"The W" More Essential Than "Wu-Tang Forever"

[Sparrow Daene]

(According to a compilation I didn't even know existed until yesterday)

The Essential Wu-Tang Clan

Tracklist:

Disc 1

1. Da Mystery Of Chessboxin'
2. As High As Wu-Tang Get
3. C.R.E.A.M.
4. Cash Still Rules/Scary Hours (still don't nothing move but the money)
5. Rules
6. I Can't Go To Sleep (Featuring Isaac Hayes)
7. Uzi (Pinky Ring)
8. America (Featuring Killah Priest)
9. Gravel Pit
10. The Projects (Featuring Shyheim)
11. Back in the Game (Featuring Ron Isley)
12. What You in Fo'
13. The Monument (Featuring Busta Rhymes)
14. Can it Be All so Simple
15. The W

Disc 2

1. Protect Ya Neck
2. Reunited
3. Shame On A Nigga
4. Hollow Bones
5. Triumph (Featuring Cappadonna)
6. Redbull (Featuring Redman)
7. Method Man
8. It's Yourz
9. Put Your Hammer Down
10. One Blood Under W (Featuring Junior Reid)
11. Diesel
12. Careful (Click, Click)
13. Protect Ya Neck (The Jump Off)
14. Wu-Tang: 7th Chamber - Part II


Oh word? The Trackmasters-produced "Back In The Game" with Ron fucking Isley is more "essential" than "Heaterz"!?

"Rules" >>> "Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthin Ta F' Wit" ???

Why are there only 14 tracks on the 2nd disc? Why are the songs' intros edited in weird, unnecessary ways? Why didn't they use the actual "Put Your Hammer Down" (it was released on a white label) instead of lifting a track directly from a Funkmaster Flex mixtape, with him scratching the next song at the end of it?

Featuring Shyheim?

The one thing they got right is using the single version of "C.R.E.A.M.", which is much better than the album version.


The W: 8 songs (9 if you count "The W")

Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers): 7 songs

Wu-Tang Forever: 6 songs

Iron Flag: 3 songs (4 if you cound "The W". They just threw on all of that album's singles. Why?)

[Rev Jones]

Judging by the list of songs included, this compilation does a pretty good job of providing a career overview of the Wu, with each album up until then being represented fairly well. And it includes non album tracks, so that earns it some good points, too.

The compilation is indeed heavy on 'The W', but since it's my third favorite Wu album after 'Wu Tang Forever' and '36 Chambers' I'm not mad at it. In terms of quality beats 'The W' is close to 'Forever', but of course they deliberately dumbed down on the verses, which was unnecessary in my book.

What you mentioned about 'Put your hammer down' is off putting. They should have indeed used the white label.

[mAlAkAz]

the label probably used all those songs from The W cd because most of them had a famous guest on them that will probably attract a non wu fan to buy this , but they fucked up on not including Aint Nuthin ta F Wit the last single from ETW36

[Sparrow Daene]

I don't know. If they wanted to better represent the Wu sound, they wouldn't have just put the Iron Flag singles on there. "Ya'll Been Warned", "Radioactive (Four Assassins), "Babies" or the title track make a lot more sense than "Rules" and the Trackmasters song.

They did do a decent job with the non-album songs. Even though I consider "Diesel" a Wu-Tang Forever song (that that was left off the album is crazy to me.) "Put Your Hammer Down" obviously wasn't essential to the tracklist of Forever, so I don't see how it is to a career retrospective. They included mostly good songs here and not things like "And You Don't Stop" or their version of "Sucker MC's".

The problem is they had just the albums credited to Wu-Tang Clan to pull from, and not any of the Wu-Tang Clan albums in between 36 Chambers and Forever. So they had to include Iron Flag songs and not something from Ironman or "Snakes", for example. That said, it really makes no sense that an album with as many songs as Wu-Tang Forever would be less represented than The W.

I know 8 Diagrams gets no love here, but no "Campfire"? Or "Take It Back"? "Windmill"?

I don't think they dumbed their lyrics down for that album, by the way. There's just that unnecessary, oversimplified hook on "Chamber Music" and probably the 2nd worst RZA verse on "Careful (Click, Click)" the radio edit of his verse is better than hearing what he's actually saying.

[Rev Jones]

the label probably used all those songs from The W cd because most of them had a famous guest on them that will probably attract a non wu fan to buy this , but they fucked up on not including Aint Nuthin ta F Wit the last single from ETW36

They should have indeed included that one. It's one of the grimiest in their catalogue. A real signature song, too.

[Rev Jones]

I don't know. If they wanted to better represent the Wu sound, they wouldn't have just put the Iron Flag singles on there. "Ya'll Been Warned", "Radioactive (Four Assassins), "Babies" or the title track make a lot more sense than "Rules" and the Trackmasters song.

If indeed they were aiming for the typical Wu sound I think the songs you put forward for inclusion are well chosen. However, I must say that the beat on 'Radioactive' had to grow on me when 'Iron Flag' was first released. On the album the song that best represents the Wu sound to me is the title song.