The W

They Say...

Review by John Bush, All Music Guide

After a host of disappointing solo albums and quickly diminishing celebrity (most of the latter devoted to the continuing extra-legal saga of Ol' Dirty Bastard), Wu-Tang Clan returned, very quietly, with 2000's The W. The lack of hype was fitting, for this is a very spartan work, especially compared to its predecessor, the sprawling, overblown Wu-Tang Forever (which, ironically, was given heaps of advance promotion and critical praise). While the trademark sound is still much in force, group mastermind RZA jettisoned the elaborate beat symphonies and carefully placed strings of Forever in favor of tight productions with little more than scarred soul samples and tight, tough beats. The back-to-basics approach works well, not only because it rightly puts the focus back on the best cadre of rappers in the world of hip-hop, but also because RZA's immense trackmaster talents can't help but shine through anyway. Paranoid kung fu samples and bizarre found sounds drive "Careful (Click, Click)," a fantastic streets-is-watching nightmare with excellent raps from RZA himself, Masta Killa, Cappadonna, Ghostface Killah, and U-God. The beats are so understated that when RZA and helpmate Jose "Choco" Reynoso do take it to another level (on the scratchy breakdown near the end of the track), it's even more powerful. Unfortunately, though, The W isn't quite the masterpiece it sounds like after the first few tracks. It falls prey to the same inconsistency as Forever, resulting in half-formed tracks like "Conditioner," with Snoop Dogg barely saving Ol' Dirty Bastard's lone appearance on the LP, a phoned-in vocal (in terms of sound and quality). "Redbull," a reprise of Method Man & Redman's Blackout! LP, returns The W to the syrupy synth-strings that also plagued Forever. When they're hitting on all cylinders though, Wu-Tang Clan are nearly invincible; "Let My Niggas Live," a feature with Nas, isn't just claustrophobic and dense but positively strangling, and singles material like "Protect Ya Neck (The Jump Off)" and "Do You Really (Thang, Thang)" are punishing tracks. Alongside Method Man and Raekwon's excellent rhymes, Ghostface Killah really stretches out on The W, with performances on "Hollow Bones" and "I Can't Go to Sleep" that sound as if he can barely keep himself together from crying over needless violence. Paring down Wu-Tang Forever -- nearly a two-hour set -- to the 60-minute work found here was a good start, but the Wu could probably create another masterpiece worthy of their debut if they spent even more time in the editing room. [The W is also available in a clean version.]