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Wu-Tang Clan Album: “W”
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Release Date:2002-12-09
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Type:Unknown
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Genre:Hip-Hop/Rap, East Coast Rap, Mainstream Rap
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Label:Sony Mid-Price
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Explicit Lyrics:Yes
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UPC:5099749957626
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Review - :
After a host of disappointing solo albums and quickly diminishing celebrity (most of the latter devoted to the continuing extra-legal saga of {$Ol' Dirty Bastard}), {$Wu-Tang Clan} returned, very quietly, with 2000's {^The W}. The lack of hype was fitting, for this is a very spartan work, especially compared to its predecessor, the sprawling and overblown {^Wu-Tang Forever}. While the trademark sound is still much in force, group mastermind {$RZA} jettisoned the elaborate beat symphonies and carefully placed strings of {^Forever} in favor of tight productions with little more than scarred soul samples and tight, tough beats. The back-to-basics approach works well, not only because it rightly puts the focus back on the best cadre of rappers in the world of hip-hop, but also because {$RZA}'s immense trackmaster talents can't help but shine through anyway. Paranoid kung fu samples and bizarre found sounds drive the fantastic streets-is-watching nightmare {&"Careful (Click, Click)."} Unfortunately, though, {^The W} isn't quite the masterpiece it sounds like after the first few tracks. It falls prey to the same inconsistency as {^Forever}, resulting in half-formed tracks like {&"Conditioner,"} with {$Snoop Dogg} barely saving {$Ol' Dirty Bastard}'s lone appearance on the LP, a phoned-in vocal (in terms of sound and quality). When they're hitting on all cylinders though, {$Wu-Tang Clan} are nearly invincible; {&"Let My Niggas Live,"} a feature with {$Nas}, isn't just claustrophobic and dense but positively strangling, and singles material like {&"Protect Ya Neck (The Jump Off)"} and {&"Do You Really (Thang, Thang)"} are punishing tracks. Paring down {^Wu-Tang Forever} -- nearly a two-hour set -- to the 60-minute work found here was a good start, but {$the Wu} could probably create another masterpiece worthy of their debut if they spent even more time in the editing room. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
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