Field Mob Album: “Light Poles and Pine Trees”

Before you click "no", hear me out.

If you love the southern sound and can't get enough of it, then you probably think this is a 5 star album.

If you can't stand the southern sound and simply can't take anymore of it, then you probably think this is a 1 star album.

I stand in between the two sides and this is just a 3 star album to me. This is coming from someone that owns all three of their albums (I loved their first album). As far as content goes, this album is a step backward from their last album (From The Roota To The Toota). While they had a nice blend of uplifitng and typical southern songs, this album is more typical than anything else. Are there good songs on this album? Definitely. Are the beats tight? Yes they are. What I'm saying is, the little bit of substance they exhibited on their second album has all but disappeared. There are some good tracks to be found though. I can't get enough of "So What" and "At The Park" because of the feel good party vibes I get from them. "Area Code 229", though somewhat silly, is still catchy. "Blacker The Berry" shows what Field Mob is capable of when they actually put some effort into what they do.

The problem with this album is the amount of generic content. Tracks like "Baby Bend Over", "Eat 'Em Up, Beat 'Em Up", and "My Wheels" (despite decent production) are the most unoriginal and lazy songs I've heard in a while (I can only take so much babbling about ridin' rims and gettin' laid). I firmly believe that this kind of stuff is beneath them. Just check out the awful "Pistol Grip". It's a perfect example of what I'm getting at.

Light Poles & Pine Trees is a solid album to me. I still believe that Shawn Jay and Smoke have very unique and original flows, and when they get good topics and good production, that's when they REALLY shine. They trip up when they lower themselves to do generic tracks dedicated to rims and gettin' head. I think Field Mob can do SO MUCH BETTER and this stuff their putting out is below them. It's kind of like when you see a prospect that you know can become an elite player, but they don't realize their potential yet, so they settle for being good instead of great. I hear two exceptional rappers doing below average songs because they don't seem to realize that they're as good as they really are. Maybe I'm expecting too much from them. Like I said before, how you percieve this album depends on how you view southern rap. Some love it, some hate it. I don't belong to either extreme, I just like it. You probably will too, but if you don't think they can do better, you may be kidding yourself.

Standout Tracks: Sorry Baby, Blacker The Berry (My Favorite), So What feat. Ciara, 1 2 3, At The Park, and Georgia feat. Ludacris & Jamie Foxx

I thought this album was ok. The tracks on it that are good are REALLY good and the rest are either mediocre or completely wack. Overall, the album is above average and definatly worth checking out.

Top Tracks:

1,2,3

So What

Georgia

At The Park

Pistol Grip

Blacker The Berry

When it comes to musicians coming from Georgia, the most obvious places are Atlanta and the college town Athens. Surprising everyone is the hip hop group Field Mob- a duo whose residence is the rural town of Albany. They signed with MCA Records- an astonshing feat considering they were a Southern rap act on a very East Coast-centric label. They released their 2000 debut "613: Ashy To Classy", propelled by the minor hit about being proud of their humble beginnings "Project Dreamz". They followed it up with their sophomore effort two years later "From Tha Roota To The Toota". The first single from the album "Sick Of Being Lonely" propelled them to instant stardom, but the video boxed them into a corner. For as much as they wanted to be taken seriously, the song's success did them no favors. Then by the time they released the second single "All I Know", their label MCA Records was folded into Geffen Records, where they would take up residency. Along they way, they were picked up by Ludacris and brought into his Disturbing Tha Peace collective.

After a four year absence, they release their third album- the aptly titled "Light Poles & Pine Trees". Their punchlines are still sharp and their ribald humor is intact. What's noticeable is how commercial a lot of the songs sound. They reunite with some familiar producers, such as Jazze Pha for the first single "So What" and "613: Ashy To Classy" producer Ole-E and his lone contribution, the detractors themed "Smilin'". Most of the songs are produced by newcomer and multi-instrumentalist Ken Jo with a few songs produced by former Jim Crow member Polow Da Don. They perform an ode to flashy cars on "My Wheels" and apologize to their significant others about their lives as touring artists on "Sorry Baby". They come off crass and hilariously filthy on the oral sex ode "Eat 'Em Up, Beat 'Em Up" and the stripper themed "Baby Bend Over". However, not all of the songs are fun and games on "Light Poles & Pine Trees". They show anger towards a failed relationship on "I Hate You" while member Shawn Jay opens up about his struggle with being dark skinned on "Blacker The Berry". Overall, Field Mob's "Light Poles & Pine Trees" is a decent recording, but is hindered by the looming shadow of commercial aim that is cast over the project by them being a part of Disturbing Tha Peace. It would have been a better album if Ludacris had simply let Field Mob be who they are instead of trying to make them appeal to a wider audience.

Field Mob's latest release, Light Poles and Pine Trees, is a mixed bag. There are some interesting, thoughtful cuts, some tired-out junk. "Georgia" featuring Jamie Foxx and Ludacris is just plain excellent, with an excellent sampling of "Georgia On my Mind" by Ray Charles. The other Ludacris, "Smilin" featured track is a solid call out the haters track. The smash "So What" featuring Ciara is one of the best on the album, with excellent produnction from Jazze Pha. "Blacker the Berry" is another soulful, well done track, as is "Sorry Baby" with DTP's Bobby Valentino.

For all that the album is held back by some bad and formulaic cuts that seem completely aimed at getting radio play. One of these is "My Wheels" another car/rim song, "Pistol Grip", another gun/violence song. To complement these bad cuts, there is the truly unlistenable "I Hate You", and "Baby Bend Over" the obligatory sex song. The obligatory rep-yo-area code track "Area Code 229" is amaturish and raw, not in a good way.

Overall, there are some nice tracks on this one, but there are better albums for the money out there.

Top 5

1. Georgia feat. Jamie Foxx and Ludacris

2. So What feat. Ciara

3. Smilin' feat. Ludacris

4. Sorry Baby feat. Bobby Valentino

5. Blacker the Berry

I think the album is worth the buy, these are some creative cats, and you'll get some laughs out of it. These cats are like the country Nice N' Smooth.