For a new regular feature, I thought it would be interesting to revisit some albums that were originally lauded as classics in their time to see how they still hold up, or have the sands of time dulled their shine? Peter and Cory’s first full-length was feverishly anticipted following both their enjoyable debut EP and PR’s string of white-hot remixes for other artists. The result was an album so long that they had to take the two bonus cuts off the CD version (with the lion’s share of tracks running over five minutes) but also a record that had a major impact on the rap world in 1992, spawning the timeless anthem ‘They Reminisce Over You’ and dominating car stereos and Walkman’s all over the planet. Pete Rock ushered in a new level of polish and sophistication to the production of this project, with every instrument popping out of the speaker and slapping you in the face, taking sample-based rap beats into a new era of complexity and polish. There’s no denying the impact of this record, but is it one of those albums that’s greater than the sum of it’s parts?
‘Return Of The Mecca’
What a way to open the album! This song epitomizes everything that made this duo work – CL rapping about shampoo, amazing horns and beat progressions and constant ad-libs from Pete – so I’m not sure why this wasn’t released as a single. I’d ask Dante Ross, but I suspect he may have blocked me after he caught wind of my To Pimp A Butterfly review.
‘For Pete’s Sake’
Just might be the best track on the album, what with the constant, flawless beat changes and Pete’s classic verse courtesy of Mr. Maxwell. Also introduces Pete’s obsession with sampling Biz and Kane lines for hooks.
‘Ghettos Of The Mind’
This might have been a complete buzz-kill in terms of album sequencing in lesser hands, but the the performances from both make for a convincing argument as to otherwise. CL is pretty good at pulling off these kind of tracks, what with his almost painful earnestness and total lack of anything approaching a sense of humor.
‘Lots Of Lovin’
The remix was better but both versions still make me throw up in my mouth. Rapping about milkshakes will always be teh ghey.
‘Act Like You Know’
The fellas seem to be displaying a bit of that Mount Vernon ‘we’re just here to have fun’ type of vibe here. Shit’s a little too happy-go-fuckin’-lucky if you ask me.
‘Straighten It Out’
Good but just makes me want to hear the superior remix with that extra horn loop.
‘Soul Brother #1’
This comes off based on the beat flips alone, while Mr. Rock’s rapping is endearingly enthusiastic.
‘Wig Out’
Was this meant to be the song that got dance floors jumping? Not bad, but not great either.
‘Anger In The Nation’
CL tries to channel Chuck D but he can’t let go of the need to still be as smooth as his namesake. Would have been more effective if it had been ‘half long and twice strong’ as the GZA like sot say.
‘They Reminisce Over You’ (T.R.O.Y.)
I’d be happy to never have to hear this song ever again due to it being played at every rap show ever, but I can’t deny that it gets the job done and is a class act all ’round.
‘On And On’
Biz sample? Check. Silk smooth loops changes? Check. Kinda sick of hearing CL Smooth’s voice at this point? Check.
‘It’s Like That’
Another uptempo track, this one is pretty good mainly due to those crispy drums.
‘Can’t Front On Me’
Starting to feel fatigued at this point.
‘The Creator’ (Remix)
Not a patch on the ‘Surfboard Mix,’ but it wasn’t as if I really needed to hear this again anyway.
‘Mecca And The Soul Brother’ (Remix)
Hardly a remix, as it just seems to be a little shorter than the EP version with some different scratches.
‘The Basement’
Pure greatness. ‘Rising To The Top’ and Sister Nancy never sounded so good.
‘If It Ain’t Rough, It Ain’t Right’
This has ‘filler’ written all over it.
‘Skinz’
Breaks the formula of the rest of the album and makes you wish there were more cuts like this one. Actually it makes me wish that Grand Puba was in the group and appeared on every song, or better yet, that Puba had made an entire solo LP with Pete Rock in 1992.
Verdict: The songs that work are so good that everything else is irrelevant. That being said, listening to Mecca and the Soul Brother again in it’s entirety reminded me that this album is far too long for it’s own good and as a result the flaws in CL Smooth’s whole rap persona become harder to ignore. Cut down to the best ten tracks, this LP is incredible. Thank fuck the magic of listening to music on your phone allows such a thing, huh?
Robbie, you disappoint me. Feeling fatigued when “can’t front on me” comes on?
Thanks. Reminded me to dig this classic out and give it a spin. Constant heavy Walkman / school bus rotation for me.
I’ve recently been compiling ‘mixes/compilations’ of my favourite artists released albums. PR&CL are one I have completed already, the others include ATCQ, PE, LL, Cube’s first 4.5 albums, Wu’s 1st group and the 1st solo releases and I am mid way through finishing RUN DMC and about to do Kane and then LONS.
they’re the sort of result you would get if you had all the artists official released albums on shuffle and your player could compile a playlist with some thought, finesse and creativity. The PE one for example is 17hrs approx start to end (broken into 9 parts)
Anyway, the point is that doing it reminded me of “Mecca” and I’ve enjoyed listening to it again, as well as “Main Ingredient” and “All Souled Out” and the remixes etc – I think appreciate them more now then I did back then as I preferred a harder style back in 92.
Gotta say, I’m with Robbie on feeling fatigue on CL at some points though……
great new concept as well Robbie….
Eric & Ra’s albums were the other I’ve finished also. That was enjoyable to do, revisiting the material.
The streaming version of “Straighten it out” is horrible. They totally took the sample out. Thank God I still have the original CD.
I’ve kept M&TSB in constant rotation pretty much since it dropped. If I ever made an album, THAT’S what I would ant it to sound like. Though, I will admit to the album losing a little steam after TROY, that first earns it its classic status. From beginning to end, The Main Ingredient is a better listen but maybe it’s nostalgia, I lean more towards Mecca. And Robbie, For Pete’s Sake is not only the best song on the album but arguably the best beat Grap Luva’s big brother ever made,imo.
I remember this album lulling me to sleep in ’92. Rap was “dangerous” back then, so if you weren’t talking about killing whitey or starting a riot, I wasn’t interested. CL Smooth had no sense of humor whatsoever, which only compounded the problem. However, I gotta give this album the classic status it deserves. It paved the way for boring neo soul rap cleverly disguised as being “intellectual.” Not to mention the dozens of Pete Rock imitators who went on to have great careers churning out “real hip-hop, not that shit they play on the radio” that I’ve seen so many on the internet referring to.
I LIKE THAT DUDE HAS AN “EVERYMAN” POINT OF VIEW WHERE HE IS NEITHER A SUPER DUPER HARD ROCK NOR SOME KIND OF KNOWLEDGE WIZARD ROCKING WOODEN BEADS AND SHIT. NOT FOR NOTHING BUT I DONT REALLY WANT SOMEONE ROCKING OVER BEATS THIS INTRICATE AND COMPELLING TO TRY AND BE THE CENTER OF ATTENTION (NO I-N-I).
‘Main Ingredient’ aged a lot better. That’s their finest moment imo.
T.R.O.Y. – “I’d be happy to never have to hear this song ever again…”
That’s exactly what a dickhead would say.
All the tracks are good in their own right but I always thought the album was a bit too long. Think it might have been one of the first double vinyl LPs I bought and flipping it over every 4 tracks was a pain.
@slipmat you pretty much nailed it on why I appreciated CLs approach.
@Robbie you gotta introduce a rating system for this section. One to ten or whatever and be harsh as they are classics. Looking fwd to more of these.
instrumental version is king and i hate instrumental albums —> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjXi5HwnC-4
T.R.O.Y. – “I’d be happy to never have to hear this song ever again…”
“That’s exactly what a dickhead would say.”
Only a dickhead wouldn’t understand that statement, seeing as how every selector played that track at any and all jams around that time, and still do. Ad nauseum..
Last time I listened to this album I noticed how Mountain’s ‘Long Red’ drum loop was layered on nearly every track. At least 3 or 4. I hadn’t noticed it before.
Robbie, do you dislike “Lots of Lovin'” as a song, or do you feel that it has no place on the album? I agree with you about CL, he’s so “smooth” that he puts me to sleep. I respect him as an emcee, but he doesn’t hold my interest.
@Bug: It’s a terrible track any way you look at it, a throwback to the wack rap ballads of the 80s.
Yeah, the album was too long, still classic though. But Lots of Lovin’ had a dope Ohio Players-loop and a nice breakbeat though. Shame about the all too clear keys over it.
@Nes Yeah with you.
I listened to my compilations again yesterday and in the sun CL was kicking it.
I liked a lot of the interludes he used as well, kinda dope if u ask me.
STRAIGHT CLASSIC…Too long F.O.H!!!!
I bought the album when it came out. With the exception of TROY, Straighten It out and Skins, I thought all the songs sounded the same.
Plain and simply, Dre and Snoop had their own sound going on out West and Pete Rock and CL Smooth seemed like they were trying to recreate what Eric B and Rakim had already perfected.
You’re a writer for fucks sake. Have you ever heard of editing or spell checking?
@RJ: Only on stuff I’m getting paid for.
Don’t get the saying about Mecca is to long main ingredient has about the same tracks 16 each. Wasn’t a big fan of main as much. People tend to say a artist has matured in hip hop on their next album when it has radio friendly and r&b type music or melodies or r&b hooks on it. This is how I felt with main ingredient. Not to say it was a bad album but I like Mecca better. But that’s just my opion before people start attacking me
No one’s gonna attack you man. People pretty unanimously prefer Mecca.
Don’t get me started on main ingredient. I thought it was dope also but I lost the disc about twenty years ago. Still pains me to see that empty case on my shelf. .
How ironic that you review this album I recently bought it for 2 bucks at Goodwill on CD in my opinion this is a classic album and listening to it you can hear how it has influenced many of today’s producers including the late great J dilla