Tracks flow really well into one another.
Production very crisp little reverb in your face classic plexi tone, everything cuts through really well balanced and warm sounding.
Absolute classic of an album cover
An absolute classic, the guitar work is unforgettable and a nice raw production. A true piece of art
Chump has a hypnotic bass line really got me in a trance really showcases mike dirnts underrated bassplaying
The transition into long view into the tom section is awesome then kicks you in the face
Production overall super in your face compressed, the whole album in one sitting really fatigues the ears, but does the job. Listened on good headphones CD quality but i bet on a good HiFi blasting it'd kick your ass
Welcome to paradise really has all band members playing to their full ability, the part where it drops out into the middle section with toms panned right then kicks into the full tom groove in stereo makes it sound huge, pretty underwhelming going into the track pulling teeth after such a banger.
Nothing to say about basket case that hasn't been said before, absolute classic everyone has learnt on the guitar at least once, and really creative drumming from tre, never gets old.
F.o.d the acoustic guitar is just recorded badly and it sounds great when the band kicks in but just too weak on the acoustic intro, I lost interest in this song
All by myself is a funny humorous classic but by this point im pretty tired with fatigued ears from the compression on this album , good in small doses .
3/5 as a whole
Definitely can see how this influenced future rap albums with the adlib talking sections.
Production is basic, but definitely a signature sound of the era and probably started with bands like this.
Extremely repetitive from a musical perspective, but this kind of rap is all about the lyrics and rapper. Unfortunately for this reason it bores me listening to this album as a whole.
I do enjoy some tracks from this though and would listen to them as part of a playlist but this is quite a tough listen as a whole entity/album.
The intermission just got on my nerves, I don't wanna hear them bashing on about crap, bad quality recording as well on that keeps distorting, to be fair they probably did this on little equipment and not pro studio but still , not enjoyable.
Good rappers but the instrumentals again are just dull and repetitive.
Standout tracks for me are:
7th chamber (at a push.. At least they tried to put some musical interest in there with synths and saxophone, but its totally out of key and makes no sense).
No other tracks were standout for me, I wouldn't relisten to this.
I heard a lot of good things about wu tang over the years but I just don't get it.
From the first track that warm classic motown sound we've all grown to love wraps around you like a comforting weighted blanket, you can't help but be enveloped and sucked into the world of this album.
Transitions like Save the Children into God is Love are seamless, I can imagine that this was groundbreaking stuff back in the day - it's as if the listening experience continues and it just keeps on going, really nice jamming to this.
Every track has a richness of sound to it, each listen reveals something new - be it bongos panned quietly to the left, horn patterns at the right, a quiet piano, strings playing their own melody.
Then into mercy mercy me, wow - this transition really makes you smile, from the brightness of god is love, including the bright bass tone and "harsher" quality of god is love - into mercy mercy me where the entire tonality drops down akin to a warm hug, dropping the bass into the background with a much warmer tone, letting the percussion with reverb take centre stage.
Throughout, Marvin's vocal performances are next to none, it doesn't even seem like he did double tracking - his voice carries itself with little help required, the same can be said of Jamerson's bass riffs, the famous story of him even playing one of the songs drunk after being dragged from a bar to perform.
Right on is a hypnotic jam, reminds me of a latin track with the percussion going on in the background, near the end of the track when it drops out for a few mins and the drums kick in crispier than fried chicken, how can you not smile??
A definite solid addition to my library I'll listen to again and again.
I never knew Bjork had a band in the late 80s is my first thought on this!
Mixing really nice and wide, dreamy chorus bass similar to the smiths actually.
Bjorks high vocals sit nicely just on top of everything.
Definitely a young album listening to the lyrical content and song titles, for sure influenced by some new wavey bands with the reverberated guitar drums and chorus on the bass.
Blue eyed pop got an interesting bass line with the deep slides at the start, cool jam but the lyrics really let it down in my opinion..
Deus is an annoying track, not a fan of that one
The band are decent but the album as a whole is nothing groundbreaking to me except for the fact it introduced the world to Bjork. Now, if it were one of her albums in its place maybe I would understand but I don't brink this is an album you have to listen to before you die at all.
I'm a big prog guy and enjoy soft machine but having this as an album you just listen to before you die? Nah.
Starting with an 18 min live jam then the following 3 tracks are jams too is just a lot to take in.
I do enjoy parts of it but it just feels like recorded jams than planned and thought out songs, plus not much thought put into this as a coherent piece of art. I mean on this list comparing it to Marvin Gaye's what's going on, which really thinks about song transitions is just incomparable.
Can't rate this high in the context of this list, its just repetitive and the jams get dull. Maybe if you smoke a joint or have the album on in the background of a party you're throwing while drinking wine and eating your fancy canapés.
Sorry prog fans but this is not an album you must hear before you die, I'd say most should avoid it.
