I thought Campfire, Take It Back, Rushing Elephants, Windmill & Weak Spot were all hot, classic Wu posse cuts, if they added Watch Your Mouth to that you would have a bunch of classics. They are all classic Wu style, raw, aggressive, dangerous, the sampling has been done very well, & they maintain that vibe that only Wu can give. Campfire is just scorching, the sample, the vocals, everything. Take It Back is a little sparse, but the tempo is great and the chorus is fire. Rushing Elephants is clean but the sample is hot and the rhymes on it are quality. Windmill & Weak Spot are two classic Wu songs that sound straight of Forever, Windmill from the beginning on Disc 2 where there are a few songs like Impossible & Ghetto Boys, or the later Hellz Wind Staff, that have a fast tempo but subtle melody, & Weak Spot sounds like one of the mid-Disc 2 battle rap slow burners like Duck Season or Deadly Melody. Absolute fire.
Get Em Out Your Way Pa was just too much of a slow plodder for me, kept dragging on, was too dull, the chorus was annoying & i feel like RZA's bassline is really grating.
Unpredictable was a bit over the top IMO, Decks verse was scorching hot but the instrumental had way too much going on. I still don't see how it is THAT different to Thug World.
The Heart Gently Weeps is okay, but the original is far better. The way they have used live instruments to cover for the lack of sample doesn't have the same effect. I preferred the soul sampling, kung fu cutting RZA to this live instrument RZA. Wu Tang aren't The Roots. Wouldn't cut it, just needs tweaking.
Wolves i think is a hot song, the beat has a great atmospheric feel & i am a fan of George Clinton, just feels a little out of place. As for that original beat, i would have loved for that to be used at a little bit of a slower pace on an Uzi Part II posse cut, a real feel good "Wu is back" track.
Gun Will Go is similar to Get Them Out Your Way Pa in that it just keeps going, i like the guitar riff but it sounds too clean. R&B chorus takes away from it, Wu should only use Tekitha or Blue Rasberry for singing choruses.
Sunlight should be either a bonus track, or saved for RZA's album. A good track, but like Wolves, just feels out of place & isn't the right tempo.
Stick Me For My Riches is a good track, i like the tempo & beat, but it also drags on too much, doesn't feel in the right place on a Wu album, but on an affiliate album it would be a scorcher of a track.
Starter is wack, Wu should never talk about "starter chicks". The beat is a bit rough as well, doesn't sound properly synchronised. I don't like it too much.
Life Changes is a good track, good beat, but they should have the chorus after every 3 rappers, & it needed Ghost. I wouldn't cut the track, just needs some tweaking to make it perfect.
Tar Pit was a bit of a funky addition, but no better than a bonus/filler track. On a Streetlife album or Cappa album i'd rate this as a standout, but it doesn't fit this album.
16th Chamber is a hot bonus track, love it.
So to summarise
Hot tracks: Campfire, Take It Back, Rushing Elephants, Windmill, Weak Spot, Watch Your Mouth (shame it was cut), 16th Chamber (just as a bonus)
Tracks that have great potential but need a bit of tweaking: The Heart Gently Weeps, Wolves, Life Changes
Tracks that feel out of place: Gun Will Go, Sunlight, Stick Me For My Riches, Sunlight, Tar Pit
Wack: Get Em Out Your Way Pa, Starter, Unpredictable (put Decks verse on another beat, maybe the one from the old Wolves beat).
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