Aesop Rock - Bazooka Tooth

http://www.sendspace.com/file/j3h1r7

1. Bazooka Tooth
2. N.Y. Electric
3. Easy
4. No Jumper Cables
5. Limelighter/Flunkadelic Interlude
6. Super Fluke
7. Cook It Up
8. Freeze/Honeycomb Interlude
9. We're Famous
10. Babies With Guns
11. Greatest Pac-Man Victory in History
12. Frijoles
13. 11:35/Ketamine U.S.A. Interlude
14. Kill The Messenger
15. Mars Attacks

Aesop Rock had a lot to live up to with 2003's Bazooka Tooth. His last release (Labor Days) in 2001 was widely considered to be an instant classic. Seemingly overnight Aesop found himself basking in the Independent scenes limelight, and just as quickly he managed to form himself a fairly sizable fan-base. Fans that no doubt were expecting nothing less than another classic from their newly appointed Underground hero. Sadly this wasn't to be. Bazooka Tooth was, and still is often looked upon as the album where Aesop "really started to go a little too far left".  Ace had already been a decidedly abstract artist to begin with, but on Bazooka Tooth he takes his quirky weirdness not to just another level, but another planet altogether. For a lot of people it was simple the straw the broke the camels back. At times it almost feels as if Aesop went out of his way to make the absolute least accessible album he could produce. Though to be fair I feel that some of the blame lies with the fans. People who were constantly looking to see what new radical direction Rock would push himself in. He essentially found himself in a lose/lose situation. He could either rest on his laurels and be accused of sounding stale, or he could push the envelop and risk alienating his ever growing fan-base. 

When discussing Bazooka Tooth the main criticism is almost always going to be the production. Aesop had handled some of his own production in the past, but the majority of it was left to longtime collaborator Blockhead, who would create the jazzy backdrops that would come to define much of Aesop's early career. On Bazooka Tooth though both Blockhead and his Jazz samples are casualties of Aesop's new-found creative independence, as he's given a meager 3 tracks to flex his masterful talent on. Instead we find the majority of the production is handled by Aesop himself, and true to form it's just as abstract and crazy as his vocal styling would lead you to believe. The nearest comparison to what Ace is doing on this album is probably Def Jux label head EL-P (who also laces one track here). Aesop's production styling is much less urgent and dire as EL-P's though, and instead seems to focus on finding a comfortable groove built around his oddball samples. 

At the time of its release it literally sounded like nothing else on the market, and to be perfectly frank it freaked a lot of people out; myself included. With no point of reference or anything to compare it to it was simply just too much to take in. Very rarely do I feel like i'm hearing a record that's ahead of its time, but lo-and-behold Aesop delivered just that. It wasn't until Aesop expanded his catalog with two more self produced releases in 2007 and 2012 that I realized just how ahead of the curve he was. In the years following Bazooka Tooth we would see countless Underground artist jock the production style that Aesop had essentially created here.

So it doesn't sound quit as crazy in 2012, but it's still something that needs digested much more slowly, and preferably in chunks. Like many of Ace's releases it's not going to be an album you sit and listen to front to back and understand immediately. Still Aesop is as talented an mc as ever, and on tracks like "Mars Attacks" his witty sense of humor comes through perfectly. The song details the story of Martians invading earth, and in true Aesop fashion it has an absolutely comical, yet dark ending. "We're Famous" also warrants mention if for no other reason than the fact it features what may very well be the greatest Hip Hop verse ever written. the EL-P produced track starts with the mc/producer spitting an absolutely mezmorizing verse that serves as both a love letter to Hip Hop, and a diss track to rival Esoteric.

"Hold it sacred, living it for the culture
Told ya plainly, protected it from the vultures
That's why I always get respect from true soldiers
While half of the critics claim it every year: "Hip hop's over."
FUCK YOU, hip hop just started
It's funny how the most nostalgic cats are the ones who were never part of it
But true veterans'll give dap to those who started it
Then humbly move the fuck on and come with that new retarded shit"

It's such a powerful and monstrous performance that the Aesop Rock verse that follows it almost isn't worth mention. "11:35 also has an interesting concept that finds Ace and Mr. Lif sharing the track and telling stories about multiple people and events, all of which are happening on the night of January 31st, at 11:35pm. Elsewhere on the album it's the little bits and pieces of Aesop's verses that are sure to make fans smile. For example on the albums Intro/Title song "Bazooka Tooth" we find Aesop declaring "Oh my God/Journalist around the world are officially critiquing my first 8 bars". My favorite lyrics on the album though are tucked away in the final moments of "Babies With Guns"; in the closing seconds we hear Aesop taking a break from all the zany madness and giving a heartfelt tribute/goodbye to RUN DMC legend Jam Master Jay:

"Grey Sky The day I
Got the phone call Jam Master Jay died
So no, I'll probably never write another Daylight
Because the stingers tend to cling more than the portable hay-rides
It adds it up when a pioneer fall
In comparison to your ninety-nine bottle of beer wall
There's banana peels in your hamster wheels
Hand-cannons in your shoe box. Please
Mine's got Adidas. Rest in peace"

Moments like this are where Bazooka Tooth really shine. Many songs as a whole are slightly less memorable than what was found on Labor Days, but the random quotables sprinkled throughout more than make up for it. It's hard to knock an artist for wanting to experiment and grow, but sometime you need someone there to reel you in and keep you grounded. I think that by removing Blockhead from the equation Aesop was given free reign to run wild and let his ambition get the best of him. In 2003 this probably seemed like a bad thing, but as is often the case with music the test of time is where real merit is proven, and Bazooka Tooth has passed all its test with flying colors. It has not only held up well and aged beautifully, but actually sounds better today then it did 9 years ago. 

Well played Mr. Rock. Well Played

Pros
-Aesop is still a phenomenal mc.
-On "We're Famous" EL-P drops one of the greatest verse ever written.
-Some interesting concepts strung throughout.
-The production aged very well
-How dope is that album cover? Wow. Aesop always has such amazing artwork. This is probably my favorite.

Cons
-It's also an absolute shock considering what came before it. the jump from Labor Days to this is so abrupt. 
-At the time of its release it scared the hell out of me. Haha

Overall - 4/5