http://www.sendspace.com/file/pb1bwn
1. Fast Cars
2. Number Nine
3. Zodiaccupancture
4. Holy Smokes
5. Winners Take All
6. Rickety Rackety (Featuring. Camu Tao, El-P)
7. Food, Clothes, Medicine
After years of being able to "do no wrong" in the Underground Hip Hop scene, Aesop Rock found himself in a very unfamiliar situation after the release of his 2003 album Bazooka Tooth. While the album was both a critical and commercial success, it sat as a fairly lofty disappointment for longtime fans. People had come to expect a certain sound from Aesop, and on Bazooka Tooth he challenged just about everyone's perception of what he and his music were. Before Bazooka Tooth the status-quo had always been jazz infused production created with longtime collaborator Blockhead. It had been the sound Aesop had been defining and refining since his very first lp in 1997; Music for Earthworms (which was fully produced by Dub-L, but still laid the groundwork for the sound in general). On Bazooka Tooth Aesop decided to forgo any Blockhead productions and instead handled the the majority of it himself. And while truth be told that album has aged really, really well, at the time it was an absolute shock to hardcore fans and not at all what most wanted out of the Aesop brand.
Possibly looking to make amends with his fans Aesop released 2005's Fast Cars, Danger, Fire and Knives, and split the production evenly between himself and Blockhead in what I can only assume he hoped would be a win/win situation. Ace had found himself in a fairly tricky situation; Bazooka Tooth had by far been his best selling album at this point, so he couldn't just outright abandon that sound at the risk of losing any new fans he had picked up. By splitting production duties with Blockhead he could in theory give old and new fans alike what they wanted. The problem was that people often forget that Blockhead did indeed have production credits on Bazooka Tooth (2 to be exact) and that his own sound was evolving just as fast as Aesops. So for anyone hoping to rediscover that vintage 2001 jazzy feel should probably check their expectations at the door. So in essence we have an ep nearly fully produced by two people (Rob Sonic contributes one beat) that sounds as if it was only handled by one person. Aesop and Blockhead are near indistinguishable.
This isn't necessarily a bad thing though as it does lend a very cohesive feel to the short 7 song ep. Though to be completely honest I feel like this is probably the weakest production that either artist had turned in thus far. None of it is bad by any means, but most of it seems to serve no other purpose than to be there for Aesop to rap over. I couldn't point to any one piece of production as a standout. The beats are fairly funky and industrial, but they lack that jazzy melodic feel that made the early Aesop albums go down so smoothly. It does firmly build on the foundation laid with Bazooka Tooth though and fans of that album are sure to be happy with it's continuation.
The real star here though (other than the booklet. More on that later) is of course Aesop Rock's lyrics. He really pushes himself as a lyricist here and cooks up some absolutely amazing imagery. The two standout cuts here are easily "Holy Smokes" and "Winners Take All". The former finds Aesop focusing his rage at the hypocrisy of organized religion. He also sheds light in to his past and his forced Catholic upbringing, which he very obviously holds quite a bit of resentment for.
"Just a little bruise in the back of the pews
Acting amused with a mask and them Vatican blues
For in the eyes of the organization I was raised in
Aes' is just another cynic-brick in Hell's basement
Cubicle adjacent to the killers and rapists
For what? Drugs and fucking, It's part of growing up"
It's another glimpse in to the mind and history of one of Hip Hop's most enigmatic artist, and an appreciated one at that. Most artist either shy away from religious topics, or embrace it blindly and unquestionably, so it's refreshing to see an artist of this caliber stand up and voice his honest opinion. Hate or Love it. "Winners Take All" on the other hand features a hook that's half tongue-in-cheek satire, half dead serious critiquing
I have landed safely. I have not received my papers
I have zero natural enemies. I don't know my location
I have no training in reconnaissance, combat or colluding
I'm calling for my orders, over (STRAP ON A HELMET AND START SHOOTING!)
As is often the case it's hard to tell exactly what Aesop's intentions are here. One second the song seems like nothing more than a storytelling vehicle for Ace to paint around his Bazooka Tooth character. Seemingly having fun portraying him as the over the top war hero so often depicted in blockbuster Hollywood movies. Other times it's a chilling and all too real look at what the young men and women of this country are facing on a day to day basis. Really the two interpretations work hand in hand together, showing how movies and media have romanticized war and how our youth are being brainwashed in to taking action and facing these horrors.
Or maybe Ace was watching the history channel and thought it would be fun to write...who knows?
The rest of the ep features topical and surprisingly down to earth concepts for Ace to use as fodder. None of the tracks here are bad, and all are worthy of addition to Aesop's excellent discography. I just feel like these probably aren't the cream of the crop. It's refreshing to see Ace touch on such important and serious topics, but sonically it lacks the whimsy and fun that his past releases had. The real highlight of this package though is the mini-book that comes with it. All the original pressing featured a book titled "The Living Human Curiosity Sideshow" that fits snugly inside the slip-cover surrounding the slim cd case. The book features every lyric Aesop has ever written for all his albums starting with Float, and ending with this ep. Sadly it doesn't include Music for Earthworms or Appleseed, which as a long time fan is disappointing, but it's still an absolutely incredible item that is a must own for fans. Being able to sit down and really read Aesops lyrics, accurately written at that, none of that "badly written Internet forum interpretation of what they might be" is a treat and worth the price of admissions alone.
It should be noted that later pressing do not include the book, and instead include the absolutely stellar track "Facemelter". If you have to pick one version though, the book is the way to go. The extra song is nice, but worst comes to worst it can be downloaded. The book on the other hand is one of kind.
Pros
-Aesop touches on some fantastic topics that focus on real world issues at the time
-Lyrically he's in top form
-The book the comes with the initial pressings is a must own. Worth the asking price of the ep alone
-Blockhead is back
Cons
-Some of the weaker beats Aesop and Blockhead have turned in. Sonically it's really not all that interesting
-Sounds even messier than Bazooka Tooth
Overall 3.5/5
No comments:
Post a Comment