Wu-Tang Clan
Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993)
It's unlikely that I'll review many hip hop albums in the LOAD Project. It's never been a musical style that I have been fond of, though as I've grown older I have been able to develop an appreciation for the really important works (such as Straight Outta Compton or Fear of a Black Planet) and can certainly understand why they have such appeal.
Despite my dislike for hip hop, part of this project is to take on artists and genres I wouldn't normally listen to, not just to keep exposing myself to new sounds and styles but also because it would be boring for everyone to read a blog which was just 365 Albums That Daniel Likes In Only The Musical Styles He Likes Too.
In that spirit, and because I heard a track from this album late last year and liked it, I am tackling Wu-Tang Clan's debut album today. Those of you unfamiliar with the Wu may not know that the Clan and its affiliates are responsible for about seventeen million works (okay that's a slight exaggeration) but that when members of the Clan do solo works, some of their money goes back to the Wu-Tang Clan's own band fund. It's a very interesting and democratic way to operate, and is entirely down to the Clan's producer extraordinaire and band general, RZA.
This will be a slightly different review, only because it's going to be more of a discussion and observations on the overall album; I only plan to dig deeper into a few tracks.
Let me just say though.....you might be surprised at my opinion of Enter the Wu-Tang.
(Warning - I do have to use terms like 'flow' and 'rhyme' here. Sorry about that.)
The Album
The Wu-Tang Clan on this album consists of nine MCs, all with their own unique styles and signature vocal 'tics' - RZA, GZA, Inspectah Deck, Method Man, Ghostface Killah, Ol' Dirty Bastard, U-God, Masta Killa and Raekwon. This album is dominated by Method Man and Raekwon, who feature on eight tracks; while Masta Killa is only on one, and U-God only on three. Interestingly, RZA didn't choose who would perform on each track; the decisions were, apparently, settled through rap battles. AWESOME.
Enter the Wu-Tang is a rough, gritty sounding album. It is not slick and crisp like its West Coast contemporaries; the drums are deep and bassy, it relies on the use of jazz, soul and kung-fu movie samples and, at times, the vocals are in danger of being lost in the background. While this was entirely forced on RZA, it works beautifully, and it makes this album sound more real than the comparatively overproduced albums being made by people like Dr. Dre at that time.
Of the Clan themselves, all are incredibly skilled and clever (dare I say, funny) lyricists and rappers. The lyrics are peppered with pop culture references (I counted two mentions of Voltron. FUCKING VOLTRON! HOW COOL IS THAT?) and there are some genuinely witty lines in there; but bubbling underneath the surface are some very honest, real and raw observations on street life. When these guys rap about the projects and the hardships suffered within, there is no pretense. The roughness of the album's production further enhances that feeling that what you are hearing is the real story of what it's like to be a black man in the poorer neighbourhoods of New York.
Personally, while I enjoyed the work of all members at different times, there were a couple that for me really stood out. Ol' Dirty Bastard has an almost singsong quality to his vocal, and makes it sound so natural that you often don't notice it; his verse on Da Mystery of Chessboxin' is one of the highlights of the album, a star turn from a talented artist. GZA has an uncanny ability to weave in and out of the beats and the bars of the song, making his rhymes sound messy and chaotic....until you realise that he has such great control of his lyrical flow that it's a conscious artistic choice. The track Clan in da Front displays this most emphatically.
Of the songs themselves, the differentiation comes not necessarily from the music (beats and samples can only sound marginally different I guess) but from the artists on each track and the quality of the lyrics. While I didn't find too many weak spots on Enter The Wu-Tang, there were some songs that stood out.
Protect Ya Neck is a straight out rap battle track between the Wu, displaying each member's style and allowing for some killer lyrics (GZA's verse about major record companies a highlight - he raps about out of touch A and R men who "mountain climb and play electric guitar" and who don't want "dirty" rap, they want "suit and tie rap"). Ghostface Killah also has one of the better lyrical verses in the song. Tearz is a great track with even better lyrics, as it deals with untimely death in the 'hood in two ways. RZA's verse deals with the unavoidable and tragic death of his little brother in a shooting, while Ghostface Killah's verse deals with a friend who contracts HIV due to unprotected sex. It serves both as observation of life and a warning to others. Da Mystery of Chessboxin' is another choice song, not only due to the aforementioned ODB verse but because, again, the interplay between each member is first class. I also really enjoyed Method Man, which unsurprisingly is a Method Man solo piece. More pop culture references than a season of Family Guy, and it showcases Method Man's abilities beautifully; at times he adopts his own singing style a la ODB, in amongst his typical husky delivery.
The Verdict
Enter The Wu-Tang is undoubtedly a highly important album in the history of hip hop. I can only vouch for that because of the research I did into the album beforehand, discovering that it's on a shitload of Best/Most Important/Most Influential Album lists. As a standalone album though, it's a delight to listen to. It never gets boring, because the songs are so interesting, the lyrics so clever and the rapping so diverse that there's always something exciting to discover in each track. I really enjoyed it and I thought that's something I would never say about a hip hop album.
Would I track down more Wu? I might. The only thing that puts me off is that critically, Wu-Tang Clan never scaled these heights again, even if the individual members got better and better at their craft. Perhaps, though, that's just the critics being unfair, expecting these nine men to reproduce their glorious, groundbreaking beginning. If this album teaches us anything, it's that sometimes in music, it is possible for a band's debut album to be so earthshatteringly good or influential that it doesn't matter what they do afterwards, because everything will be compared to that first album....and found wanting.
My rating: ****
Standout Tracks
Protect Ya Neck
Da Mystery of Chessboxin'
Method Man
Tomorrow sees me take on a virtually unknown album by a band that were generally hated by music critics, yet were and are one of the biggest and most influential rock bands of all time! Though the album is little known, two of the songs are amongst the most heavily played in the band's catalogue.....
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