Wu-Tang Forever＜完全生産限定盤＞

HIP HOP史上最強の軍団=Wu-Tang Clan(ウータン・クラン)の2ndアルバム『Wu-tang forever』の発売25周年を記念し、カセットを発売!


ニューヨークはスタテン・アイランドから飛び出した驚異のMC集団=ウータン・クラン。中心的メンバーのプリンス・ラキーム(RZA)が作るソウルフルな漆黒ビートをバックに、RZA、オル・ダーティー・バスタード、メソッド・マン、ゴーストフェイス・キラー、レイクウォン、ジニアス(GZA)、インスペクター・デック(レベルINS)、ユー・ゴッドといった、後にそれぞれ名を成す個性豊かなラッパーたちが入り乱れ、グループ名の由来でもあるカンフーの精神性やアイディア、ストーリー性を取り入れた革命的なヒップホップ集団としてブレイクした。
本作『Wu-tang forever』は、1993年に発売された衝撃のデビュー・アルバム『Enter The Wu-Tang Clan (36 Chambers)』 (邦題:燃えよウータン)に続き、1997年に発売された2枚組のセカンド・アルバム。このアルバムは、全世界で600万枚以上のセールスをあげるラップ・アルバムとしては驚異的な記録を打ち立て、ウータン・クランとして不動の地位を築いた作品となった。今回、『Wu-tang forever』が発売25周年を迎えるのを記念し、カセット(2本組)を発売する。

By the time the Wu-Tang Clan finished their first round of solo projects and reconvened for their second album as a group, the double-disc album had become the hip-hop fad of the moment. So why not give it a shot? With a main crew of nine MCs (plus new protege Cappadonna), the Wu wouldn't have to depend heavily on guest appearances to flesh out two whole discs of material, as Biggie and 2Pac had. While the result, Wu-Tang Forever, is frequently brilliant, it's also sprawling and unfocused, losing its handle on the carefully controlled chaos of Enter the Wu-Tang. On the one hand, there's more social consciousness on Wu-Tang Forever, taking hard looks at ghetto life while finding pathos and offering encouragement and uplift ("A Better Tomorrow," "Impossible"). On the other hand, you also get some of the group's most explicit sex raps yet ("Maria," "The Projects," the utterly bizarre ODB solo track "Dog Shit"). In other words, the group is starting to go off in more individual directions here, making it harder to maintain an overall focus. Once you get past the rambling Five Percenter introduction, the first disc is pretty tight, partly because it was kept short to leave room for enhanced CD content. The second disc is far too long, diluting the impact of its better songs (the terrific single "Triumph") with an excess of lackluster material. Wu-Tang Forever easily would have made a brilliant single CD; RZA's production is more polished than the debut, thanks to a bigger budget and better equipment, and leans heavily on soundtrack-style strings to underscore the album's cinematic scope. Some hailed Wu-Tang Forever as the best double-disc hip-hop album yet released, but others regarded it as a disappointment; despite its many high points, it's the first time the Wu didn't quite fulfill their ambitions. ~ Steve Huey