and versatile for its time Favourite song: Track 4 - Sacrifice
A good, cool album, too cool maybe. Experimental in places, absent mindedly groovy in others. Very fine.
It was OK - nothing struck me
better than i was expecting cool beats
This is a bit outside of my wheelhouse. Often times it was just too dense. It's a challenging listen and too long - Made in the "CD era" when everyone wanted to fill the entire disc. That said, there were moments that I enjoyed, but I don't really see myself going back to listen to this again. Although, I am now curious to hear their other albums - Maybe an earlier one will have a couple of less layers of studio production piled on it (and be of a more listener-friendly length). I don't think this is supposed to be an entry point to the band and is probably considered classic by already existing fans.
Decent hip hop album with some nice variety. I do tend to like the Arrested Development style of Hip Hop which mixes in more jazzy elements. 3.5 stars
Not sure what that word means. This album is great for picking up your sunglasses that you left behind last night. I dug it. I thought this album holds up well after being over 20 years old now. Love the instruments and beats behind the vocals, I think that’s what separates these guys from some other hip hop acts. Little bit of extra complexity, which I appreciated. And some of the flat out singing left me thirsting for water, damn. Some good vox from whoever that guy was. Not the best album I’ve listened to but glad I did listen, I’ll rock with it.
Sure I dig it.
Me gustaron algunas bases mas soul
Good lyrics, experimental beats, and sick drumming. Pretty long, I think it will take more than one listen for me to rate higher, but really impressed. Really loved Break You Off and the 10 minute Water. Jimmy Fallon is terrible. 3.5
I’ll be honest: I had no idea The Roots was a real band outside of Jimmy Fallon’s shows.
Alright. Could be better with a bit more consistency
Some real high points on here. Could’ve done with maybe losing 15 minutes or so but a good album all round
Tweede album van Amerikaanse hiphop groep The Roots. Afwisselend rap en R&B/soul, wat de tracklist wat diverser maakt. All in all een aardig hiphop album. leukste nummer: The Seed (2.0) Album titel en cover zijn referenties naar de pseudowetenschap frenologie, waarin werd gesteld dat mentale capaciteit te maken had met de vorm van de schedel.
Powow
Objectivement bon, mais un peu trop tranquille et/ou ambiant/électro par bouts.
Overall a good listen, but a bit hit or miss. Hits were definitely bangers though.
strong start but lousy finish.
Had beter gekund als the Roots niet de hele tijd arty willen doen
Pas du mauvais hip hop, le mélange de sons et d'influences est vraiment intéressant et garde ça captivant, mais compositionnellement je ne suis pas plus impressionné que ça.
Pretty neoey
Actually fairly enjoyable. The album is long but it has a lot of variety, with more traditional hip hop tracks, some with a little rock influence, some with r&b, and a lot of experimentation as well. I think the middle is the best; the backend is not that strong and the first songs suffer from poor hooks and aren’t as interesting.
Dug it
I appreciate seeing the Roots in here, but there are better Roots albums, IMO
This album is proof The Roots can do anything, but it doesn't hit the same heights as their best work. 3/5
It was chill
At times this album is brilliant and at other times a challenging listen. Some of the songs are far longer than they need to be, but overall it’s a decent hip-hop album. Stand out tracks The Seed (2.0), Quills and Break You Off.
not for me, beats kinda boring
Rap
Straight up hip hop with easy to digest hints of rnb/soul.
Philly, representing
Some nice tracks here nothing fantastic but a nice listen, will save a few songs on a hip hop playlist but won't be back to listen to as a whole. Favourite tracks Sacrifice, The Seed
The Roots are just kind of ubiquitous and everywhere, and I get that people really love them. I haven't given any of their stuff a real honest listen with any real earnest and found it kind of surprised how much from this record sounded familiar to me. This record is impressive, as The Roots are obviously a very talented and boundary pushing band musically. They seemed to the push the boundaries on a lot of different genres in a pretty focused output here. Really enjoyed it.
Like listening to an adult version of Black Eyed Peas - some catchy songs, others were just noise
A more enjoyable listen that I was expecting. 3.5 stars...
ну это короче англ надо знать или с открытым текстом сидеть, лень вслушиваться, а так минусочки прикольные, иногда под настроение может зайти, еще кусок семпла из северного сияния встретил
This is a pretty solid hip hop album. I feel like it's got about a 50/50 hit rate for me. I don't think I'd ever find myself listening to this one straight through again but I'd definitely come back to specific tracks. I think I'd only ever heard "The Seed (2.0)" before this listen, still think it's my favorite track, except for maybe "Rock You" into "!!!!!!!". I like that there's a little mix of genres with tracks like "!!!!!!!" and "Thirsty!". Standout Tracks: Rock You, !!!!!!!, Sacrifice, The Seed (2.0), Quills, Thirsty!
Not my style but glad to know them. I like three songs.
Not really my cup of tea, but pleasant enough
Solid album with some cool creative choices and strong instrumentation. Bass playing really stands out as excellent.
enjoyable, but sounded like generic background head nodding dormroom rap. maybe just a testament of how influential their sound was
Not my jam but the seed is a great tune
Solid album. 3 stars
Good hip hop album, brilliant name and cover.
Thought it had some interesting moments ("Quills", "Thirsty!") and I appreciated the smooth transitions (I looooove good transitions) but I was bored for the most part.
A lot of interesting songs, some duds. Good hip hop album ig
I'm not really a fan of most hip hop, and that's still the same here, but there are some good tracks. I like the more upbeat tracks like 'Thought @ Work' which has some old-skool funky beats in it, 'The Seed (2.0)' and 'Rhymes and Ammo'. There's some interesting variation across the board.
Até achei que seria outro disco de hip hop que iria me incomodar. Só que me surpreendeu pela linha melódica.
Should have been my thing. I like lyrically dense rap but somehow this just didn't hit for me. May listen again later
Not my thing
Some absolutely monster beats on here. But unfortunately not free of filler, and lacking consistency. Not bad, but a perplexing choice from The Roots discography. Standouts: !!!!!!, Thought@Work, The Seed2.0 Liked the cerebral lyrics and the moments of experimentation. Three brains out of five 🧠🧠🧠
Enjoyed
A puzzling inclusion, there's at least 3 Roots albums that would make more sense in the list than this. It's a fine album on its own, but I fail to see it as "1001 albums" material.
Some seriously fun and groove-y tracks - but when you plonk a 10 min semi psychedelic track mid way through the album it loses its steam. Plus the last few tracks feel like the last mile of a marathon - the whole record is a bit too long. Had it been shorter it would have been a great album.
Definitely a big fan of the musicality of the Roots, this album was a bit samey for me though. Things fall apart should definitely be on this list Fav song: thought @ work, mainly for the drums
I live the Seed
I knew The Seed and I’ve heard of The Roots but never felt particularly desperate to seek out any more. They’re easy enough to listen to, but not enough to keep me hooked. I don’t know if it’s a weird subliminal message, but all I want to do now is go and listen to Finley Quaye.
I really knew little of The Roots until Elvis Costello did an album with them in 2013. Around the same time I was able to enjoy seeing them nightly as the houseband on The Jimmy Fallon Show, when it was on free-ro-air. I have a copy of this cd & find a real diversity among the tracks. My favourites are Thought And Work & The Seed, both produced by ?uestlove, who is a wonderful musician. The music on this album is so interesting. And my copy came with a great 5-track DVD. A winner.
The Roots are like the house band of hip hip (or the alternative end of hip hop). Their work on the various Soulquarians records Mos Def, (D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, Common, Jill Scott, Bilal, etc etc) is exemplary. They were terrific as the house band on Dave Chappelle’s Block Part (there is a DVD worth hunting down). They are far and away the best of the late night bands on their residency on Jimmy Fallon. This album is a pretty listenable for a hip hop album, but it just doesn’t have the songs. Questlove is a terrific drummer and band leader, but the Roots albums really just don’t have songs. They need to work with people bringing better material.
Appreciate the dense lyrics and Blackthought’s sometimes impressive wordplay. Don’t appreciate the inconsistency and sometimes immaturity. Pretty cool but I don’t think there’s enough here to convince me to return.
its alright i mean nothing special there are way better rap albums
With lyrical themes of hip hop culture and its commodification, with musical elements of rock, jazz, techno, hardcore punk, and soul music, there is a track for almost everyone. At times however the trap of lengthy jazz/soul improvisation kicked in and dragged out the album a little too much for my liking. Best: Thirsty! Worst: Pussy Galore 2.5 Stars
It was good for an early 2000s rap album it was mix odd though hard to hear sometimes
Ok
A good example of a solid album of the genre, especially for the early 2000s. I don't think this work is a perfect, but it is pretty interesting.
hip hop.
I started this album thinking it was gonna get a 2 star for being just kind of a standard R&B 2000s album, but god damn did this album do whatever it wanted. I really love how experimental it was. We've got rap, R&B, drum and bass, experimental techno, whatever you wanna call "!!!!!!!", and just a really experimental album. Was it perfect? No, everything that was safe wasn't that interesting, but I really love whenever it would do something weird, made it fun. That upper review that said something about hating rap obviously didn't listen to the album, because it's far more than that.
I'm not quite cool enough for The Roots, but I do enjoy them. This album was a little odd with all of the "interludes" - I enjoyed two-thirds of the songs, the rest were just kinda weird. Still, solid album.
Good music, okay for in the background.
Amusing!
This album started off rocky, but as it progressed it slowly improved and these guys really show the breadth of their artistic talent. This is a very diverse album that showcases a huge range of styles, so it can be accused of lacking cohesion. I didn't like all of it, but what I liked was very good.
Rapping
I liked The Seed
Is this "cerebral" hip hop? Or "Rock Hip-hop"? For me it's an album that people say they enjoy rather than actually enjoying. Not to say I disliked it; It just reminds me more of collaboration tunes at the end of an album with some flashes of greatness but overall not why you bought the album. Distinct lack of bangers.
It's a vibe, but has some out of place songs like the last one. The Seed 2.0 is insanely good tho.
Bit over the place at times but great energy and original ideas. The flow of individual songs is good, flow of the album a bit off sometimes
The Roots while obviously good, are off my musical radar. I can't see myself wanting to hear The Roots out of nowhere.
Feels a lot like classic hip hop albums but a bit newer. Decent just not always my vibe
Should listen again cuz i didnt focus on the lyrics
Not my cup tea, but I respect the genre.r a I did hear about the Roots and that says something. Bottom line - mid of the scale rating out of ignorance about the genre.
Behoorlijk vermakelijk plaatje eigenlijk.
Honestly think the Person L cover of Seed 2.0 on Punk Goes Crunk is better. Also saw them at Falls 2014 but don't remember much (not their fault)
Phrenology is decent, nice mix of influences, nice rap flow, gets a bit messy so only a 3/5 but surprisingly alright.
A mixed bag. And that's four in a row that have been over an hour. Amazing amount of variety and range in the type of music, but I don't think it all quite works? A couple of tracks really hit home (The Seed in particular), but most of it washed over me really, and the second half is quite a bit weaker than the first. 3/5.
This is the fifth album by American hip hop group The Roots. Although not as commercially successful as their previous album Things Fall Apart, Phrenology still sold well - being certified gold in the US the year after release - and received universal critical acclaim. This progressive rap hip hop album contains musical elements from rock, jazz, techno, punk, and soul genres. With all of these influences, The Roots were reinventing hip hop that sounds funkier and more soulful. This album was an instant classic at release and is one of The Roots best albums. I enjoyed this album's rapping and music, but I wouldn't say it was eye-opening or life changing.
There is some good things in here, and there is some complete trash in here. You have to respect the range in music types in here, but overall it feels messy more than anything else Could also be that I'm biased against Rap too...
A decent hip hop album. Most of it faded into the background though while I was working. Some tunes jumped out (Sacrifice, Water, Something in the way of things). Some I found annoyingly reminiscent of 90s soul (Break You Off) which I guess in 2002 is perfectly fair but I don't have to like it. Overall, good.
Not the kind of music I usually listen to, but seemed pretty chill. Wouldn't be something I'd listen to the songs jndividually, but as an album I could definitely pop it on in the background.
It's kinda crazy to admit, but I've never listened to an album by The Roots. I do know a little bit about them, and the blend of musical elements — from the live players to the hip hop and R&B flavor and a general disinclination to stick to any one approach — did not disappoint. I listened to the album twice, once with more focus and later as background music as we worked on the kitchen (currently being renovated, I can literally hear the nail guns and saws as I write this). Maybe I'm a prude, because I found that the predilection for sexual references got stale and that ultimately prevented me from loving the album. I enjoyed the less focused spin more. Musically, everything was really inspired and enjoyable, and this would otherwise be a 4+ star review, but lyrically I was less enchanted, which brings this somewhere between a 3-4. I'm going with a 3. Maybe there's another Roots album I'll love more. I'm going to give them a listen and find out.
I want to like The Roots more than I do. I think they're interesting, I dig how they ambitious they are, and Black Thought is a great MC. I really liked the more experimental tracks on here like "Water" and "Something in the Way of Things," and I dug the groove on "The Seed 2.0." But ultimately, I feel like there's something missing. Their hooks don't grab me, maybe. I don't know. I feel like my 3-star rating doesn't do this album justice, but that's how i'm feeling. i will give this one another shot, though.
The Roots are a band for which I thought, "I should know more about these folks and I should know some of their songs." I only know that the guy from one of the late shows (don't even know which one) came from the Roots. I think there is a Philly connection and that also made me think I should really check out these guys and learn more. My ignorance about the Roots felt like a lot to overcome. I don't feel so bad now about not overcoming this lack of music knowledge. I'm going down the middle
Such a variation of music on this. I liked it
solid, a few songs I didn't like otherwise would have been a 4
The hip-hop albums I’ve encountered so far on this run have really pleasantly surprised me, so much so that I had very high expectations for this one. It doesn’t entirely deliver. For starters, the album length (over an hour long) made this quite a difficult listen. I know this isn’t uncommon for the genre, but nevertheless it doesn’t flow coherently throughout. The energetic opening few tracks are somewhat halted by quite a few long dirges (though the 10-minute “Water” is one of my favourites on the album). Much praise should also be given for The Roots’ experimentation with this record, fusing funk-rock elements with completely esoteric sounds in a very unique manner. I will have to return to this one for another listen, even if it takes an hour-long slog to listen through it in one sitting.
Not my vibe was very entertaining listen.
Not my favorite album but still enough to like here. Favorite: Break You Off
Like the other Roots album. Technically good but the rap music equivalent of eating a large pile of steamed broccoli.
Stand out tracks - rolling with heat - the seed (2.0) - break you off
I'm eager to check out this Roots album, I've heard of them but am unfamiliar with their discography. The beats haven't been very catchy but the lyricism has been top notch. Rock You 3/5. Sacrifice 3.5/5. Rolling With Heat 3.5/5. Thought @ Work 3.5/5. The Seed (2.0) 3/5. Break You Off 4/5. Water 3/5. Quills 4/5. Pussy Galore 4/5. Complexity 3.5/5. Something in the Way 2/5. Rhymes and Ammo 3/5. Thirsty! 2/5.
Funky hip hop, liked a few songs
New band and new album to me. I liked most of the album. There's a good mix of old school hip-hop, experimental stuff for early 2000s, but also some just trash. "Pussy galore" was blegh. I particularly enjoyed; "Complexity", "The seed (2.0)", "Break You Off". "Thought @ work" (the second one listed in the album),was my fave.
What a weird album, very 2002. Some good songs some absolute trash
The Seed 2.0 is a great track. The vibe is very rap/rock and I'm into it. Giving a three because I don't see myself listening to the album again.
It's fine, but I feel like its attempts at a profound message got a bit muddled.
Good stuff, and great energy.
Interesting album. Well done fusion of multiple sources. Love the song The Seed.
Suger att säga det, men det var fan ingen höjdare
I certainly started to warm to this more on the second listen but not quite enough for a 4. The Seed (2.0) is certainly a standout with Pussy Galore, Complexity, Something In The Way Of Things (In Town), and Thirsty! being other highlights.
Longer than it needs to be.
Often when I listen to The Roots I’m surprised that I don’t like them more. They’ve been important and influential and transcended their genre with their role as late night show house band, but they’re not my favorite alternative hip hop group. I’d rank Tribe, Jurassic 5, Dilated Peoples, and De La Soul all above them, and fitting with that ranking “Phrenology” didn’t quite work for me. There was some of what I was hoping for in the middle, but it took a while to get there and the beginning and end of the album were misses. I’ve also always disliked “The Seed (2.0),” so that also upset the flow of that decent middle section. I think The Roots’ “Things Fall Apart” is a much stronger album, and would suggest that for the list instead of “Phrenology.”
It’s too bad there aren’t more tracks like The Seed (2.0) and too much cacophony like !!!!!!! and the back end of Water.
3, not bad
Some nice tracks, nothing too harsh to listen to. But not something I'll be adding to regular listening.
j’ai eu le temps de faire 3 siestes et ça tournait toujours (truc de beatbox à la fin ??)
Pretty good album. The unfortunate thing about rating albums is I can only say how I feel about it at this exact second, and in this exact second I don't want to take a lot of time to pay attention to the lyrics. I have the feeling I'd rate this a little higher if I was analyzing the words. In this moment though, I don't feel like paying too much attention and it's not the kind of thing I think I'd want to play repeatedly.
Nice L.P. Love the song "The Seed"
Far from a favorite but it's not horrible. Did I listen to it twice? No. will I ever listen to it again? No.
Kind of all over the place, pushing boundaries. I'll never turn down The Roots, and I love the daring attempts. Not all of it quite "hits" though.
jarring intro, but an oddly fitting transition into Rock You. Water is a ten minute hip hop song, half of which is just instrumental experimentation, this is baffling stuff man.
Get the generic '90s gangsta rap. Then replace the background sounds with jazz and soul. Tell them (ANGRILY!) that you will ROCK them. Add a punk interlude. And let it build-up. In the middle, bangers and nice instrumentals will spawn. "Thought @ Work", "The Seed (2.0)", "Break You Off", and the ridiculously long "Water". At this point, you just ROCKED them. Nice. After it, you can go back to the generic gangsta rap with soul background. But this time sprinkle some more soul on top. Congrats. You just created 70 minutes worth of a so-called"progressive rap" album.
Some good stuff here. I like the Roots but find that their albums as a whole tend to be too long and inconsistent. This would be a better album if they had cut it down to 35-40 minutes and cut some of the weaker tracks.
I've always been kind of surprised that The Roots' model of hip hop with live instrumentation wasn't a more popular format. They have a very dynamic and punchy sound. Don't really understand the "Water" track in the middle of the album. I could see it working as a "secret" track at the end but, ironically, it just kind of breaks up the flow. Same goes for "Something in the way of things" - it's nothing against the tracks per se but rather their pacing and placement. And the high energy/clubby final track is just out of nowhere and feels kind of tacked on. The album seems to suffer a bit from CD era bloat.
Fair
I didn't get a chance to listen to this today, but have heard it before. My memory is foggier than Barbara Bush's underpants, but I'm just gonna say that I liked it, didn't love it. And I can tell from the running time it's probably too long for me and my foggy-ass underpants. But "The Seed"! Always liked that one.
It works. Got pretty repetitive. Not a bad listen though
3.6
Initially I thought this album was just going to be a heavy rap album lacking in melody. However as the album progressed I was most impressed by some the deft handling of the songs. In particular I really enjoyed Cody ChestnuTT and Musiq- Break You Off. The verbal dexterity on the lyrics was most impressive.
Groovy. Nice push and pull between songs. *Sacrifice *Thought @ Work *Break You Off *Water
Ho già ascoltato qualcosa dei The Roots e li conosco per via di Jimmy Fallon, ma l'inizio dell'album è spiazzante: Rap molto ritmato. Pian piano si evolve in un Hip Hop più tranquillo. 'The Seed (2.0)' è un classico. Dopo questa succede "qualcosa"
Good mix of modern r&B singing alongside hip hop with pretty good music. Obviously the seed 2.0 is the big famous song, but it's not on its own. Good music. A high 3 due to the quality of the singing, samples and original music. Pretty good .
e tu ricerchi là le tue radici sì sì sì
When the album started I think that I was listening to something similar to "Body Count" mixing hip-hop and Hardrock. This is not the best thing in the world, but is pretty cool and I like this type of mix. Along the rest of the album, this changed a lot...what is it exactly? "Water" is an experimental hip-hop song? Even not understand all the album, I liked it. It's a good experience that could be shorter, but it's cool enough to deserve another chance someday and even other albums from the band.
At first, I thought it was plain old hip hop, but there are a few really nice tracks on here.
A genre, rap, that I don't listen to very much, so I'm happy to have this album come up for me to listen to. First impression is straight forward rap from 2002. Some of the interstitial pieces, like Thought @ work, are an interesting noises or tapestries of sounds and voices. Some of the songs have a cool groove. There isn't tons of melody, it's all about the words and rhymes (with a couple exceptions, particularly songs with guest artists).
Well I have to say I wasn't hugely into this. Luke said it was a banger in his youth. Pussy galore did my absolute nut in. Some were ok but generally wasn't a huge fan
Not bad. I find it quite hard to rate rap/hip-hop albums because they take a lot of attention to really get the lyrics and meaning of it all and I can't always commit that so just have to go off a felling.
Good. It was new to me and I enjoyed it!
"The Seed" is by far the best and most popular song on the album. I'm not sure I really cared for the album outside of this song and was maybe a little disappointed. 6/10.
A real 1001 move to go with Phrenology and not Things Fall Apart, but I'm no Roots head. Back in their day I thought the full band "real" instruments hip hop thing was refreshing compared to the Cash Money stuff that was happening at the time. In hindsight the Cash Money stuff is Bach compared to some contemporary trap beats. Looks like it's a curmudgeony gen x morning for AER! The Roots are cool I just think they're at their best when jazzy and this is their pop breakthrough. Also their albums are really long and Black Thought isn't compelling enough to hold down an hour of rhymes. Sheesh I need to find some positivity. B-
Seed 2.0 is one of my favorite songs all time. There’s a few other bangers on this album, but mostly it’s a few good songs surrounded by mediocre. All the R&B harsher my vibe. They get extra credit fir being a full band and using instruments.
Le jour où Phrenology a pointé le bout de son nez dans le générateur, je me rendais au collège dans lequel je travaille. Au moment d'entrer dans la salle des profs, mon enceinte JBL à la main droite pétaradant l'album des roots, je fus surpris de voir toute l'équipe enseignante ainsi que le directeur réunis devant la porte. "Was soll das ?!" gueulai-je dans un allemand impeccable. Les professeurs me tendirent alors un cadeau soigneusement emballé. "C'est pour moi ?" m'apaisai-je alors. Le directeur acquiesça et je commençai à déballer le cadeau. Quelle ne fut pas ma surprise de découvrir qu'il s'agissait d'une casque-audio JBL. "Was ?!" hurlai-je en leur jetant l'objet à la figure avant de décamper boire mon café ailleurs.
The Roots est un groupe de chenapan. En effet, ces derniers ont réussi à me piéger en cet après-midi. Alors que j'ouvrais le générateur, et visionnait le nom "The Roots" écrit en grosses lettres sur l'immense écran de la salle de réunion, je soupirais. "Encore un groupe de rock moyen en The", murmurai-je, devant l'incompéhension de mes collaborateurs. Mais laissez moi vous remettre dans le contexte. Durant ce mardi, ma journée fut chargée de réunions, ce qui m'empêchait tout bonnement de rattraper mon retard sur le générateur, accumulé suite à l'astucieux détournement d'avion orchestré par robdinèrent. Fou de rage, je me rendis alors dans le bureau de mon directeur, lui tendant mon contrat au visage. -Tu sais pas lire connard ?! C'est en substance ce que je lui ai dit, la clause précisant que dans le cadre de mon activité professionnelle, j'ai droit à un album par jour faisant face à son nez. Il me répondit qu'il fallait que je fasse preuve de flexibilité, et que si il m'etait impossible découter un album aujourd'hui la faute à une journée trop chargée en réunion, je pourrai toujours en écouter deux demain. Je piquais alors une colère: - Ah ouais et les reviews ils vont s'écrire tout seuls ?! C'est alors que je pris la décision de générer mon album du jour pendant ma première réunion de la journée. Revenons donc où nous en étions, entre deux annonces de mon manager, je générais enfin cet album des Roots: - Mmmmh encore un groupe de rock moyen en The... Mes collaborateurs étaient stupéfaits. Je ne compris pas de suite pourquoi, mais alors que je commençais à lancer l'album Phrenology sur les enceintes de la salle, tout s'éclaircit: The Roots n'était en fait pas du tout un groupe de rock moyen, mais bien un groupe de rap moyen.
Probably more like a 3.5, but at the moment it feels closer to a 3 than a 4. I’ve heard this album a lot, and its pretty good, but its fairly far down the list of releases from the Roots that I’d choose when listening to them.
Gode bra ändå, bäst hittills.
Decent
Sounds fresh and current even though it's almost 20 years old
not my favorite - drum beats not changing during the entire song, felt harsh
Looses steam after the seed 2.0
I've tried to listen to this album before because it has a couple of my favourite Roots songs on it, but there is just a bit too much filler in there to make it a true classic
First and foremost, it's great to see Nelly Furtado make an appearance on this list. I enjoyed the album, especially the more 'bandy' tracks like The Seed, but the variety was welcome too. The jazzy weirdness of Something In The Way Of Things sounds like something Kendrick Lamar would do these days (yeah that's right, I'm a hip-hop expert). A solid 3 or even 3.5.
Solid two album here. The seed is probably my favorite off this album. Some of the interludes seemed long though. The bets are solid and lyrically black thought does well. The appearances by talib kwali are solid too. 7.6/10
Different but good liked the last song
I really like the roots but this one is a little different.
Hip hop. Soul
Vamos allá con la banda residente del programa de Jimmy Fallon. Pues me han recordado por sonido a Outkast o Gnarls Barkley. Me ha gustado "Thought @ work". En general se deja escuchar pero no es un disco que volvería a oír o considere imprescindible.
A great album, I'm kind of ashamed that I only knew "The Seed (2.0)", but back in 2002 I wasn't too interested in this genre. This is one I'll surely get back to and perhaps give it 4 stars.
It was alright, it kind of washed over me, but I wasn't offended
I like this album but was a little disappointed with this listen, and it's a strange pick for The Roots, they have much much better material out there
I think a lot about how Philly hasn't produced as many microphone juggernauts as a lot of other cities, and the Roots have me convinced it's because Black Thought took all the talent and left nothing for anybody else—all respect due to Dice Raw and Malik B. I was only really familiar with their first three albums before this, so I expected there to be a musical jump towards more instrumental experimentation and diversity—and sure enough, this album's all over the god damn place—but the lyricism feels a little stuck in the 90s for better and for worse. In Rolling with Heat's case, afro-centrism is closing out a verse with "pro-black" before going on to proclaim that "dick smokers get no respect" in the next, and Pussy Galore almost feels hypocritical coming after Break You Off's infidelity—maybe that's the intent? Regardless, Thought is razor sharp elsewhere, to the point that you come to kind of resent the lengthy musical interludes that make up a portion of the record's 70 minutes. Solid stuff, but it makes me wonder why this was the sole Roots album to make the book's cut, and this is coming from someone who hasn't even gotten to Things Fall Apart yet. Key Tracks: Thought @ Work, Water, Quills
it's weird this is the only Roots album on this list apparently because it's the most "it's fine I guess" of all their albums I've heard. Black Thought rules though and that carried me through the album.
After listening to Phrenology, I understand why people like hip-hop. Still not my type tho.
Mostly okay
Was sure I wouldn't like this pleasantly surprised that i was wrong
This was much less "rap" music than avantgarde music. (6/10) Favourite Tracks: The Seed (2.0)
Parhaimmillaan todella letkeän laadukasta rap/r&b/whatever musiikkia Ameriikan tyyliin. Varsinkin muutamat vierailevalla vokalistilla varustetut biisit toimi hyvin. Valitettavasti mukana on genren normien mukaisesti useampia omituisia sekoiluraitoja, jotka rikkovat tehokkaasti kokonaisuuden. On tämä kuitenkin ehdottomasti listan parhaita raplevyjä tähän mennessä. Parhaimmillaan nelosen arvoista flowta mutta kokonaisuus jää tällä kertaa kolmoseen.
Second Listen. The first time this album came up for me, I wasn't impressed. None of the songs grabbed me at all. This time, I feel completely different. I thought the sounds, raps, everything was very interesting. I was probably turned off by the language used. This time I tried to focus more on the groves. Enjoyed it much more this time around. 3/5. (2/5 first time) Phrenology: the detailed study of the shape and size of the cranium as a supposed indication of character and mental abilities.
Dripping with fanny
I really enjoyed this album lyrically. The rapping is really good and engaging. However, the instrumentals were not enough for me to be impressed as a while. Further, I would have preferred a shorter run time to have made the album more effective.
Decent rapping, album too long though and would have preferred some better beats with more instruments, less electronic
A few bangers here but too much guff. Really liked Break You Off. Most of the rest was unremarkable
I really like The Roots - excellent musicians and songwriters. Some great tunes, and I like the amalgamation of different styles to produce something that still sounds cohesive and flows. However, I do think this record is too long. It could have easily lost a few tracks. It's also too loud and compressed for the most part. Whenever you see footage of The Roots playing live there is much more dynamic range and swing, and I feel a lot of that is lost on this recording. (3.4)
I always kind of thought this would be the type of hip-hop I would like, and there is definitely some good stuff here, but overall it surprises me that I think I prefer the 90's gangsta rap to this a bit more.
its alright
Top 3 1. (8) The Seed (2.0) 2. (9) Break You Off 3. (4) Sacrifice Bonus: (16) Thirsty!
Was pretty interesting - a wide variety from song-to-song. The drums & instrumentation are super tight and interesting, layered beneath the vocals in a few songs. Probably won't pull it up again but pretty neat
I would’ve hated this maybe as few as five years ago. Worse, I’d have dismissed it without giving it a chance. I’m different now. Now I give it a chance BECAUSE I wouldn’t have picked it. It’s still not something I’d choose to listen to, but I’m more willing to meet it on its own terms, to try to examine it and understand it and respect it. I’ll give myself the patronizing white guy pat on the shoulder here, even though I can recognize that perhaps I’m still a bit racist, just in a different way. I’m more like the condescending “liberal” white family in “Get Out”. Oh well, keep trying to grow and improve, right? Interesting mix of pop-rock and rap. Some of these songs speak to me like Childish Gambino last summer. Bears further examination.
Done.
Similair to beastieboys Gets better the longer I listen 3.5/5
Some good songs. Didn't like everything (what the hell was going on in the song "Water"?) Chill music.
Few good songs
Pretty darn good. Funkadelic
Highlights: The Seed (2.0), Break You Off
Pretty entertaining. Black Though had some good energy, but I felt like something was missing. Also the pair of earbuds I used was horrible, so maybe that had something to do with it.
Great lyrics, good beats, good flow
Un altro album difficile da giudicare. Conoscevo il gruppo solo per The Seed (2.0) prima di questo ascolto. Ho trovato questo album coerente stilisticamente ma molto incoerente rispetto al mio grado di apprezzamento. All'inizio ho pensato che sarebbe stato un ascolto pesante più o meno fino a The Seed. Da lì l'album per me si è aperto e praticamente fino a Complexity ho trovato tutti i pezzi molto interessanti e anche raffinati, Water e Break You Off in particolare. Poi però è tornato un po' troppo concettuale o troppo clubbarolo pur mantenendo l'impronta stilistica sicuramente, ma l'ho trovato poco azzeccato come cambio all'interno dell'album. Non mi sento di andare sopra al 3 anche se la varianza dei voti dei singoli pezzi è alta.
Loro sono forti però questo disco non mi conquista completamente, mi piacciono più quando sono neo-soul che puramente hip hop. Lo trovo anche un pò troppo lungo come disco poteva essere concentrato in una tracklist più breve e forse lo avrebbe aiutato a mettersi a fuoco. Detto questo per me sono un 3.5.
Zbog Seeda ocjena više.
Some good songs but not life changing by any means
The album started out strong, but loses some of its step in the back-half. Overall, it's solid first half and old-school appeal does a lot to make this a solid effort for the group.
This is my first exposure to a Roots' record, and I was really surprised at the variety of genres they venture into here. There's a little prog, a little psychedelia, techno in addition to neo-soul/old school hip-hop, which is more of what I associated with The Roots. Make me want to dive into more of their work, as I feel like it's a strange entry point, but I like a lot of what "Phrenology" has to offer. Fav Tracks: Break You Off, The Seed (2.0) Rating: 3.5/5
Pretty good
A bit long and runs out of steam towards the end a little, but overall a really enjoyable album with a great flow. Hip Hop for grown ups.
Beautiful production and rhymes. Could do with a trim though. Runs out of gas about half way through.
Real mix of styles in this hip hop. Best Tracks: Rock On, Thought @ Work, Rhymes and Ammo
Rap with a live band is always appreciated. Good and fairly consistent but not transcendent
Pretty solid rap album, but nothing that really stood out to me. 0RS
Some great grooves, mixes & references, will listen again.
The Rootsy, ale z dosc niespodziewanym albumem bym powiedzial, bo chyba najbardziej eksperymentalny w dyskografii i dosc dzielacy fanow, bo pierwszy albumik bez Malika, ktory poszedl z bandy, prawdopodobnie przez drugowanie, co jest tematem jednego z kawalkow, water, 10 minutowy kawalek z czego polowa jest prawdziwym psychodelicznym tripem w swiat Malika, a czemu eksperymentalny material, bo pomimo tego ze jest to niewatpliwie gatunek hip hopowania murzynskiego, to jest on przepelniony wplywami innych gatunkow muzycznych, glownie jazzu i neosoula, wiec jedynym featurem na albunie jaki znam jest talib kweli, natomiast reszta artystow jest dla mnie zbyt egzotyczna, a troche tych grajkow sie tutaj znajdzie na kolabie, dokladnie 21, bo nie jest to typowy material rapowy jak wspominalem, the rootsy wyrozniaja sie tym, ze instrumentale nie sa samplowane, ale grane na zywo, co brzmi swietnie live, ale stwarza tez problemy z organizacja tak poteznej bandy, a skoro neosoul, to musza byc chorki takze z colabowych artystow, natomiast lista featurow na produkcji jest jeszcze dluzsza i tego juz nie potrafie wyjasnic, zwlaszcza ze wczesne rootsy byly samoprodukujaca sie banda, co do kontentu lirycznego to jest to rap z gatunku conscious, czyli bardzo zyciowe kawalki, zwlaszcza o tym jak zle jest biednym ludziom o ciemnej karnacji, niektore kawalki sa nawet zbyt kaznodziejskie, ale taki urok gatunku, na plejaka dorzucam wspomniany kawalek o wodzie Malikowej i thought@work, ciekawie prezentuje sie takze okladka, ktora odnosi sie do tytulu plyty, phrenology na polski frenologia, czyli dawna dziedzina naukowa, w dziesiejszych czasach pseudonaukowa odnoszoaca sie do badania i pomiaru tego co kto ma w glowie na podstawie tego jaka ma glowe, wiec w zaleznosci ktore czesci kory mozowej jakie maja wymiary tak sie ocenia osobnika, okladka przedstawia osobe murzynska i co ona ma w poszczegolnych czesciach mozgu, co nawiazuje do klasycznego schematu frenologicznego
Não encontrei a parte do rock no álbum.
buen disco
No está mal, supongo que es mejor entendiendo la letra.
So far this album is better than 77, listening to them back to back is very interesting. Still have the consistent rhythmic thing going on. Their use of electric guitar almost exclusive for high riffs is super funky, especially when you layer in all the laser noises. The song "electric guitar" is just objectively bad though.
Blir litt for eklektisk for min hip-hop smak
Funky fused rap with interesting sound scapes
Muy bien producido. Rap old school que suena actual. Tracks: The Seed, Pussy Galore
pretty nice album, listened to half but just feeling a different vibe so stopped halfway
Good album, but I've never really cared for the roots
Lækkert, men man skal også være i humør til deres tekster
Alright, I suppose. I don't really know enough about rap to distinguish good from bad, tbh.
jag vill ge det här en fyra men albumet är för långt. kill your darlings ffs
This is alright, couldn't say it's the best of all time but it's better than the "big bling hip hop" of the early 2000s. Still too long and not very memorable though.
Nah mate.
Come on. I mean it’s fine but I would definitely not listen again. I don’t think that anybody should be subjected to a 10 minute song where half of it is just screeching. I liked rock you and thirsty.
Didn’t really care for this one besides the last two tracks
First half was such a bore. When they got into the dancey stuff I had a lot of fun.
Tulipahan kuunneltua. Ei jäänyt kyllä mitään erikoista mieleen.
Pretty okay but can't take them seriously knowing they're just Jimmy Fallon's backup band.
THIS is the best band in late night?! I was going to give this a three because I appreciated the sudden genre changes and first half of this album…then it really fell off as it went on. And, automatic star removal for naming a song Pussy Galore & it ain’t about James Bond
I had never heard of The Roots before, and I suspect that’s because - at least on this album - the group hides behind collaborations with well-known artists. Or to be more precise: the style of the individual songs depends so heavily on their collaborators that it’s not at all clear what The Roots stand for. Maybe you could look at the first “real” track, “Rock You”, as a reference point, but that song is so bad that you can’t even come to a more favorable conclusion... Let me put it this way: The Roots are a kind of music collective that’s good at providing their collaborators with tailor-made backing tracks. The whole thing falls into the not-quite-so-annoying realm of hip-hop. So for me, “Phrenology” falls into the “tolerable but not good” category.
Just not for me. A bit too ‘difficult’ of an album for my taste. 2/5
4/10 A better hip hop album. I like the Seed, ignoring the lyrics. Hated Water, which almost needed to be skipped during the 5mins of nothingness. Far too long, but that seems to go without saying in this genre
Hardly find anything interesting apart from the Seed and maybe Rhymes and ammo. Diversity of genres in this album and most of it is quite unpleasant to the ear.
The lyrics I don't like (I can tell why they made this explicit) but I like the music in the background. Great.
Not my favorite, I don't really like the songs since I don't like rap music. and I wouldn't really recommend
eh
- 2002 bell’anno - Sound hip hop autentico ed essenziale - Sacrifice !! Rolling with the heat !! Quills !! - Ma ho sentito ”shabuya rollcall” in una skit ?? - The Seed (2.0) bel riff di chitarra Voto: 7
The Roots не дуже люблю, але поважаю. Буде цікаво послухати. Несподівані панківські вставочки. А так досить попсово - не моє. The Seed (2.0) вже колись чув - прикольно. Complexity попсова, але гарна пісня. Something In The Way Of Things (In Town) - крутий джазовий, експерементальний трек. Якби весь альбом був такий, було б супер. Thirsty! - танцювальний трек, додає різноманітності альбому. В загальному не зайшло, бо я думав що The Roots це щось в стилі A Tribe Called Quest, але ні.
I honestly struggled to finish this, it really started to drag and I cant really place why ur didn't work for me tbh. There's parts I like, but not full songs, and in general I felt that the songs went on for a long time also. Fav Track: Break You Off