Ghostface Killah - Fishscale Review
Posted by Phil Watts, Jr on 04.05.2006
Dope like Columbian Fishscale...
Before I get started on this review, first an explanation for the odd album title...
Fishscale is the street-name for cocaine that has a sort of flakey texture to it...hence the name. Now...why would Ghost title an album some shit like that? You see, since fools like Young Jeezy helped bring "Crack Music" back to the limelight, Ghost figured he would let today's audience know that "crack music" isn't nothing new...in fact, ONLY BUILT FOR CUBAN LINX, a certified classic, had both him and Rae selling coke through most of the album. Now while I'm not exactly crazy about fools making records about pumpin' crack, my philosophy has always been about presentation...as in, if the presentation isn't good, it doesn't matter what you talk about because people would've already tossed the CD out.
So...how does this album sound, or most importantly, does it live up to his past material?
Ghost has a knack for keeping his sound consistent. Even though the RZA has not made a single beat for this album, Ghost still manages to keep the Wu sound alive with this album even with outside producers, which range from MoSS, Lewis Parker, Pete Rock, Just Blaze, MF Doom, and J-Dilla. And lyrically, Ghost is still Ghost, with his knack for story-telling and making up nonsensical lines that will have you scratching your head.
After starting off strong with the horn-laced "Shakey Dog", Ghost & Raekwon makes the first of many duets on this album with the catchy "Kilo"...so your kids will learn that "A KILO IS A THOUSAND GRAMS"! On the Just Blaze produced "The Champ", some raspy voiced Burgess Meredith sound-alike tells Ghost that he hasn't been hungry since SUPREME CLIENTELE (which ain't true...it ain't the lack of hunger...is bad promotion and bullshit sampling/publishing laws that got in the way), in which Ghost makes his claim for that King-Of-New-York crown...and shits on D4L's "Laffy-Taffy" one more time. Ghost borrows a few instrumentals from J-Dilla's DONUTS album for both "Beauty Jackson" and "Whip You With a Strap" (which uses both "Hi" and "For Ghost" respectively). The latter is an ode to parental discipline. Remember, people...it doesn't hurt to pull out that belt once in a while when your kid acts up. Fuck all that Dr. Spock/time-out bullshit! While Pete Rock's beat for "Be Easy" was kind of disappointing (it sounds too...plain), he definitely came through with "RAGU" (Rae And Ghost United ) and "Dogs of War". Rae and Ghost retain the same chemistry that made their early recordings such a hit over a decade ago (damn...it's been THAT LONG.)
Even though this is one of the strongest Wu albums in years, it's still not without its problems.
Right from jump, Ghost brings back the SHOCKMASTER VOICE-O-MATIC 3000 machine (the same machine he used on SUPREME CLIENTELE when he called out 50 Cent) for the album intro ("Return of Clyde Smith") and uses it to threaten to snitch on niggas and mumbling some shit about janitors, Tom Cruise, VANILLA SKY, or some shit. I don't know if it's Ghost using it, Rae using it, or some random fool using it. Either way, it's hard to make out what the hell he's saying and he needs to quit using that shit...it's embarrassing. Then you have the two bland radio cuts: "Back Like That", which is nothing but "Never be The Same Again Part 2", and the sappy "Momma". "Big Girl" continues the tradition of Ghost rhyming over an entire song, this time working with the Stylistics' first hit song, "She's A Big Girl Now", but it doesn't come off as well is "Holla" (which used The Delfonics' "La La La") or "Rain" (which used The Dramatics' "In The Rain"). To add to the weak points are the many pointless skits throughout the album ("Heart Street Directions" comes to mind immediately.) Oh...and would someone PLEASE destroy Biggie's vocal reels? "Three Bricks", a 'bonus' track, just doesn't belong here, and the continued use of Biggie's vocal reels needs to stop (and the same goes for 2Pac's, while I'm at it.)
The one thing that definitely has to be addressed is the fact that many of the songs use recycled beats. Now while Ghost using J-Dilla's DONUTS tracks is excusable (since it's more recent), the problem comes in with MF Doom's contributions, as all his beats are between 3-5 years old! Now, don't get me wrong...it's not that the beats aren't dope, which they are, and it's not that Ghost doesn't sound good of them, because he does. It's just that with the news of a future Ghostface/MF Doom collaboration that's got everyone on the edge of their seats, we expect more than just Doom giving Ghost a copy of his SPECIAL HERBS instrumental CD's and telling him to just 'pick a track...any track'. Now on one hand, there are many people who haven't heard these tracks before, and with this being a major label release, this will expose many new fans to MF Doom's underrated production skills. On the other, some long time Doom fans will be a bit uneasy about the idea of Doom handing the Wu-Tang Clan the SAME EXACT BEAT he gave to The Monsta Island Czars ("1,2...1,2") for "9 Milli Bros.", especially in light of MF Doom's on-again/off-again feud with former partner GM Grimm. Me? While I myself think that the Wu sounds better over this beat than the M.I.C. did, I do wish that Doom would bring some new material.
The Good (or...The pure, uncut dope): "Kilo", "Beauty Jackson", "R.A.G.U.", "Clipse Of Doom", "Dogs Of War"
The Bad (or...The baking soda): "Back Like That", "Momma", "Three Bricks"
The 411: While the subject of the recycled beats will be debated in some circles (you have been warned), this is still a solid album. This will go down as one of the best albums of 2006. Ghost continues to be one of the most consistent artist in the game and definitely knows who an album should sound like.
Highly recommended.
