 |
| |
|
| |
Album Review
by SashaS
19-9-2004
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
| |
More on: Goldie Lookin Chain
|
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
| GoldLookinChain: straight outta Newport |
|
Goldie Lookin Chain: 'Greatest Hits'
(Atlantic)
Goldie Lookin’ Chain in BDS [BUllSHit Derangement Syndrome]
Rap, being another imported music form - alike Rock’n’Roll some five decades previously - the British artists still have to find their homegrown voice for. Dizzee Rascal, Ms Dynamite, Wylie and all the others still mainly do the AmeRap with British accent. Until now… [And, excluding The Streets, obviously, but that‘s another ‘seminar’.]
Goldie Lookin’ Chain, outta Tom Jones’s homeland, are a collective that has tipped the scale towards Brit-rap, in earnest. All the tabloid-R&B of the States, the bling-hop and pop-eroticism are being challenged with themes that reference local situations, events, forces and celebrities… This is as proud being British [no, not only Welsh] as The Proclaimers used to hold high their Scottishness. And, at this time of national identity crisis - it is a fair claim, sir and madam.
In its spirit, the ‘Greatest Hits’ is impudent and reminiscent of the earliest days of the Beastie Boys when they appeared to be taking the pish but used comedy to address some demi-serious subjects. [Well, ‘the-right-to-party’ is the question of life and death when you are a teenager.] GLC are much harder hitting but it is presented wholly in a tongue-in-cheek fashion that you can’t really complain about to a Taste Ombudsman. [If our eroding democracy allowed for one - and it is beyond party-splitting issue that it should… Exist, that is.]
Of course the recent summit-reaching hit ‘Guns Don’t Kill People, Rappers Do’ is the highlight here by some margin and its adolescent lyrics [and nutty delivery] over an infectious tune are just GEMtastic! The octet really have hooks that carry songs way beyond comedy: ‘Half Man Half Machine’ and the So Solid Crew’s rip-off ‘21 Ounces’ are also brilliant…
The trouble with wacky, humorous and comedy records is - how many times can you listen to and enjoy it? Far less, in our experience, than an album of songs. And yet, ‘Guns Don’t Kill People…’, has endured repeated playing and it appears to improve with further spinning. Thus, GLC may have a brilliant future making suchlike sonically entertaining statements rather than being a ‘novelty’ act.
One has to wonder what is behind public flocking to this album [it charted at No. 4] and that great slice of a 3-minute anthem? Masses being fed up with the ‘cosmeticology’ of US R&B or the equally plastic world of ‘Pop Idols’, tired of Marilyn Manson’s shock-antics and Slipknot’s masks or the Miserablist ‘movement’ led by Coldplay/Travis-likes? Probably all of the above and at time when TAOT [Total Annihilation of Terrorism] is gathering pace [NOT!], GLC come as a delicious antidote.
The same One has also the impression that if ‘Guns/Rappers’ single had been released at the Summer’s beginning rather than its end, it could have been the song of the season!
8/10
SashaS
19-9-2004
Goldie Lookin’ Chain’s album ‘Greatest Hits’ has been released on 13 September by EastWest/Atlantic
|
|
|
