Login for Favorites
EDIT INFOGza/genius - Liquid Swords
Tweet
Album Details
- Artist: Gza/genius
- Album: Liquid Swords
- Label: Geffen
- Year of Release: 1995
- ME Rating: Indie Classic
- Reviewed by: dscanland on 2005-09-19
RecommendYou could argue who was/is the most popular Wu-Tang Clan member but rest assured that one that would continuously pop up in conversation would be the GZA. While all of the Wu-Tang solo albums have done quite well, Liquid Swords is one that stands out on its own. Out in 1995 it proved that these MCs could totally handle themselves outside of the Clan and that each member was pertinent to the Clan's success. Tracks like "Shadowboxin" stand out as absolute hip hop genius. The samples are simple and kept back in the mix allowing GZA's vocals to rise to the front, right where they need to be. I think it's quite incredible how the whole Wu-Tang Clan manage to keep the them running throughout the entire catalog. You keep getting martial arts snippets being thrown into the mix every once and a while. I still think that hip hop need to keep the rhetoric between songs down. I don't need to hear a full conversation between all the members. Drop that and you would have a nice, concise 45 minute album that would stand up even that much more. You hear those conversations more than three times and you are done with them. Otherwise, Liquid Swords is one of the best hip hop albums to come out of the 90s. Check it out.
User Reviews and Comments
Log In or Register to Rate Albums
User Rating:
Write your own review
Tell us why this album is great or sucks ass, or correct the reviewer. If you write enough quality reviews you may find yourself on the editorial staff.
Reviews have to be over 100 words, shorter ones are classed as comments.
Tell us why this album is great or sucks ass, or correct the reviewer. If you write enough quality reviews you may find yourself on the editorial staff.
Reviews have to be over 100 words, shorter ones are classed as comments.
Log In or Register to Rate AlbumsReview:
on 2008-09-03 xtal Said:
I'm no rap/hip-hop expert but I definitely disagree with the editorial review's comments about the interludes (taken from Shogun Assassin) here. On the contrary, I've never found them to be so relevant on a rap record as they are on Liquid Swords. For me they add to the already thick, nightmare-ish atmosphere giving it that extra something to stand out.
When I listen to Liquid Swords what I hear is a classic album, something likely to be preserved through time, no doubt to be continuously held up in the underground world of not just hip-hop but all genres of music, for anyone could learn a thing or two from the Genius.
What I like about Liquid Swords is that it doesn't require a degree in rap-101. It has a more universal sound that can be appreciated by many ears. Where I find a lot of rap albums to be basic singles collections peppered with pointless skits, Liquid Swords feels like a true album, composed of many parts creating a whole.
The best praise I can give is that here is an album I never tire of. Often we say we "obsess" over an album and can't stop listening to it, but that always seems to be a phase, just something for that moment in life. I recall about A Perfect Circle's Thirteenth Step that I listened to it something like twenty-three times in the week it was released. I've never listened to it since, nor do I plan to. Albums like that come and go all the time, but rare are the ones that you could truly listen to at any moment, and not be in the wrong mood. For me that list is very small. And Liquid Swords is on it.
Rating: 9/10
