TLC's Crazysexycool: Classic or Dud?

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On a scale of 1 to 10:

Crazy: 4
Sexy: 10
Cool: 8

Weakest moment: Case of the Fake People
The singles: All grebt

― My name is Kenny (My name is Kenny), Saturday, 17 May 2003 01:43 (twenty-two years ago)

overrated dud

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Saturday, 17 May 2003 02:01 (twenty-two years ago)

"Creep" kicks much ass. "Waterfall" has incredible music but
the scratchy lead vocal nearly ruins it for me. I can't quite
remember the rest of the album, so it obviously isn't classic.

― squirl plise (Squirrel_Police), Saturday, 17 May 2003 02:13 (twenty-two years ago)

Probably because it is a note-for-note remake of a classic track, Puff Daddy's plundering of "If I Was Your Girlfriend" is pretty classic. I actually prefered "Creep" to "Waterfalls," and "Red Light Special" to both. As an album, though, what Alex said.

― Eric H. (Eric H.), Saturday, 17 May 2003 03:26 (twenty-two years ago)

"Red Light Special" is the single most people have to be reminded of from that album, but easily the best of the three.

― Paul Cox (paul cox), Saturday, 17 May 2003 03:31 (twenty-two years ago)

"Diggin' On You" was a single too, no? I liked that one best. Anyway, CLASSIC.

― edward o (edwardo), Saturday, 17 May 2003 06:36 (twenty-two years ago)

Still one of the greatest albums ever. I don't care what you think.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 17 May 2003 06:42 (twenty-two years ago)

One of my favourite albums of the '90s, and one of the ones I play most often, and I always love it. I'm biased towards Waterfalls partly because the vid was so beautiful, even though I wouldn't go along with the lyric.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Saturday, 17 May 2003 11:18 (twenty-two years ago)

Production's the best thing about it, and it's there even on the ehh/bad songs so it's worth owning for the good ones (the singles). Diggin on You is probably my favorite. The first bar or two of Creep, in context, is like manna from heaven. Some of the lyrics and other choices are unfortunate, though.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Saturday, 17 May 2003 12:15 (twenty-two years ago)

"Creep" and "Diggin On You" are both stunning - the culmination of an entire aesthetic of the early nineties. By the time you got to Madonna's "Forbidden Love" (which, written by Babyface and produced by Nellee Hooper, is like the the grand but too-late union of the US and the UK's concurrent developments of a live-sounding but opulent looseness in programmed pop) later that year it had to change. But Crazysexycool captures it at its absolute best.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Sunday, 18 May 2003 05:28 (twenty-two years ago)

C
L
A
S
S
I
C

― Nordicskillz (Nordicskillz), Sunday, 18 May 2003 09:39 (twenty-two years ago)

This thread maks me feel like a sinner fr never having heard the whole album through. i'v heard "Creep" "Waterfalls" and "Forbidden Love" and they're obviecly CLASSIC.

― Jr_Vision (visionjr), Sunday, 18 May 2003 10:42 (twenty-two years ago)

classic - my fave r+b album

― Robin Goad (rgoad), Monday, 19 May 2003 07:57 (twenty-two years ago)

My vinyl copy has been pressed with some classical stuff on Side B. Can't get enough of Side A though.

― Robert Moore (treble), Monday, 19 May 2003 08:07 (twenty-two years ago)

ten months pass...

..it's 10 years old, along with Aphex Twin and Dummy and Jeff Buckley's Grace and Emperor's In the Nightside Eclipse and all that wonderful hip-hop.

I love the sound of this record. It's a little front-loaded and I don't care for the skits too much, but what are you gonna do.

― Broheems (diamond), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 19:51 (twenty-one years ago)

i think "creep" is one of the 20 best r&b singles ever written. "waterfalls" still annoys me.

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 19:55 (twenty-one years ago)

I can live without the Busta Rhymes track, which is tres tedious, but other than that, ace. The first half of the record is near-flawless.

― Nick H (Nick H), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 20:21 (twenty-one years ago)

I love it. I've heard better R&B albums since (I even like the Total debut album -which was released around the same time - a bit more), but it will always be very special indeed to me.

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 20:32 (twenty-one years ago)

Overrated, meaningless dud then....overrated meaningless dud now.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 20:44 (twenty-one years ago)

Seconding (or ... 6thing) the suggestion that "Creep" is one of the greatest r and b songs ever.

― djdee2005, Tuesday, 6 April 2004 22:26 (twenty-one years ago)

Luvvit luvvit luvvit. Always thought the masterful "Diggin' On You" was massively underrated - those snares!!!

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 23:10 (twenty-one years ago)

So good.

― C0L1N B3CK3TT (Colin Beckett), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 23:11 (twenty-one years ago)

I like "Red Light Special" was clearly the best single, though

― C0L1N B3CK3TT (Colin Beckett), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 23:11 (twenty-one years ago)

Has anybody ever heard T-Boz's spoken word?

― C0L1N B3CK3TT (Colin Beckett), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 23:12 (twenty-one years ago)

I should never have lent this out. Classic for 'Creep' alone.

― Barima (Barima), Wednesday, 7 April 2004 12:45 (twenty-one years ago)

T-Boz has the sleaziest voice evah!

― Nick H (Nick H), Wednesday, 7 April 2004 17:35 (twenty-one years ago)

That jazzy trumpet that starts Creep off is a trumpet of joy.

― syntaxfree, Wednesday, 7 April 2004 17:48 (twenty-one years ago)

"Kick Your Game" !!

― Paul (scifisoul), Wednesday, 7 April 2004 17:51 (twenty-one years ago)

Whatever you do, don't ever read T-Boz's book of poetry. Even worse than Jewel's.

― shookout, Wednesday, 7 April 2004 18:40 (twenty-one years ago)

Skip the books and buy the Audio Cd!!! It's incredible.

― C0L1N B3CK3TT (Colin Beckett), Wednesday, 7 April 2004 22:27 (twenty-one years ago)

There's a poem about moving your car out of the way of ambulances.

― C0L1N B3CK3TT (Colin Beckett), Wednesday, 7 April 2004 22:27 (twenty-one years ago)

how deep!

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 7 April 2004 22:30 (twenty-one years ago)

this album is great, and i wish to hear it again soon.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 7 April 2004 22:32 (twenty-one years ago)

one year passes...

Meaningless?

If you have no empathy whatsoever for being young and female maybe... Pop must seem a dry old business indeed in those circumstances.

I think I missed the 'hype' here (except for knowing they had big, well loved across-the-spectrum singles.. nothing about the quality of the albums. Are the others as good?). Got this today for next-to-nothing - SO GOOD!

Lush fat bottomed soul & gorgeously lazy loose funk, passionately imperfect vocals, a winking, knowingly indulgent childishness. Young love, fun skits, exuberance. It's a GREAT album.

I also had quite a wtf? moment on that Busta skit. I hadn't remembered "Creep" being that long ago. CrazySexyCool sounds incredibly fresh a decade on to me.

― fandango (fandango), Friday, 2 December 2005 21:38 (twenty years ago)

The next one, Fanmail, is just as good, and the last one, 3D, has more than a few good moments but is certainly less strong.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Saturday, 3 December 2005 12:20 (twenty years ago)

yes, crazysexycool is unbelievably good - fandango if you like the lush babyface ballads you should check out madonna's slept-on bedtime stories album which contains some excellent stuff in the same vein.

i think fanmail has more outright boring bits but 'silly ho' is possibly tlc's finest moment.

― The Lex (The Lex), Saturday, 3 December 2005 16:18 (twenty years ago)

Taking sides with "Creep"; TLC vs Radiohead. TLC every time for me. Quite like the Afghan Whigs cover of it too, when I normally loathe covers of songs I love.

― Nick H (Nick H), Saturday, 3 December 2005 17:24 (twenty years ago)

Love "Creep," (TLC version obv) never really liked any of the "Fan Mail" singles.

― deej.. (deej..), Saturday, 3 December 2005 20:33 (twenty years ago)

No Scrubs and Unpretty are both among my favourite singles of the last ten years.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Saturday, 3 December 2005 21:41 (twenty years ago)

two years pass...

'silly ho' is possibly tlc's finest moment.

― The Lex (The Lex), Saturday, December 3, 2005 4:18 PM (2 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

― lex pretend, Wednesday, 22 October 2008 11:05 (seventeen years ago)

i can run a scam before he can
i'm better than a man
i always keep my game - on - deck

― lex pretend, Wednesday, 22 October 2008 11:06 (seventeen years ago)

can't think of any other song as filled with pure, raw contempt as 'silly ho'

― lex pretend, Wednesday, 22 October 2008 11:07 (seventeen years ago)

haha itunes skipped to ashanti's 'good good' in which she is precisely that silly ho :/

― lex pretend, Wednesday, 22 October 2008 11:11 (seventeen years ago)

Interestingly Fan Mail reminds me a lot of The Velvet Rope (whose thread was revived the other day). A more uneven album than CrazySexyCool, but the highs ("Silly Ho", "No Scrubs", "I'm Good At Being Bad", the titel track) are amazing. Lex is right: especially "Silly Ho", which was such a mindfuck especially at the time.

― Tim F, Wednesday, 22 October 2008 22:37 (seventeen years ago)

haha, apparently according to wikipedia 'i'm good at being bad' (all-time favourite too ("a bitch like - MOI!")) was directly inspired by 'what about' off the velvet rope.

― lex pretend, Thursday, 23 October 2008 09:41 (seventeen years ago)

Yeah I've always just assumed that actually!

― Tim F, Thursday, 23 October 2008 09:46 (seventeen years ago)

two years pass...

Weakest moment: Case of the Fake People

ahahaha...WRONG! Another example for the case of a boom bap revival.

― an album fulla man down (Spinspin Sugah), Thursday, 18 November 2010 18:49 (fifteen years ago)

three months pass...

still very classic and has aged very well

― BIG CHARLIE aka the sheendriver (San Te), Tuesday, 1 March 2011 04:09 (fifteen years ago)

This is one of my favorite albums of all freaking time. I noticed how a lot of the songs are mostly mid to slow tempo but doesn't meander at all. A great sythesis of southern & NY based based hip hop soul. I only wish Left Eye was featured more on it.

― Okay Pet Shop Boys Aren't That Bad. (lilsoulbrother), Tuesday, 1 March 2011 04:47 (fifteen years ago)

How could anyone think csc would be a dud?! Stone cold classic.

― ENBB, Tuesday, 1 March 2011 14:46 (fifteen years ago)

Have been putting on "Creep" at various house parties recently. Guaranteed awesomeness.

― Telephoneface (Adam Bruneau), Tuesday, 1 March 2011 16:33 (fifteen years ago)

five months pass...

"Kick Some Game" and "Case of the Fake People" were radio hits here but weirdly enough, I don't remember ever hearing "Red Light Special" on the radio at the time.

― dutty whiney (The Reverend), Sunday, 7 August 2011 22:51 (fourteen years ago)

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