Ol' Dirty Bastard - "Return to the 36 Chambers"

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No thread on this one, might as well start one. I just picked this up on vinyl because I'm a snob, and it's fantastic. this is one of the few Wu solo albums I had "taken a nap on", if you will, and didn't hear it until a year ago. "Brooklyn Zoo" and "Shimmy Shimmy Ya", etc...

― gear (gear), Thursday, 20 October 2005 16:54 (twenty years ago)

even ned likes this album

― strongo hulkington's ghost (dubplatestyle), Thursday, 20 October 2005 16:58 (twenty years ago)

I'm no vinyl snob however I have recently been lent a record player and Hip hop records definitely sound considerably better than on CD.

― dog latin (dog latin), Thursday, 20 October 2005 17:09 (twenty years ago)

This album is a timeless classic for the ages!!! I'm not joking...i think this is one of the better albums of the last 15 years.

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Thursday, 20 October 2005 17:09 (twenty years ago)

even ned likes this album

Yup. And a fine fine thing it is.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 20 October 2005 17:16 (twenty years ago)

OTM. A lot of people sleep on this one, thinking ODB is just some crackhead Step'n Fetchit. There's some deep + deeply fucked stuff going on in this record. It's sprawling and always entertaining, even at it's most messed-up and experimental. If this came out of some white kid's garage they'd be calling it avant-garde.

Might be my favorite Wu record after Liquid Swords.

― Edward III (edward iii), Thursday, 20 October 2005 17:19 (twenty years ago)

so good

― s1ocki (slutsky), Thursday, 20 October 2005 17:21 (twenty years ago)

I think my fav. is "rawhide" ---- that incredible chorus with the bullwhip sound, all the menstrual blood, the part where ODB has to calm himself down cause he was thinking about devils....

― reacher, Thursday, 20 October 2005 17:26 (twenty years ago)

Is anyone going to step up and un-defend this album?

― dog latin (dog latin), Thursday, 20 October 2005 17:29 (twenty years ago)

offend?

― s1ocki (slutsky), Thursday, 20 October 2005 17:30 (twenty years ago)

i think that n***a please might have overshadowed this one for whatever reason. most everyone i know who is an ODB fan is a fan because of that album and hasn't heard this one. i guess i should use the word "fan" loosely.

― gear (gear), Thursday, 20 October 2005 17:31 (twenty years ago)

an amazing record, only a slight shade below enter the 36 chambers, liquid swords, and cuban linx. mindblowingly good at its best (e.g., "snakes" and "brooklyn zoo").

another amazing thing -- with the possible exception of ghostface, ODB had the most consistently high-quality songs of all of the wu tangers. (not coincidentally, ODB and ghostface are the 2 craziest of the wu-tangers.)

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Thursday, 20 October 2005 17:35 (twenty years ago)

I was a hardcore Wu fan for a long time and didn't really give this album a chance until a couple years ago. It's really good, as I found out. What's really impressive is that RZA contours each of the early Wu solo albums to suit the personality of the MC, and the music here is funny, menacing, and crazy all at once-- just like ODB. A classic in my book. Best track: "Snakes"

― richard wood johnson, Thursday, 20 October 2005 17:36 (twenty years ago)

Nigga Please overshadows this one because Wu-Tang weren't that "above ground" until Wu-Tang Forever came out. By the time Nigga Please came out ODB was storming award ceremony stages and getting arrested while signing autographs at McDonalds.

It's a pale shadow beside Return to the 36 Chambers, but the production is more "pro" sounding.

― Edward III (edward iii), Thursday, 20 October 2005 17:36 (twenty years ago)

i had no idea this album was so slept on

― s1ocki (slutsky), Thursday, 20 October 2005 17:38 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, I'm totally surprised as well!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 20 October 2005 17:40 (twenty years ago)

classic cover art to boot

― reacher, Thursday, 20 October 2005 17:41 (twenty years ago)

another plus -- hip-hop skits that are actually FUNNY. like the intro to "don't u know":

Girl 1: oh cutie got it goin' on!
Girl 2: cute? what? that dirty motherfucker?
Girl 1: you buggin'!
Girl 2: ain't no buggin', he's some ugly motherfucker.
Girl 1: you buggin', no -- look at his disposition, shorty gotta stride!
Girl 2: what stride? ugly motherfucker, he ain't shit.
Girl 1: see, that's my plate, brother may kill me like that.
Girl 2: you got mad sour flavor on shorty, cuz that ain't shit at all...
Girl 1: i'm -- yo g, i don't think he realizes it. look at him!
Girl 2: look at what? dirty motherfucker, he ain't shit.
Girl 1: hahaha, you don't see what i see, b.
Girl 2: i don't see nothing, you ain't blind, sisso.
Girl 1: true, true. just look at him, just look at his disposition!

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Thursday, 20 October 2005 17:41 (twenty years ago)

Nigga Please has its charms as well, the headlong, nihilistic rush in to coke....it's more of a Stooges record, where Enter the 36 Chambers is like a Fall record.

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Thursday, 20 October 2005 17:53 (twenty years ago)

the wu-tang were most certainly "above ground" before forever!

― strongo hulkington's ghost (dubplatestyle), Thursday, 20 October 2005 17:54 (twenty years ago)

remember when, remember when you used to see who could do this the longest aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

― Old School (sexyDancer), Thursday, 20 October 2005 17:54 (twenty years ago)

in addition to being a singular individual ODB is a really good rapper --- I watched some Wu live video where he just sits on the monitors looking sad and bored until it's his turn --- at which point he comes alive and seriously makes everybody else look sloppy ----

I mean Wu's full of good rappers and maybe he was just having a better night than everyone else but his skills are no joke.

there's real urgency in his voice when he says "WE GOTTA KEEP IT FLY FOR YOU" ---- urgency I wish more folks felt.

― reacher, Thursday, 20 October 2005 17:56 (twenty years ago)

Of all the members of Wu Tang, ODB was probabily the worst lyrically, bit i'll always remember his grunting flow and his filth, I think he has one of the greatest voices in rap, if not one of the greatest voices of all time. His version of "Cold Blooded" on Nigga Please is fantastic.

― Don Rowlando (Sam Rowlands), Thursday, 20 October 2005 18:02 (twenty years ago)

reacher - that show was the last show filmed before he died, I believe...he was going through some serious shit...supposedly RZA had to coerce him to even leave his hotel room before the show

― Space Is the Place (Space Is the Place), Thursday, 20 October 2005 18:03 (twenty years ago)

yeah that makes sense. he did kill it though ------

― reacher, Thursday, 20 October 2005 18:08 (twenty years ago)

I came out my momma pussy, i'm on welfare
26 years amd i'm still on welfare

― Ellis, Thursday, 20 October 2005 18:12 (twenty years ago)

Yer bound to catch AIDS or sumthin'
not sayin I got it.... but, nigga, if I got it you got it !!!

― Ellis, Thursday, 20 October 2005 18:13 (twenty years ago)

the wu-tang were most certainly "above ground" before forever!
-- strongo hulkington's ghost (wt...), October 20th, 2005.

Above ground was the wrong word - crossed over isn't really right either. They were above ground in that they'd make the cover of a music mag, but not above ground in the sense that anybody in Sheboygan knew who they were. In the years following Wu-Tang Forever, they became a household name, i.e. your Aunt Tilly knew who they were, Leno would make jokes about them, etc.

Nigga Please has its charms as well, the headlong, nihilistic rush in to coke....it's more of a Stooges record, where Enter the 36 Chambers is like a Fall record.
-- M@tt He1geson (matt@game[remove]informer.com), October 20th, 2005.

Nigga Please is to Return to the 36 Chambers as
a) Raw Power : Palace of Swords Reversed
b) Fun House : Perverted by Language
c) The Stooges : This Nation's Saving Grace
d) Metallic KO : Extricate

― Edward III (edward iii), Thursday, 20 October 2005 18:28 (twenty years ago)

for the intro alone i'd buy this rekkid

― rizzx (Rizz), Thursday, 20 October 2005 18:34 (twenty years ago)

Gear- this album is CRITICAL, but do you also have the CD? The LP I belive is missing the CD extra tracks "Dirty Dancin'" and "Harlem World", which I think are both fantastic tracks.

"M-m-m-m-my name is the 'Ol Dirty Bas, my game......to kick ya ass!"

...with subtle echo chamber, no less.

Uou need those tracks, too!!!

― jsoulja (jsoulja), Thursday, 20 October 2005 18:40 (twenty years ago)

I love the first two ODB solo albums! Nigga Please is even more psychedelic than Return To The 36 Chambers. He doesn't go places you'd expect him to go and his flow is totally cock-eyed. I love it.

Careful wit my balls, they're fragile as eggs.

― Special Agent Dale Koopa (orion), Thursday, 20 October 2005 18:52 (twenty years ago)

Gear- this album is CRITICAL, but do you also have the CD? The LP I belive is missing the CD extra tracks "Dirty Dancin'" and "Harlem World", which I think are both fantastic tracks.

OTM, this is a case where bonus tracks are actually as good as the album tracks. If my copy of RTT36C ended without them, I'd say, hey where's the rest of the record?

― Edward III (edward iii), Thursday, 20 October 2005 18:59 (twenty years ago)

my favorite ODB verse is on 'chessboxin'. jacques cousteau could never get this low.

― PeopleFunnyBoy (PeopleFunnyBoy), Thursday, 20 October 2005 20:33 (twenty years ago)

shit i only have the LP. i know some dude who's got the CD, i'll burn it.

― gear (gear), Thursday, 20 October 2005 20:41 (twenty years ago)

ODB, to me, is one of the 5 best rappers ever (up there with Biggie, Rakim, Big Boi and Jay-Z). Those albums of his are fascinating because they're so wacked out and nihilistic and yet so ... orthodox. He exploded the hip-hop paradigm ... understood the tools at his disposal and used them to exhiliarting effect.

― Chris O., Thursday, 20 October 2005 20:45 (twenty years ago)

Niggaz comin thru the trees, like a salamander, bitin
Like a piranha, but I'm bitin you back, like a black pantha
The style I'm ampin the... f**k my name, who I be?
F**k the game, it's all about the moneyyyy!

He was never scarier.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 20 October 2005 21:10 (twenty years ago)

(I don't think salamanders have teeth...)

first Wu-Tang full-length I ever heard (C.R.E.A.M. single was the first song), great album.

― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 20 October 2005 21:14 (twenty years ago)

OTM, this is a case where bonus tracks are actually as good as the album tracks.

Indeed. "Dirty Dancin'" is my favorite solo Wu-Tang throwaway.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 20 October 2005 21:16 (twenty years ago)

"Snakes" -- ahhhhh. So classic. I have Dirty and RZA on the Bobbito/Stretch Armstrong Show taped somewhere, when RZA was promoting the first "Bobby Digital' album. Dirty was completely off his rocker, freestyling with RZA, yelling into the mic and making the hosts kind of uncomfortable. He capped it all off by telling the listening audience to all fart at once.

― Jay Vee (Manon_70), Thursday, 20 October 2005 22:02 (twenty years ago)

in RZA's book, he describes various Wu members coming by his apartment and recording before the group got together officially, back when he had a ton of shitty equipment and a barebones setup. I suspect that the last two tracks come from this era-- if I remember correctly, the sound quality on them is really bad.

― richard wood johnson, Thursday, 20 October 2005 22:05 (twenty years ago)

Yup. "Dirty Dancin'" sounds like a demo.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 20 October 2005 22:13 (twenty years ago)

I'm piling on late here, but I love this album and I adore this thread.

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Thursday, 20 October 2005 23:37 (twenty years ago)

"I love that guy."

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Thursday, 20 October 2005 23:38 (twenty years ago)

(I don't think salamanders have teeth...)

-- Shakey Mo Collier (audiobo...), October 20th, 2005.

ODB should've paid better attention during Biology.

― Edward III (edward iii), Friday, 21 October 2005 14:30 (twenty years ago)

When I first got into the Wu through Enter... I loved him but thought he might wear a bit tedious with just him on an album, whereas with the others he was a truly fresh voice, but he delivers with Return... One of the best solo Wu LPs, although behind Tical and the Ghost Dog OST in my book.

― Nick H (Nick H), Friday, 21 October 2005 19:24 (twenty years ago)

Among my fifty or so fave albums.

― Forksclovetofu (Forksclovetofu), Friday, 21 October 2005 19:26 (twenty years ago)

"I never saw so many people tonight . . . From all houses, to all towns, from the mooon to Ploooto, back *down* to Earth . . . "

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Monday, 24 October 2005 07:17 (twenty years ago)

"I got burnt actually two times, if you look at it . . . "

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Monday, 24 October 2005 07:18 (twenty years ago)

Dale Koopa: The Neptunes have acknowledged that they had to paste verses together from whatever they could get from a loopy (to say the least) ODB for the second album. . . .

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Monday, 24 October 2005 08:14 (twenty years ago)

"i felt...the earth tremble...under my baaallllllllllllssss"

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Monday, 24 October 2005 09:08 (twenty years ago)

(classic)

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Monday, 24 October 2005 09:09 (twenty years ago)

He's got pretty good vibrato. Wonder what Charlotte Church thinks.

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Monday, 24 October 2005 09:18 (twenty years ago)

shit. i'm lacking this.

― poortheatre (poortheatre), Monday, 24 October 2005 17:19 (twenty years ago)

"Bad bad Leroy Brown
Baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than the deep blue sea
Badder than you and meeee"

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Tuesday, 25 October 2005 02:11 (twenty years ago)

I don't have that much to say about this now but just let me chip in that it is pretty damn unbeatable.

― Sundar (sundar), Tuesday, 25 October 2005 03:00 (twenty years ago)

his best album

;- ((((((

ODB R.I.P. -- favorite lines?
ODB RIP : a picture thread

― amon (eman), Tuesday, 25 October 2005 03:05 (twenty years ago)

one year passes...

GRATE record.

― calvin johnson has ruined rock for an entire generation (orion), Friday, 10 November 2006 06:02 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, totally classic, even more of a keeper than his great second solo record.

― Neil Stewart (Neil Stewart), Friday, 10 November 2006 11:33 (nineteen years ago)

I will rep for this for the 12,000th time. Badder than you and meeee.

― A Radio Picture (Rrrickey), Friday, 10 November 2006 11:44 (nineteen years ago)

Everyone SO OTM on this one. This thread makes me so happy. Rest in peace, brother, dude, Jesus.

― A Radio Picture (Rrrickey), Friday, 10 November 2006 11:50 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah this album is fucking excellent, and Snakes is probably my favourite song on it as well.

― Colonel Poo (Colonel Poo), Friday, 10 November 2006 11:56 (nineteen years ago)

One of the few (perhaps the only?) hip hop albums in which the skits and between track bits are actually worth listening to, as well.

― Neil Stewart (Neil Stewart), Friday, 10 November 2006 12:01 (nineteen years ago)

ODB=OTMFM.
and you know this.

― edde (edde), Friday, 10 November 2006 13:31 (nineteen years ago)

ODB, to me, is one of the 5 best rappers ever (up there with Biggie, Rakim, Big Boi and Jay-Z).

haha

Nah this is a great record but I probably like his second one more.

― deej.. (deej..), Friday, 10 November 2006 15:20 (nineteen years ago)

Possibly my favourite straight-up hip hop record.

― wogan lenin (dog latin), Friday, 10 November 2006 15:25 (nineteen years ago)

My favorite is "Protect Ya Neck II: The Zoo"... what beats a Shorty Shit Stain guest appearance???

― Shlomo Shemesh (Shlomo Shemesh), Friday, 10 November 2006 17:11 (nineteen years ago)

I was certain I had posted on this thread already, wtf. One of my favorite things about listening to this is those places where ODB gets really loud and overdrives the mic JUST to the point of clipping, but they ended up using it anyway because it is just so fucking rowdy.

― diebold with a vengeance (nickalicious), Friday, 10 November 2006 17:29 (nineteen years ago)

This is actually by far my least favorite of the first wave of Wu-Tang albums. I find large parts of it unlistenable, but I haven't tried in years, so maybe here's time for another shot.

― Rodney... (R. J. Greene), Friday, 10 November 2006 19:54 (nineteen years ago)

I'm really surprised to find such unanimous praise of it here.

― Rodney... (R. J. Greene), Friday, 10 November 2006 19:57 (nineteen years ago)

I'm really surprised to find you saying it's unlistenable!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 10 November 2006 19:59 (nineteen years ago)

Don't get me wrong, there are genius moments. The two singles and a few others in the same vein are great, but I find some of his antics wearing after a while. Plus I think RZA's production here sometimes crosses the line from ugly-for-the-sake-of-dischord to ugly-for-the-sake-of-ugly.

― Rodney... (R. J. Greene), Friday, 10 November 2006 20:05 (nineteen years ago)

But I'm putting it on right now, so we'll see how this goes.

― Rodney... (R. J. Greene), Friday, 10 November 2006 20:06 (nineteen years ago)

I've always felt the same way, Rodney.

― Chesty Joe Morgan (Chesty Joe Morgan), Friday, 10 November 2006 21:07 (nineteen years ago)

best opening track ever

― latebloomer and his 'Cyborg Companion', Hacker (latebloomer), Friday, 10 November 2006 21:10 (nineteen years ago)

Me too, Rodney.

― Elmyr de Hory (Elmyr), Saturday, 11 November 2006 05:11 (nineteen years ago)

99% of dead forging painters agree...

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 11 November 2006 05:12 (nineteen years ago)

be careful with my balls
they're fragile like eggs.

― M@tt He1geson: Sassy and I Don't Care Who Knows It (Matt Helgeson), Saturday, 11 November 2006 18:52 (nineteen years ago)

Ol' Dirty Bastard Memorial Party w/Method Man, Ghostface, RZA, GZA, and Raekwon on November 15, 2006 in NYC

ihttp://www.wutang-corp.com/tomb/news_pix/ODBBDAYBASHFRONT.PNG

http://www.wutang-corp.com/news/article.php?id=738

― richard wood johnson (rwj), Sunday, 12 November 2006 16:38 (nineteen years ago)

One Word - "Snakes"

Amaaaazing track, wicked beat, everyone is on point, and Dirty's "verses" are fuckin' hilarious

― Erock Lazron (Erock Zombie), Sunday, 12 November 2006 18:13 (nineteen years ago)

"Snakes" is great. I love the blues-y sample RZA uses in the beat.

I always liked this record cause it has a lot of those classic kung-fu movie samples all over it like Enter The Wu and Liquid Swords. "Shimmy Shimmy Ya" is an all-time favorite and "Rawhide" are "Baby C'Mon" are crazy too.

― Sir Echo (Sir Echo), Sunday, 12 November 2006 18:32 (nineteen years ago)

eight months pass...

SHAME ON YOU
WHEN YOU STEPPED UP TO
THE OL' DIRTY BASTARD

BROOOOOOKLYN

ZUH

― Noodle Vague, Wednesday, 25 July 2007 18:47 (eighteen years ago)

I came out my mama's pussy

― Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 25 July 2007 18:51 (eighteen years ago)

-- Old School (sexyDancer), Thursday, October 20, 2005 5:54 PM

^ realest post on thread

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Wednesday, 25 July 2007 18:55 (eighteen years ago)

I have some sort of fantasy about getting hired to do a 33 1/3 on this album. Boy, that'd be fun.

― forksclovetofu, Wednesday, 25 July 2007 19:59 (eighteen years ago)

great rapper, great album, great singles, but my favorite line is actually Killah Priest's ridiculous "I met a girl named Chandra, from way down yonder / The apple of my eye had a Snapple and some fries"

― bernard snowy, Wednesday, 25 July 2007 20:06 (eighteen years ago)

I think the fact that I've had the line "Introducing...YO FUCK THAT NIGGA'S NAME!" stuck in my head forever may be a sign. (A sign of what, I don't know.)

― The Reverend, Wednesday, 25 July 2007 22:03 (eighteen years ago)

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