NO digital copy included
Audio Quality: 2.25/5
Song Quality: 4.25/5
Packaging: 2.5/5
It's a given that just about everything I say on this blog is opinion only. As much as I'd like my thoughts to also function as hard facts the rest of the world must acknowledge and obey, it does not work that way. Yet. So when I say that Mule Variations is one of the best sounding records money can buy, or that Built To Spill should make Ben Gibbard hang his head in shame, you know that's just my take on it. However, some things that sound like opinion are so rooted in general public consensus that it starts to transform itself into a fact.
So, when I say that 36 Chambers is one of the greatest hip-hop records ever produced, don't take that as opinion. Because it's a fact. Recognize.What's most important about this album, more important than discussing individual songs, is discussing the overall vibe of this recording. For a mainstream rap record, it's probably
the most raw and lo-fi release in the history of the genre. The beats, which sound just about as unique today as they must have sounded in 1993, sound very homemade, chopped and re-assembled complete with enough Kung-Fu samples to recreate an entire movie. At times, the vocals also sound very live and off-the-cuff, less like it was recorded in a studio and more like it was a bunch of guys passing a microphone around a living room, rapping along to their friend's cassette tape of beats he brought over on a boombox. In this sense, 36 Chambers has more character than any other hip-hop album I can think of. There aren't really any weak points on this album, but highlights are definitely "Shame on a Nigga," "C.R.E.A.M.," "Wu Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing Ta Fuck Wit," and "Protect Ya Neck." The album has great ebb and flow from track to track, and should definitely be listened to in full, if you're looking to get the full experience. When Wu-Tang Clan are at their best, each emcee gets to showcase their own unique sound contribution to the project, and you can appreciate just how important the chemistry between these 9 individuals is. After this record, many Wu-Tang members went on to have extremely successfuly solo careers, most notably Method Man, Ghostface Killah, Rakewon, and the late great Ol' Dirty Bastard. All of them can credit this landmark release as their launching point, and it's a great indication of how much their personalities can shine in an environment that, in most cases, would be individually stifling. Not the case here... not at all.But here's the bummer: this vinyl edition sounds really bad. I recently made a note of the fact that it's okay for some albums to not sound great, because they're meant to sound rough around the edges and that's part of what makes them feel the way they do. That's all true, and this record is a great example of stepping over that line, from the lo-fi on purpose column into the inexcusably bad column. This album is simply mastered too loud for vinyl. You have to crank the volume to get it to an acceptable level, and the whole mix starts to distort by the time you finally get there. At first, I thought to myself that this was okay, and that it's a very raw sounding album and that a little bit of fuzz on playback just adds to the character. This wound up being pure denial. By the time I was ready to turn the album over to side B (Wu-Tang Sword), which contains pretty much all my favorite tracks on the album, I almost didn't want to do it. It was downright painful. Also adding to the distortion is that it's one of the least quiet pressings I've ever heard from a brand new album. Straight out of the package it has so many pops and cracks that it sounds as if it has been collecting dust in a garage since before hip-hop even existed. Again, I wish that sound worked in this album's favor, but if I said it did, I'd be lying to you. Huge disappointment here. I hope that eventually someone re-releases this album with a higher-quality pressing. For now, this is going back on the shelf and I'm going back to the CD.
Packaging is super minimal, so I'll make this brief. The 150-gram (I think) LP sits in a generic white paper sleeve inside a gatefold package. No digital copy is included, nor is there any additional artwork, lyrics, or whathaveyou. It's the record in the sleeve. Deal with it. It's not exceptionally expensive, so at least it has that going for it. But that's not much, people.
This might be a great record to buy and then hang up on your wall with those vinyl frames. It's definitely cool to own on record, and I can't think of a better way to build up your musical credibility (even most non-hip-hop fans acknowledge how plain cool this record is) than to have this baby hanging from your wall. But when it comes to listening, steer clear of the release. It's really just all bad, and definitely not worth your time or the strain on your ears. Let's hope for a newly mastered re-issue soon, because this album definitely deserves it. Until then, your MP3s will do the trick.
Buy the LP from Amazon.com
Buy the LP from BestBuy.com (Only $10)
Monday: The Who - Who's Next? (Version comparison: standard vs. Back In Black re-issue)
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