Warbled Spider-Man theme music. Japanese Jidaigeki flick tidbits. Distortion, static and boom-bap living together in perfect harmony. A diverse (if not offsetting) musical palette is necessary to complete a sharp witted, lyrical bonanza and in the Wu-Tang Clan’s strongest year as a collective, that’s exactly was summoned for Genius b.k.a. GZA’s career highlight, Liquid Swords.
To say RZA outdid himself in 1995 with Liquid Swords would be a slight of an overstatement, seeing that the dark and ominous production was no match for the catchier and more recognizable inflections boasted on Return To The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version and Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... But, for The Abbott to show that he could go completely left of center while simultaneously holding down the moderate sector was another feat in its entirety. Like the GZA said himself: “RZA shaved the track and n*ggas caught razor bumps.”
Stripped and barren and arguably even repetitive at times, it was easy to underestimate the clout the beats gave the lyrics but it was pivotal in giving the songs identity. The piercing sting of electric guitar helped give “Labels” its biting edge while “Gold” and “Investigate Reports” were only built for Staten crime mysteries. And how infectious was “Shadowboxin’” with a bassline that was equally as menacing as it was soothing? (Hmmm.) Hard to believe going on two decades, the instrumentation present would still be considered groundbreaking to this day.
Chose the sword and you will join me…
Download — GZA – Liquid Swords (Instrumentals)
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going on the iPod now for the morning commute as i read “born to use mics: reading illmatic” – 4th chamber is gonna sound SICK in the AM.
I got this album on my iPod, my cellphone, and on CD in my car.
Yeah, Liquid Swords is the shit.
If Mef is Warhol, Rae is Monet, Ghost is Pollack, ODB is Picasso and RZA is Giacometti then GZA is Vermeer in his way to craft detailed, realistic portraits of life from his windows.
I fux with “Liquid Swords” HEAVY. “Shadowboxin’”, “Investigative Reports”, title track were all ill…but the most amazing track on the album had to be “Labels”. straight up Genius (no pun intended)…
Slept on album from the Wu camp when you consider OB4CL and Supreme Cliente and Tical but still a top Wu production.
i think it goes:
1.) OB4CL (which to me is even better than enter the wu tang)
2.) Liquid Swords
3.) Ironman (to me Supreme Clientele has always been overrated…thats one of my least favorite Ghostface albums)
4.) Tical
Jidaigeki
That takes me back to my high school art class I had with all the comic book nerds that had me watching Ninja Scroll and had me lookin’ at Anime porn. In return, I introduced them to this and it fuckin’ blew their minds. I remember “4th Chamber” being the favorite.
I put ‘em up on that “Mighty Healthy” from Supreme too.
That being overrated = Tiggalo face.
so fuckin amped you brought this back into my memory
1) OB4CL
2) Supreme Clientele
3) Liquid Swords
4) Return To The 36 Chambers
I’ll check on this though I’ll admit, Liquid Swords never knocked me over like it did the rest of the world. It might have to grow on me.
1) OBFQL
2) Liquid Swords
3) Supreme Clientele
4) Enter The 36 Chambers
^^ I think you got a bootleg on your OBFQL.. Should be OB4CL but I digress
1) OB4CL
2) Enter the 36 Chambers
3) Supreme Clientele
4) Liquid Swords
5a) Ironman (while I agree with thashyt about Ironman being a better album than is given credit and Supreme Clientele being sorta over-rated, I can’t front on which CD I grab 1st..every time. Besides that he ranked Tical in the top 5 & that should never happen.
5b) Return of the 36 Chambers (and I always favored ODB but RZA wasn’t top of his game in lacing this one.)
^^ no bootleg purple tape its late and doing a radio show right now
1) OB4CL
2)Supreme Clientele
3) 36 Chambers
4) Liquid Swords
5) Ironman/ OB4CL2 (????)
I’ll admit that I haven’t listened to return to the 36 chambers in quite sometime so I’m bouta re-evaluate it right now….
Currently reading the Wu-tang Manual. Highly recommended.
desperatly searchin for guiltys ode to the ghetto & most of sean price instrumentals. can anyone help?
To this day i have never understood why so many people slept on GZA. After Ghost he has always been my fav clan member. LS was the joint but for some reason Beneath the Surface was always the CD I ran to first in his discography
Liquid Swords is my favorite album of all time. Another thing about the production is that it starts our pretty minimalist and straightforward but as the album progresses it just continues to get more bugged out mainly from 4th chamber going forward.