Ready To Die ［CD+DVD］

Rolling Stone (5/13/99, p.73) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90's." Rolling Stone (12/11/03, p.128) - Ranked #133 in Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums Of All Time" - "Almost single-handedly, Biggie shifted the focus back to East Coast rap." Rolling Stone (11/3/94, p.96) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...With his prodigious, often booming voice overwhelming the track, he sweeps his verbal camera high and low, painting a sonic picture so vibrant that you're transported right to the scene..." Spin (9/99, p.132) - Ranked #27 in Spin Magazine's "90 Greatest Albums of the '90s." Q (12/94, p.153) - 3 Stars - Good - "...the natural rapping, clever use of sound effects and acted dialogue, and concept element (from a baby being born at the start to the fading heartbeat at the end) set this well apart from the average gangsta bragging..." Uncut (p.128) - 4 stars out of 5 - "A funky, hard-nosed chronicle of a death foretold." Vibe (12/99, p.162) - Included in Vibe's 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century Vibe (6/02, p.109) - Ranked #5 in Vibe's "Top 10 rap albums" - "...Fans knew that from this debut that Biggie was indeed a born winner..." The Source (10/94, p.79) - 4.5 Mics - Slammin' - "...READY TO DIE, the debut from Brooklyn's own Biggie Smalls (a.k.a. The Notorious B.I.G.), echoes the attitude in full Ghettovision color, showing us that the true `American way' is to hustle for yours..." Village Voice (2/20/96) - Ranked #38 in Village Voice's 1995 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll.

ビギーが遺した永遠のクラシック『Ready To Die』（94年）がリマスターされて新たに登場。さらに本作からカットされたシングルのプロモ・クリップ&ライヴ映像を含むDVD付きとあっちゃ、オリジナルを持ってる人も無視できないでしょ。マイクにすべての気持ちをぶつけたかのような重圧で畳みかけるビギーのラップは、音質向上した本作だからこそ冒頭の“Things Done Changed”から爆音で聴くことをオススメします。
bounce (C)小野沢 洋