Why is liquid swords so good

While the album does lose some steam after the first half it contains enough classic beats and good performances by GZA and his fellow Clan members to make this a truly memorable album which stands the test of time and is not forgotten but only rediscovered generation after generation. One of the elements that make 'Liquid Swords' so atmospheric are the intros that appear before nearly every track, sometimes it's RZA just talking or him and some actors acting out scene involving a drug deal, but most of the dialogue comes from the jidaigeki film 'Shogun Assassin' and a bit from 'Dragon on Fire'.

The dialogue plays well into the warrior theme of the album creating an interesting counterpoint to the drug dealing theme which also appears throughout the album. The movie dialogues are engaging, intriguing and feel right within the context of the music. All nine Clan members plus a couple Wu-Affiliates appear on the album and Killah Priest even gets his own song on the album GZA does not appear on this track.

While you might think this would make the album feel overcrowded, it doesn't at all with enough solo track by GZA to make the guest appearances feel special. A couple of the guest appearances on here are actually straight fire and provide a much-needed dose of energy to GZA's steady low key flow. The fire comes from Method Man on 'Shadowboxin' where he takes the track to another level and Ghostface Killah on '4th Chamber' where he really brings it on the lyrical content and flow.

All in all, this is a lauded album to this day and appears on many best-of lists around the world, not bad for an album recorded in RZA's Staten Island basement studio, but so were all the early Wu albums!

What a period of creativity, what an album. The score is then rounded to the nearest whole or half point, e. But nonetheless, his later albums would make it abundantly clear how everything went right for him on Liquid Swords in terms of hooks and beats and song structure.

Listen to the chorus of "Did Ya Say That? Really, 17 years after the fact, I'm still struck by how a record of such grim subject matter and "opium scented, dark tinted" music could actually be kinda fun.

It's a crucial balance and even the most unhinged of the Wu are willing to exchange a bit of their own levity for GZA's gravitas. Ol' Dirty Bastard shows up in the only way that makes sense, refereeing a match between GZA and Inspectah Deck by yelling "duel of the iron mic! It's that 52 fatal strike! Catchy hooks abound, as with the playful reminiscence of the title track, the insatiable yet calm list of demands on "Gold", the impossibly bugged-out synth hook from "4th Chamber" tracing the flight of a mosquito.

One of the many great things about Liquid Swords is that while it's an unimpeachable work of lyrical mastery, of fierce intellect and sound morals, it's in no way a record for prudes. Yes, there are plenty of high-minded theological dissertations, particularly the Killah Priest solo curiosity "B. But the criminology element is every bit as present as on Only Built 4 Cuban Linx.

While Raekwon and Ghostface sounded high off their own supply, embodying Mafioso and druglords dealing with the extreme emotions, rewards and larger than life personalities, GZA is far more objective about the situation. But even with that kind of straight talk, GZA still hovers slightly above the situation and his associates are indeed like chess pieces, functional pawns and slightly higher ranking associates who are still ultimately disposable-- the surgically-altered drug mules, solemn terrorists, low-level dealers and anonymous fiends.

During the first round of solo releases, RZA created a sonic template that masterfully mirrored the personality of every MC, and this is his most cohesive and visionary work largely because GZA was already so fully formed.

Even the kung-fu samples are the most seamlessly integrated, from the unnerving retelling of a failed assassination which begins the LP to the slain warrior who ends it, befallen by a decapitation replete he always assumed he'd inflict on another-- it's impossible to shake the grotesque sounds of his final breaths, where his slit neck emits a wailing winter wind.

It's the most horrific effect on Liquid Swords, but not by much: the soul and funk guitars were originally pressed to vinyl and hot wax, whereas here, they sound like they were brought out of storage from particularly forbidding meat lockers. The lo-fi digital hiss of Alesis cymbals and snares evoke dirty, crushed snow and black ice. Musically, the song skews towards what was the established Wu-Tang sound, mixing Stax soul samples with Kung-Fu flick sonics.

Sadly, that nephew has ended up spending time incarcerated, succumbing to some of the same issues that GZA rhymed about. Liquid Swords is best known for the title track, which still stands out as one of the best tracks on the album and one of the finest songs the GZA has recorded.

He exhibits pure lyrical braggadocio at its finest, delivering some of the sharpest metaphors to ever appear on a Wu-Tang track. Over the cacophony of wailing keys, blaring guitars, and haunting vocals, he describes the often messy process of asserting his domination of the streets. He takes you to the backstreets, underground subways, and abandoned park-benches of Brooklyn, as he schemes to push weight, acquire territory, and eliminate his enemies, leaving scores of corpses and addicts in his wake.

Few can paint a picture of desolation and pain like GZA, and here he creates a vision of a dark winter night in Brooklyn on the crime-riddled Brooklyn streets. Inspektah Deck makes an appearance, authoring a modern-day opera with his verse, telling of aspiring criminals littering the avenues with bullets and the dead bodies of both their enemies and innocent bystanders.

Even by late fall of , the members of the Wu-Tang were still careful not to over-expose themselves, making guest appearances on solo albums by Clan members a source of great anticipation.