New Jack Reviews XXXII: _Greatest Misses_ by Public Enemy
Charles L Isbell
This time: _Greatest Misses_ by Public Enemy
Next time: _Business, Never Personal_ by EPMD
_Don't Sweat the Technique_ by Eric B and Rakim
_Daily Operation_ by Gangstarr
_School of Hard Knocks_ by Hard Knocks
_Realm of Darkness_ by Ten Tray
_Sleeping With The Enemy_ by Paris
Catch Ups: _Business As Usual_ by EPMD
_People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm_ by
A Tribe Called Quest
_He's The DJ... I'm The Rapper_ by DJ Jazzy Jeff/Fresh Prince
_Follow The Leader_ by Eric B and Rakim
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Distinctiveness: How can you be PE and *not* be distinctive?
Dopeness Rating: NEW STUFF REMIX'D STUFF
Uneven but ranging from I've never been one for
dope to dope+. remixes but there are
good ones here and, of
course, the originals were
dope+.
Rap Part: Chuck could rap a nursery
rhyme over a xylphone and Just as good now as then.
still sound dope+. And
the lyrics are still deep.
Sounds: The voice drowns out the Too remixy if you know
muzak sometimes and it what I mean. Except for
lacks the PE energy, but one or two tracks, I don't
it still gets a dope. think much was gained by the
remixes.
Message: Well, of course.
Tracks: 13 of 'em for a total of 55:46
Label: Def Jam, executively produced by the Bomb Squad
Profanity: No sticker... hmmmmm.....
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This is the fifth album for Our Heroes(tm), made up of two parts:
"new" material that has never been released on a PE album and remixxes
of stuff from the days of yore. They cover material from their last
album all the way back to their first.
They've changed quite a bit since that first album, _Yo! Bum Rush The
Show_. The group is now made up of: Chuck D, the hard rhymer; Flavor
Flav, the juice; and Terminator X, the track attacker. They are
joined behind the scenes by Harry Allen, hip hop activist/media
assassin; Hank Shocklee, commander of the flight deck; and the S1W's.
Although mentioned in the "PE force," Sister Souljah is not on the CD.
Professor Griff is also mentioned in the force but is only on the
album when there is a track from the first two albums.
By the way, it might have been fair for them to have included Forrest
Sawyer in their "PE Force" since you hear his voice (lifted from a
report on PE) almost as much as you do Flav.
This album comes pretty close on the heels of _Apocalypse '91: The
Enemy Strikes Black_ which was regarded by many as their best yet and
by others as their worst ever. I think fans have warmed up to it over
time, but it's probably the album hardest to place in the PE hierarchy
of dopeness.
Where would I put this one? I don't know. I think I'd have to put it
to the side somewhere. Greatest Hits albums never seem to fit in too
well. Still, tis is a nice snapshot of where PE may be going.
Review, the first:
------ --- -----
The first half of the album is never-before-released-on-album stuff
although not all of it is new (the Flav cut, for example, was heard in
Eddie Murphy's Boomerang). I like it quite a bit although it strikes
me as a bit too sparse, but then so did _Nations_ when I first heard
it. In some ways they're going back to that kind of sound.
We begin with "Tie Goes To The Runner". The song--and the album---is
introduced by an opening from Mr Sawyer: "..so you should decide for
yourself: is this art or dangerous propaganda?"
"I never got along wit' the long arm of the law
I saw where they place the hardcore
To them it doesn't matter where it splatter
Our blood from the bullet not ballot
I vote for Jim Brown
I know it don't rhyme
Does it matter that he, in fact, he won't find excuses
inside of Murphy Brown"
This is a nice bit of track. Unfortunately, despite the deftness of
Chuck-speak and the hip-hip cheerleading of Flav, it lacks the usual
PE energy, like much of this first half, almost as if they didn't have
their hearts in it.
"Not surprised at all about the riot zone
and I moan
I wish they leave me alone yo
This was predicted, not self-inflicted,
by the rapp outta the hood"
From here, we go to "Hit Da Road Jack" which has a bit more of the
energy that makes a PE song slam. They should have put this one
first.
"Not Jack the Ripper
nor the jack of spades
I'm not jackin' for beats
let's get Jack the Raper
Mother cried while forefathers died
from the whip and not a bit
ever made the paper
When I come they all run & hide
and they quit and yell loud
'here comes Chuck with that Black sh*t'"
The unpopular beeping has returned on this effort, an unfortuante
trend from the last album. If he doesn't want to curse, why not write
some lyrics without curse words in them?
Flav has his traditional solo track next in the form of "Gett Off My
Back." This track has the most energy of all the tracks so far and
had managed to get it into the music as well. Unfortunately, Flav
almost seems to make sense on this anti-crack effort and so takes all
the fun out of listening to it.
"He's home grown, he's the cyclone
he's the moan groan, capone, the clone
the broken bone, tone"
Well he makes sense most of the time anyway.
Next, we head off to "Gotta Do What I Gotta Do"
"'Do you know what Public Enemy Is?'
'Public Enemy? Probably somebody in office.'"
Mr Sawyer returns to open this one, with various snippets from
interviews with Chuck and debates on their "By The Time I Get To
Arizonia" single which Chuck address in verse.
"I picked a bone wit' Arizonia
droppin', kickin', a mission
...without permission
I let 'em know why I did what I did
I got dialogue got 'em even to sing along
and got the semiautomatic tongue
to da young"
Again Chuck & Flav come thru. Unfortunately, the lack of a *musical*
energy like a "Can't Truss It" or a "Bring The Noise" keeps this one
from being a dope+. That problem also detracts a little from "Air
Hoodlum," a nice effort about a rising basketball player with NBA
hopes.
"SAT's didn't matter 'cause he was all that
you know the pat on the back
He was always in the da news
You gotta know what it means
It means revenue"
There's a quick shift of music near the end of the track that would
have been a nice backbeat for a whole song.
"Hell wit the principal
where is da coach?"
Still a nice track. Anyway, we wrap up with "Hazy Shade of Criminal"
which has a *very* nice bit of muzak behind Chuck's lyrical
acrobatics. The repeated "rebel bass" sample makes a nice pseudo
percussion. Probably the best track on this side.
"Reach uppity reach gotta reach
Power to the people and the beats
some people accuse some people of crimes
some people get away with losin' my rhyme
They don't like where I'm comin' from
so dey play dumb
dumb diggetty dumbb diggetty dumb"
"He who got his finger on the war button
Talkin' loud ain't sayin' nuttin'"
I find it kind of ironic that the most slammin' muzak was produced by
the Imperial Grand Ministers of Funk instead of the inventors of the
form, the Bomb Squad.
"Take a piece of America back
But who had it first
hear the Indian curse
Robbed & stole so many,
so much, it ain't funny
Now who got 'em face on money"
Anyway, nice track.
In the end, this is a nice half-album. If they can retain the Chuck D
voice and the righteous lyrics and get the Bomb Squad to remember that
even sparse jams and jazz-like backgrounds must have some kind of
energy, they will continue to make musical history with the next
album. They haven't made history with this one, but it's certainly
worth the money and a hell of a lot better than most of the stuff out
there.
Review, the second:
------ --- ------
This second half is all remix with some choice sampled outtakes a la
Forrest Sawyer sprinkled here and there. Interestlingly enough, th
soundbites seem more pro-PE on this side than the earlier anti-PE
samples.
Most of these tracks jammed in the first place, so one wonders why
anyone would even bother to remixxed them. Let's see what they came
up with:
"MegaBlast" from their _Yo! Bum Rush The Show_ album is made into a
"Madd Skillz Bass Pipe Gett Off" remix. I must admit that I always
liked this song, especially the way Flav & Chuck's voices worked
together.
"He tried to sell a dime for a thirty dollar bill
Fake gold plate on the back--no frill
Fake Hawaiian suit--scratched up Knees
In his refrigerator--bread water cheese
Antique fork--how long will it last?
Will see in twelve minutes when he wants that blast"
The song doesn't suffer from the remix *but* I prefer the original
thump, thump to this more 90's style. Whatever. Still slams.
Next Jam Master Jay & Chy-Skillz transform _It Takes A Nation of
Millions_'s "Louder Than A Bomb" into a "JMJ Telephone Tap Groove."
As I've said before, when I first listened to it, lo these many years
gone, I wasn't all that impressed, but for the life of me, I can't
figure out why not now. It was dope stuff for the ears and the
lyrics are nicely tight.
"I teach and speak
So when it's spoke, it's no joke"
But this version took me back a bit. The sudden infusion of raw sound
after the intro in the original is replaced by the sudden infusion of
a very relaxed pseudo jazz.
"Lethal when I'm unarmed
'cause I'm louder than a bomb"
"Here's a funky rhyme that they're tappin' on
Just thinkin' I'm breakin' the beats I'm rappin' on
CIA FBI--All they tell us is lies
When I say it they get alarmed...."
I can't give much dap to this one. I much prefer the original muzak.
On the other hand, the "Reanimated TX Getaway Version" of "You're
Gonna Get Yours" (from _Yo!_ naturally) has always been one of my
favorite remixxes, ever. Vroooom!
"So what if the judge charges me contempt?"
This isn't really about much of any consequence (more about Chuck's car
than his views), but who cares? It still slams.
Anyway, this rather abruptly moves into "The DJ Chuck Chillout Mega
Murder Boom" version of "How To Kill A Radio Consultant" from
_Apocalypse '91: The Enemy Strikes Black_.
"Never know what's good to tha neighborhood
Swear I never seen da sucka
in my neck of the woods.
The ass is connected to the brain stem
so I sing a simple song
so you can see the sucka in 'em"
This is a nice remix, and results in a better track than the original,
I think.
"Rap's the number one pick so I draft it
I don't care about all the other demographics"
The "Sir Jinx Stolen Souled Out Reparation Mixx" of "Who Stole The
Soul?" from _Fear of a Black Planet_ is also a nice change of pace.
Very much like the original Bomb Squad, I think.
"Plain and simp
The system's a pimp
But I refuse to be a ho'
Who stole the soul?"
In fact, I think it might actually be better, soundwize.
"They say I'm wrong for singin' a song
without solutions
All the dancers answer questions."
"40 acres and a mule Jack
Where is it? Why'd you try to fool the Black
It wasn't you but you pledge allegiance
to the red white and blue
sucker that stole the soul"
The next track, the "Blak Wax Metromix" of "Party For Your Right To
Fight" from _Nation_ is... interesting. It's nothin' like the
original, what with the David Cochrane guitar solo. I'm not sure who
Greg Beasley is, but he made a nice song out of this one. And it was
nice in the first place.
"But it's proven in fact
And it takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back."
They should invite this man back.
Anyway, we end our tour of PE's Black planet with the live (from the
UK) version of _Apocalype_'s "Shut 'Em Down".
"I testified
My mama cried
Black people died"
"Took a poll 'cause our soul took a toll
from the education of a TV station"
Yes, well. I'll listen to the orginal version, thank you very much.
All in all, this is a nice stop to see what a newer PE might look like
with the '92 flavor spicing up the earlier style. Whether you think
it's some of their best or not, it's still miles ahead of 99% of
everything out there, from rap to country music and back again.
They continue to show why they're at the cutting edge. If they can
get some of that "Blak Wax Metromix" energy along with some deep sh*t
a la "Hazy Shade of Criminal" the next album will be tre-dope+.
Anyway, I'll let Flav has his last word:
"I don't care who makes threats to us
but can't nuttin' stop us. You know what I'm sayin'?
'Cause you can't stop reality from bein' real"
But that's just one Black man's opinion, what's yours?
--
Peace.
"Any Black man who's educated and speaks articulately is not
considered 'really' Black. It's the same reason people think
you're a dyke."
"People think I'm a dyke?"
"Take it as a compliment, I've learned to."
-Kyle Baker, Why I Hate Saturn
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Don't just adopt opinions | \/ | Some of you are homeboys
develop them. | /\ | but only I am The Homeboy From hell
-/--\-