Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back

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Album: It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back
Artist: Public Enemy
Release: April 14, 1988
Genre: Hip-Hop
Track Listing:
1. "Countdown To Armageddon"
2. "Bring The Noise"
3. "Don't Believe The Hype"
4. "Cold Lampin' With Flavor"
5. "Terminator X To The Edge Of Panic"
6. "Mind Terrorist"
7. "Louder Than A Bomb"
8. "Caught, Can We Get A Witness?"
9. "Show 'Em Watcha Got"
10. "She Watch Channel Zero?!"
11. "Night Of The Living Baseheads"
12. "Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos"
13. "Security Of The First World"
14. "Rebel Without A Pause"
15. "Prophets Of Rage"
16. "Party For Your Right To Fight"

Cheering masses and sirens introduce the album, brining you into their revolution before they bring the noise. "Bring The Noise" follows as one of the catchiest songs on the album and provides a good example of what is to come. Superb clever lyrics both serious and comedic. Never a dull moment in the song, the group never has to stretch for good rhymes or lyrics and it all flows together very well.

Another catchy track, "Don't Believe The Hype" keeps up the pace. Where the beats in the background don't carry you through, the vocal performance comes through and keeps you in the album. This goes on throughout the rest of the album, each song bringing its own variation of perviously mentioned aspects (I'm not going over each individual song since there's quite a few).

One of the things that really amazes me about this album is the sheer amount of lyrics they've written without running out of ideas or needing to recycle. Most of the songs are at least 3-4 minutes long and are packed full of more lyrical content than many entire albums out there. It is something to expect when the rapping is the focus of the music, but it's done so well that it stand out in particular.

Another outstanding part of the album is the use of sampling. Samples from concerts make appearances, like the previously mentioned opening track, "Countdown To Armageddon" and the people ushering in Terminator X in "Terminator X To The Edge Of Panic". Sampled lines are put into the various songs always in clever ways, making fun of their critics among other things. They prove that said nation of millions can't even bring them down.

They also use brilliant sampling of music. If anyone says that sampling music is merely being lazy and uncreative, they should hear "Night Of The Living Baseheads", which mixes up over 17 types of sampling (I had to confirm this) from David Bowie to Sly & The Family Stone, and turn them all into their own new creation. The albums itself has a very eclectic collection of samples ranging from a Malcolm X quote to the main riff of Slayer's "Angel Of Death" and even their own vocals.

The end product is a unique entity. It's aggressive and flowing, abrasive and soft, visceral and cerebral, serious and humorous. Each song has a lot of thought put into it and gains a new depth. Even the simpler mixes are used to help create atmosphere and add depth to the album.The lyrical content is modern-day poetry (from the late 80s, yes), the music is an intricate combination of old and new and the overall value is greater than the sum of its parts. Whether or not you are a fan of hip-hop and rap, this is a must have album.

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I didn't quite like this review as much as I did my Kyuss one. It's a review I did before and it's a tad inconsistent, but hey, its a contribution, isn't it?

Although this music is not my thing, great review. Thanks.

Not into rap/hip hop... but nice review

lolwut?