admin
22 December 2023
Great Caesar\'s ghost! I\'m on my fourth listen of this album, and I\'m at a complete loss for words. And, if you know me, that\'s more rare than a good Bill Paxton film. It\'s not that I can\'t come up with an opinion on The Pretty Toney Album. Rather, I don\'t know if I have enough room to lay that opinion out for you fine people.
Seriously, this LP has it all. Ghostface is back and in full force, swinging his thick-tongued rhymes with the skill of a 1984 musical Don Mattingly. From the tough-talking \"Intro\" to the reflective, gospel-imbued closing track, \"Love\", he is taking what Wu-Tang Clan began as, and elevating it to an entirely new level.
I\'ve been listening to Wu-Tang-related albums since my sophomore year of high school. I remember thinking (even with my scattered and TV-addled, teenaged brain), \"Wow. These guys are really doing something different.\" And this new Ghostface album rocks with the same level of ingenuity and creative zeal that\'s made the crew from the slums of Shaolin stand out right from the beginning.
It\'s humid with the thugtastic mood and vicious leers of anything from the early Wu-Tang catalogue. The gun-rhymes are all present. And Ghostface\'s unique cadence and brand of storytelling flows with the precision and confidence of a veteran.
I think the thing that really highlights this one for me, though, is the fact that The Pretty Toney Album is fun. Even when the subject matter dips into gonads and strife, this LP is extremely upbeat. It\'s overflowing with soul music samples and horn-fueled mobster themes. The tempos thunder and shove you through 18 tracks, and, in no time, you\'re ready to hit \"play\" again. And then there are the skits. One minute, you\'re hearing about how Ghostface is dropping a smelly deuce in the bathroom. The next, you hear him getting a wash-down from one of his many hos, in the most romantic skit since the \"Bathtub\" opener on Snoop Dogg\'s debut album, Doggystyle. It\'s just that good.
And, oh my God! Did I even mention the xylophone* part that\'s on this one song, \"It\'s Over\"? Seriously, how often do you hear remarkable xylophone playing on a hip-hop album? Or any album, for that matter? Who pays attention to the xylophone?!? It\'s a simple thing, I know. But that, combined with all the other little tricks and treats that sprawl their way across this LP, make The Pretty Toney Album all that and a bag of chips. And I\'m talking about the big bag. And the chips with the four cheeses... and the ridges.
*EDITOR\'S NOTE: Please disregard Debbie\'s statements at the end of that review. There is no xylophone on this album. We have no idea what he was talking about.
- Vinnie Baggadonuts, Entertainmental Section Editor
Seriously, this LP has it all. Ghostface is back and in full force, swinging his thick-tongued rhymes with the skill of a 1984 musical Don Mattingly. From the tough-talking \"Intro\" to the reflective, gospel-imbued closing track, \"Love\", he is taking what Wu-Tang Clan began as, and elevating it to an entirely new level.
I\'ve been listening to Wu-Tang-related albums since my sophomore year of high school. I remember thinking (even with my scattered and TV-addled, teenaged brain), \"Wow. These guys are really doing something different.\" And this new Ghostface album rocks with the same level of ingenuity and creative zeal that\'s made the crew from the slums of Shaolin stand out right from the beginning.
It\'s humid with the thugtastic mood and vicious leers of anything from the early Wu-Tang catalogue. The gun-rhymes are all present. And Ghostface\'s unique cadence and brand of storytelling flows with the precision and confidence of a veteran.
I think the thing that really highlights this one for me, though, is the fact that The Pretty Toney Album is fun. Even when the subject matter dips into gonads and strife, this LP is extremely upbeat. It\'s overflowing with soul music samples and horn-fueled mobster themes. The tempos thunder and shove you through 18 tracks, and, in no time, you\'re ready to hit \"play\" again. And then there are the skits. One minute, you\'re hearing about how Ghostface is dropping a smelly deuce in the bathroom. The next, you hear him getting a wash-down from one of his many hos, in the most romantic skit since the \"Bathtub\" opener on Snoop Dogg\'s debut album, Doggystyle. It\'s just that good.
And, oh my God! Did I even mention the xylophone* part that\'s on this one song, \"It\'s Over\"? Seriously, how often do you hear remarkable xylophone playing on a hip-hop album? Or any album, for that matter? Who pays attention to the xylophone?!? It\'s a simple thing, I know. But that, combined with all the other little tricks and treats that sprawl their way across this LP, make The Pretty Toney Album all that and a bag of chips. And I\'m talking about the big bag. And the chips with the four cheeses... and the ridges.
*EDITOR\'S NOTE: Please disregard Debbie\'s statements at the end of that review. There is no xylophone on this album. We have no idea what he was talking about.
- Vinnie Baggadonuts, Entertainmental Section Editor
artid
2351
Old Image
6_9_prettytoney.jpg
issue
vol 6 - issue 09 (may 2004)
section
entertainmental