Iron Flag [Explicit Lyrics] [Extra tracks]

By 2001, Ghostface Killah had unquestionably stepped up to become the Wu Tang empire's most valuable commodity. He is simply untouchable on every line of every track. On 'Rules' Ghostface gets in his two cents on the 9/11 attacks, "Who the f**k knocked our buildings down? / who the man behind the World Trade massacres, step up now / where the four planes at huh is you insane b****? / fly that s**t over my hood and get blown to bits." Later he sensibly suggests, "Mr. Bush sit down, I'm in charge of the war." In fact 'Rules' is one of the highlights on the album, featuring a rejuvenated Method Man chanting the, "How the f**k did we get so cool?" chorus line. Another highlight, 'Pinky Ring', really shouldn't be a decent record but somehow is. Taking the sample from 'Sesame Street' it somehow manages to remain credible. 'Pinky Ring' follows 'Gravel Pit's' lead by being a Wu track aimed squarely at chart domination. It didn't set the UK singles chart alight, but it remains a hip hop club favourite two years after it's release. Other stand out tracks include the (Ann Peebles-featuring) haunting 'Babies' and the international bonus track 'The W'.

There are a couple of bland tracks which makes this a four-star LP and not a five-star classic. 'Dashing' remains a little too bland for the rest of the album, and despite Gza's best attempts to rescue the song from mediocrity with an excellent final verse, it remains the dullest track on the album. Elsewhere, 'Chrome Wheels' is a little too orthodox to be an outstanding track. Apart from that I find the lyrics of 'In The Hood' a little cliched.

Another (albeit one which is forced on the group) problem is the lack of ODB. His wild, unintelligible ramblings have always been a highpoint of Wu albums for me. However, on 'Soul Power' Flava Flav steps into the void left by ODB's absence admirably ("Without me having my finger in the plug / I'm getting shocked anyway"). If nothing else it is good to hear Flav's voice on record again.

Ultimately 'Iron Flag' is a very good album but slightly shy of the usual five-star excellence that Wu Tang Clan albums provide the listener. What is most noticeably missing is a little of the mysticism that made the Wu so original. There are a lot more verses dedicated to girls and money than there have been on previous Wu Tang Clan LPs, which is a shame, and there is a lot less of the kung-fu nonsense that made the Wu so endearing when they exploded on the scene around a decade ago. Despite this though it is a very good album; hip hop fans would be wise to pick up a copy of 'Iron Flag' and for Wu Tang Clan fans it should be seen as an essential purchase.

Track 1. "In the hood" starts off with a classic intro and then rza starts spitting over a slow tempo for about a minute. But don't let this fool you. Soon after an upbeat horn blowing tune rushes in with excellent performances from Masta Killa and Inspektah Deck. Great beat too. What an amazing track to start off with.

Track 2. After the best intro I've ever heard out of the Wu Tang, bar none, with scratching from up to seven different albums, ghost starts off to another great rza beat and tells the world how pi**ed off he is about the world trade centre disaster. But the whole crew on this track spit greeat lines.

Track 3. Alot of people didn't like the vocals on this song. But I think they're great. The beat is absolutely amazing, the tune is another iron flag classic and all the lyrics are true hard core. So far this album deservers six stars!

Track 4. It takes a while to get used to Flava Flav's hook on this song, but once you start to appreciate his flow on the beat you'll love this track just as much as I do.

Track 5. I'm sure you're all familiar with "Uzi" so all I'll say is that the tune is a banging brass classic complete with scratchings of the wu tang trade mark sound...(sooooooooo). All 8 emcees try to outshine one another on this track. I'm glad Cappadonna wasn't around to ruin this song but oh how I miss Ol Dirty. (Gza completely outshines everyone on this track).

Track 6. I think " One of these days" is one of the weaker tracks on the album, but U-God saves it with his great flow on the last verse.

Track 7. Yall been warned is the classic Wu Banga of the album as Method Man outshines everyone in a ten mile radius with his sharp hook alone. But the exceptional performances by all the emcees on the track is just the icing on the cake for this one. Play it loud, play it proud.

Track 8. So far on this album we haven't had any major eerie beats or tunes. Now's the time! With superb vocals from Madame D. Ghostface Killa spills his story telling genius over the track but is quickly outshined, along with Raekwon by the mystikal scientific lyrics of the Gza. I love this track.

Track 9. It took me a while to appreciate this loop but after I did I really started to feel Gza's verse and also Masta Killa spits a good rhyme. It seems like every album he gets more and more lyrics! Come on Killa! Where's the solo joint!!!???

Track 10. Alot of people are fronting on the vocals by Ron Isely on this track, saying that it ruins the song. Those people are whack! Take it for what it is. The man is speaking the truth and is backed up by Deck's funky verse and the classic beat by the Track masters.

Track 11. Iron flag is amazing. With scraches from a kung fu flick and a skeletal beat from Rza, Raekwon and Deck set you up nicely for the bonus track on the end of Iron flag. It isn't in the titles so I'll just call it Glock. At first I thought the slowed down vocals were saying, " good thing we bought that clock" but they're actually saying, "good thing we bought the glock"! Once I realised this I started to love this track. This made the album for me. Little master peices slipped into the tracks that the Rza doesn't even take credit for. PURE GENIUS!

Track 12. " Dashing" is a fairly good track that's only saved from being skipped by Gza's catchy verse at the end. The beat's good but I don't like the jingle bells theme.

Track 13. We heard a bit of this on the album "W" but only got a repeat of the chorus and a snippet of a verse from the Rza. Now they've bought it to life. I like the beats and the tune is dope.

All in all, an amazingly brillaint album that's gunnu bring alot of old fans back to the wu tang and make alot of loyal fans really happy. Now I'm just waiting for the solo joints of 2002...