Aesop Rock - Appleseed

http://www.mediafire.com/?gj813n3ecryphdc

I very much doubt  Aesop Rock was feeling much pressure when recording the follow up to his stellar 1997 debut, Music For Earthworms. The album was self pressed and released, and I can't imagine it ventured far outside of his inner circle. This was long before Aesop was one of the most prominent figures in the Underground Hip Hop scene, and as such he was free to create at his own pace, and without any expectations bearing down upon him. The two years between releases though were crucial ones for Ace. He seemingly had a falling out with the producer of his first lp, Dub-L, and a full 4 years before he was pissing off his fans by manning the boards behind 2003's Bazooka Tooth, Aesop was crafting his own beats on 6 out of the 8 songs presented here.

Admittedly, as a long time fan, Aesop's production is probably the most interesting thing about this ep. That's not to say that his rapping is lacking, it's just that there's very little evolution from what we heard on Music For Earthworms, and what we would later hear on Float. This is our first glimpse at Aesop as a producer though, and considering how big a role his production would play later in his career (producing for himself, and others), it serves as an important piece of his history. Fans of his later self-produced material will probably be shocked to learn that Ace's early production really didn't sound all that different from fan favorite, Blockhead. In fact, Blockhead contributes one beat to the ep, and you would be hard pressed to pick it out from Aesop's own production. They both relied heavily on world-music, jazzy samples, and you could probably safely assume that the work Blockhead would become famous for on Float and Labor Days, had its fair share of input from Aesop.

Regardless of who influenced who, it's a sound that works exceptionally well for Aesop, and even 15 years in to his career, it's still something fans clamor for. Aesop's production here isn't as fully fleshed out or realized as Blockhead's would later be, but all thing's considered it's still fairly impressive to have such a complex lyricist also crafting equally dope beats. The lone beat not produced by Aesop or Blockhead comes courtesy of Omega One, who outside of producing for Aesop also fully produced an album for the underrated mc Lodeck titled, Postcards from the Third Rock. He brings his own flavor to the production on "Sick Friend", but its dark, dingy atmosphere ensures it fits in snugly with the rest of the album.  The song also features some of Aesop's most clever lyrics. My personal favorite being:

"I choked when the cage bird sings, it stings
Springs me out delirium to stitch them clipped wings"

The song is followed by "Hold The Cup", and the Blockhead produced "1,000 Deaths", both of which feature outstanding beats and stand as my two favorite cuts on the album. "Blue In The Face" is one of the weaker productions here, though it does feature some interesting sampling, the beat never quite gels together. What it does have though is Aesop at the top of his game, dropping bars that will have your rewind button (remember those?) worn out in no time.

"I put my hook in the pond, I put my worm In the hook
I put my trust in the worm that he'd bring me something to cook
I felt a tug on my line and I lugged a trash can on my pole
with a note from the worm attached that read, "Thanks for nothing asshole!"

"Odessa" is the last track on the ep and features the only guest vocals courtesy of Doseone, but while the beat he and Aesop share is fairly dope, the mixing of the actual song ruins any fun to be had. Doseone's vocals are simply mixed too low, and when contrasted with Aesops loud, booming voice it just comes awkward and hard to listen to. A fairly amateur mistake, but a costly one no less. Over the course of this ep you're sure to find something you enjoy, and while it's a shame that not every track was a hit, the highlight more than make up for it. Plus you get to hear Aesop's earliest production. That should entice most any fan. It's not his greatest work, and his later ep's would come to eclipse it, but it's still an important and vital piece of his legacy. Definitely worth revisiting

Pro's
-It's interesting hearing Aesop's earliest production, plus it's pretty dope
-Aesop has some of his funniest, and wittiest lines here
-It's short and fairly accessible. I've always felt Ace worked better on ep's

Con's
-Not a lot of growth as far as his style is concerned
-Not every beat is a winner
-The mixing on "Odessa" is bad. Doseone's vocals are mixed way too low

Overall - 3.5/5