Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Is this Pac?, 26 Dec 2002
if you look at this album in comparison to pacs other material for instance Makaveli and me against the world it is not his best album by any means. But when you consider that he died 6 years ago this music sounds very fresh and lyrically songs like my block and street fame are up there with his best and in fact the best in hop hop both then and now. Some of the songs that have been relaid on new beats are helped but others would have been better left alone.
there are plenty of clues for the alive theorists but I worry that they are intentionally doing this to make us keep him alive. When things are said by pac himself however you have to wonder...
Again the most remarkable thing is that it is a double album of material even though it is only 20 songs in total these are supposed to be the worst pac tracks and maybe ones he never intended releasing. You can't help but be blinded by the sheer scope talent and drive of this man.
When you also consider that JayZ has just brought out an album recorded in this year thats isn't as fresh and comprehenive as this. JayZ struggled to maintain over 20 tracks which tupacs 'worst' does with ease.
a great listen for fans and new believers!
|
|
|
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
One of the better posthumous Tupac releases, 27 Dec 2002
By A Customer
There are three things you can be certain of in life. Taxes, death, and with each year a new album from slain rapper Tupac Shakur. This new release now means that Tupac has had more posthumous LP's than albums released whilst he was actually alive. However after 2001's messy Until The End Of Time, we now get a decent collection of more of his unreleased tracks from the vaults.First things first. This album is still plagued by the various shortcomings that have dogged many of Shakur's posthumous LP's. Things such as beats being changed from their original bootleg versions, songs being watered down and sub-par guest rappers that aren't even in the same galaxy as Shakur as an emcee...these things are all present once again, although not as much as on previous occasions. The best thing about this double-disc set is that we get to see all sides of 2Pac courtesy of a nice mix of tracks. There's the cuts that you can blast in your system (Still Ballin, Watcha Gonna Do), the deep, introspective songs that 2Pac had down to a fine art (Mama's Just A Lil Girl, the title track), and of course the tales of freaky bedroom antics (Fair Xchange). It's also great to see Late Night and Who Do U Believe In included on the album after only being available previously through shoddy compilations from Death Row Records. Late Night sees DJ Quik lace a superb Donald Byrd sample for Pac to ride, his delivery flawless, with great contributions from the two better members of Shakur's Outlawz crew - the late Yaki Kadafi and the heavily underrated Hussain Fatal. Who Do U Believe In, again featuring Kadafi, is a breathtaking look into Tupac's own ideas on religion. Both songs are among the album's best. Those familiar with Tupac's posthumous material will know that a big boiling point among fans has been when songs have been changed from the way they appeared when leaked as bootlegs soon after Tupac's death. Beat switches, the adding of choruses and guests and the like have angered many diehard listeners. There are several songs changed and remixed here, the likes of the angry When We Ride On Our Enemies and The Life I Lead lose all of their impact due to sloppy production work and uninspired beats. However for once some of the remixes are for the better, in particular Military Minds. This track features brilliant, subtle guitar licks as Tupac is joined by New York's Boot Camp Clik representatives, Cocoa Brovaz and Buckshot. The song is an insight into what Shakur's promised "One Nation" album would have sounded like. Another song that makes this release worthwhile is the incredible They Don't Give A F*** About Us. This song sees Shakur seething at the demise of young black America as he drops some of his deepest lyrics ever. "I'm watching my nation die, genocide the cause/Expect a bloodbath, the aftermath is yours" he rhymes over a moody, melabcholic beat. A must-hear track. Overall this is a very good album, Shakur's music has been treated with care and we get a whole handful of great new tunes. As his posthumous releases go, this is second only to the superb "Still I Rise", and after a weak 2002 as far as hip-hop goes, definately worth checking out whether you're a fan of the late rapper or not.
|
|
|
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Lookin' for these Better Dayz..., 27 Dec 2002
Firstly, I reccomend you use a file sharing client and find as many of the original recordnigs and master versions which have been bottlegged already to see how these tracks REALLY sounded. But we still get a few un remixed tracks (which we know of) like 'Who Do U Believe In' and the DJ Quik produced 'Late Night' which both appeared on Death Row's 'Still Smokin' Chronic 2000', and 'They Don't Give A F-ck About Us', which remained in it's original state (thank god) because Amaru couldn't obtain the master from Daz.
Some of the tracks that have been remixed are just as good as the original versions, if not better, the 'My Block' Remix (the original appears on 'The Show' soundtrack' is excellent, the production si first class and perfectly suits Pacs flow and justifies his poetry, and the chorus, after a few listens of getting used to, fits in well. I loved the original version of 'Street Fame(2)', it made Pac sound that little extra bit paranoid.. but the new version has a decent piano loop and some superbly dramatic voilins on the hook. 'Mamas just A Little Girl' is the highlight of the first disc, this is classic Tupac, a wonderful beat that fits the flow like a glove and an equally good sung hook, and first rate storytelling. 'Changed Man' is funky enough, and the beat for 'When We Ride On Our Enemies' is superbly atmospheric and rips the old tired sample original to shreds. Not all is good though... the album contains way too many Outlawz verses as filler.. the original to 'Catchin Feelings' wasn't even two minutes long, but featured a good beat and pure Pac... the new version features a boring beat and too many Outlawz verses to fill the gaps and make the song a full 3 mins+ long. Same goes with 'Fame'.. it's great until Pac finishes the first verse and the Outlawz fill in the rest. 'U Can Call' and 'Neva Call U B-tch Again' are full uncut Tupac tracks which will keep you happy enough with the highlight of the second disc 'Better Dayz' sandwiched in between. This song is definately in the top 10 of Tupac tracks, filled with pure emotion and raw passion, the beat is unspoilt and underlines Tupac's masterfully crafedt lyrics. 'Thugz Mansion', the first single taken from the double disc set, is why Tupac Shakur is widely considered the greatest rapper of all time. Only TUPAC would have conjured up the concept of a 'Thugz Mansion', the ghetto fantasy tale of a heaven for G's is told so well that you can envision Tupac siting there right now kickin' it with Malcolm X. Only Tupac would have even attempted this kind of track. The remix is pretty poor.. what with including an uninspired verse by Nas, who should NEVER have even been considered having a part in this album. He's a liar, the beef with pac was never squashed and this totally disrespects everything Tupac stood for and believed in. Other mentions include the superb 'They Don't Give A F-ck About Us', a couple of weak tracks like the FairXchange's, which don't have a patch on the original, 'Who Do U Believe In' and 'Late Night' are good inclusions and 'Still Ballin' has been cleverly edited, with Tupac rapping 'Trick' instead of the original rapper 'Kurupt', I didn't even notice at first but listen close, still the beat is sure to get the club and the jeeps bangin'. Not to forget the 'hidden' track 14, which has Tupac saying he's returning (probably included by Suge Knight to bump up sales, as always). Yes, he IS returning on September 13th 2003... BUT in the form of a documentary of his life NARRATED by TUPAC HIMSELF. Can't wait. It's called 'Ressurection', by the way.
Overall, this should please us hardcore fans, because Amaru and the producers have actually LISTENED to the mostly negative feedback that the pretty weak 'Until The End Of Time' got, there's a reduction in guests, a reduction in emotionless female R'n'B singers on the hooks and fewer lame remixes. Also this would keep the casual fan happy and would get a good number of spins in either type of listeners collection.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
See all 13 tracks on this disc
