Wu-Tang Chamber Music, E1 Music
Wu-Tang Chamber Music is not an official Wu-Tang Clan album, but a compilation of songs overseen by Wu-Tang mastermind RZA. What makes Chamber music unique is the use of live instrumentation as opposed to samples.
The live music is provided by a soul band from Brooklyn, NY called The Revelations. Lil' Fame from M.O.P, under the moniker Fizzy Womack contributes to all but one of the full length songs.
Chamber Music is an album full of live music, yet still has the gritty sound of dusty samples that RZA introduced to the world on 1993's Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).
“This album has a very live element of today’s musicians playing the vibe of Wu-Tang", said RZA. "The vibe we would normally sample, the vibe of things that we would accumulate through old soul songs, jazz songs, kung-fu movies whatever, now you’ve got musicians that can play this vibe with Wu-Tang MC’s rapping over it. The goal of this album is definitely paying homage to our early sound. On this album, we make it sound like it was in the 36 Chambers era. To me, what also adds to this album, you’ve got the Wu-Tang MC's but you also got your other favorite MC's from that era like Havoc, Cormega and others."
Five of the remaining 8 Clan members appear on Chamber Music in addition to some of New York City's best MC's from the 1990's. Joining the Wu-Tang Clan is M.O.P, Masta Ace, Sadat X, AZ, Cormega, Havoc, Sean Price, and Kool G. Rap.
Normally forgotten Clan members Inspectah Deck and U-God bring their A-game to Chamber Music. On Kill Too Hard Deck raps, Ain't nuttin' gonna stop kid from gettin' his due/No, your feet's not big enough to fit in his shoes. On the same track U-God gripes about his status within the Clan, My apartment is a hole in the wall/Pass me the rock, stop holding the ball.
On Harbor Masters the Clan's most consistent MC, Ghostface Killah trades rhymes with Inspectah Deck and AZ over a replayed drum loop and funky guitars.
I Wish You Were Here is a remake of the 1975 Al Green song of the same name. It features Tre Williams playing the part of Reverend Al, and Ghostface Killah cozying up to his favorite girl--What up boo, you know that Ghost loves you/I get butterflies when we hug and kiss, do you?
Ill Figures sounds like a cypher session with some of the hardest MC's in the history of rap music. Raekwon, M.O.P, and Kool G. Rap try to out-gangsta each on this track. Raekwon spits, I love gettin' dressed up, sweats and techs/Ride around the hood good, gettin' Gotti respect.
RZA closes out Chamber Music with a solo song titled NYC Crack. NYC Crack is braggadocio battle rap with the Wu-Tang Clan's abbot proclaiming his greatness, I got forty million records sold, some platinum, some gold/Some we just put out to meet the tax code/Your career will be shorter than the 21st of December/You'll be one of those thousand rappers no one remembers/While my name is carved on trophies, colleges recite my bars/You can look up and see my name upon the stars.
The problem with Chamber Music is there are more interludes than actual songs. In between tracks RZA speaks over live instrumentation connecting the previous song to the next. It also doesn't help matters that Chamber Music clocks in at just under 36 minutes in length.
Method Man, GZA, and Masta Killa are the three Clan members who do not appear on Chamber Music. GZA is the elder statesmen of the group while Method Man is the most popular and charismatic. It would have been nice to hear their contributions to this project.
All around Wu-Tang Chamber Music is a good album despite those omissions. The shortness of the CD and the abundance of interludes over songs just leaves the listener wanting more.
Wu-Tang Chamber Music gets 4 MPC's.
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