Things Fall Apart (Deluxe Edition)＜Black Vinyl/限定盤＞

ザ・ルーツの1999年名盤『シングス・フォール・アパート』のリリース20周年記念ブラック・ヴァイナル3枚組限定デラックス・エディションが発売!

1999年2月23日にMCAからオリジナル・リリースされた、ヒップホップ・バンド、ザ・ルーツの4thアルバム『Things Fall Apart』のリリース20周年を記念する、ブラック・ヴァイナル3枚組のデラックス・エディション。1997 ～98年にかけてエレクトリック・レディ・スタジオでレコーディングされた作品。同時期にSoulquarians collectiveの仲間であるD'Angeloの『Voodoo』やErykah Baduの『Mama's Gun』、Commonの『Like Water for Chocolate』等のアルバム制作にも参加していたザ・ルーツにとって本作は、この時期のクオリティのすべてを結集した傑作となり、グラミー賞 Best Rap Album にノミネート。Eminem『The Slim Shady LP』に敗れ受賞は逃したものの、シングル「You Got Me」は同賞の Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group 部門を受賞した。

Rolling Stone (3/4/99, pp.81-82) - 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...The hip-hop vanguard that's ignoring trends - musical, lyrical, sartorial - and experimenting, forging ahead, creating new directions....combining kinetic street energy with fresh, artful musical ideas..." Rolling Stone (3/4/99, pp.81-82) - 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...The hip-hop vanguard that's ignoring trends - musical, lyrical, sartorial - and experimenting, forging ahead, creating new directions....combining kinetic street energy with fresh, artful musical ideas..." Spin (p.102) - "An album as badass as the live show." Entertainment Weekly (2/19-2/26/99, p.140) - "...this straight outta-Illadellph septet maintain a high standard of verbal one-upmanship and lyrical inventiveness, spinning out trenchant inner-city dispatches with righteous fury, while the band's judicious Fender Rhodes tinkling and jazzbo fingerpicking help stoke the album's quiet storms..." - Rating: B Entertainment Weekly (2/19-2/26/99, p.140) - "...this straight outta-Illadellph septet maintain a high standard of verbal one-upmanship and lyrical inventiveness, spinning out trenchant inner-city dispatches with righteous fury, while the band's judicious Fender Rhodes tinkling and jazzbo fingerpicking help stoke the album's quiet storms..." - Rating: B Q (5/99, p.114) - 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...amidst bubbling bass, jazz guitar licks and snare splats he [main rapper, Black Thought] celebrates original hip-hop virtues without surrendering to nostalgia..." Q (5/99, p.114) - 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...amidst bubbling bass, jazz guitar licks and snare splats he [main rapper, Black Thought] celebrates original hip-hop virtues without surrendering to nostalgia..." Alternative Press (6/99, p.108) - 4 (out of 5) - "...the Roots fuse melodic choruses and rap verses into rich, fully-realized grooves..." Alternative Press (6/99, p.108) - 4 (out of 5) - "...the Roots fuse melodic choruses and rap verses into rich, fully-realized grooves..." Mixmag (2/99, p.105) - 4 out of 5 - "...[The Roots] strike gold with their weighty and serious third effort....there's no doubt it's all poetry." Muzik (1/00, p.69) - Ranked #12 in Muzik's "Albums Of The Year '99" Muzik (1/00, p.69) - "...their most accomplished album...mixing their trademark human beatbox, live instrumentation and smoothly flowing patter with a gorgeous guest appearance from Erykah Badu." CMJ (1/10/00, p.4) - Ranked #9 in CMJ's "Top 30 Editorial Picks [for 1999]." CMJ (1/25/99, p.5) - "...the Roots represent one of the few hip-hop units that genuinely raise the quality level of the genre....from throat-grabbin' raps to silky-smooth sing-a-longs, leaving cliches at the door while pumping in brand new, heavy doses of groove..." CMJ (1/10/00, p.4) - Ranked #9 in CMJ's "Top 30 Editorial Picks [for 1999]." CMJ (1/25/99, p.5) - "...the Roots represent one of the few hip-hop units that genuinely raise the quality level of the genre....from throat-grabbin' raps to silky-smooth sing-a-longs, leaving cliches at the door while pumping in brand new, heavy doses of groove..." Vibe (3/99, p.162) - "...the Roots have finally perfected their sound....The Roots have reconfigured the pyramid again, placing themselves at the top..." Vibe (3/99, p.162) - "...the Roots have finally perfected their sound....The Roots have reconfigured the pyramid again, placing themselves at the top..." The Source (2/00, p.95) - Included in The Source's "Top 10 Albums of the Year [1999]." The Source (3/99, p.194) - 4 Mics (out of 5) - "...THINGS FALL APART is the desolate Mad Max-ish soundscape of the post-Armageddon New World....the product of a group who has opened its eyes, and found that the second coming has already arrived in the form of social ills and artistic stagnation..." The Source (2/00, p.95) - Included in The Source's "Top 10 Albums of the Year [1999]." The Source (3/99, p.194) - 4 Mics (out of 5) - "...THINGS FALL APART is the desolate Mad Max-ish soundscape of t

One of the cornerstone albums of alternative rap's second wave, Things Fall Apart was the point where the Roots' tremendous potential finally coalesced into a structured album that maintained its focus from top to bottom. If the group sacrifices a little of the unpredictability of its jam sessions, the resulting consistency more than makes up for it, since the record flows from track to track so effortlessly. Taking its title from the Chinua Achebe novel credited with revitalizing African fiction, Things Fall Apart announces its ambition right upfront, and reinforces it in the opening sound collage. Dialogue sampled from Spike Lee's Mo' Better Blues implies a comparison to abstract modern jazz that lost its audience, and there's another quote about hip-hop records being treated as disposable, that they aren't maximized as product or as art. That's the framework in which the album operates, and while there's a definite unity counteracting the second observation, the artistic ambition actually helped gain the Roots a whole new audience ("coffeehouse chicks and white dudes," as Common puts it in the liner notes). The backing tracks are jazzy and reflective, filled with subtly unpredictable instrumental lines, and the band also shows a strong affinity for the neo-soul movement, which they actually had a hand in kick-starting via their supporting work on Erykah Badu's Baduizm. Badu returns the favor by guesting on the album's breakthrough single, "You Got Me," an involved love story that also features a rap from Eve, co-writing from Jill Scott, and an unexpected drum'n'bass breakbeat in the outro. Other notables include Mos Def on the playful old-school rhymefest "Double Trouble," Slum Village superproducer Jay Dee on "Dynamite!," and Philly native DJ Jazzy Jeff on "The Next Movement." But the real stars are Black Thought and Malik B, who drop such consistently nimble rhymes throughout the record that picking highlights is extremely difficult. Along with works by Lauryn Hill, Common, and Black Star, Things Fall Apart is essential listening for anyone interested in the new breed of mainstream conscious rap. ~ Steve Huey