Customer Reviews

You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Why is it that Atmosphere fans want the new albums to sound like the old? Sounds boring. Is the artist not supposed to grow? Every album has been a growth for Slug & ANT. If the above was the format they followed they'd still be slanging tapes to eat and 80% of today's fans would say, "Atmosphere who?" Part of their growth is that they don't feel completely dark and angry anymore in life which is reflected in their music's sound. This is executed without sacrificing quality here and by emphasising true hip-hop. Listen to it for what is, not what isn't. If you do this, Atmosphere will always shine. This album is very good all around and is a must have Rhymesayers production. You should automatically buy this album out of respect of talent and perseverance.
-Minnesota Missile-

I was never really a big fan of atmosphere, more of their albino friend Brother Ali and other artists off rhymesayers. This was mainly down to the fact that on early listens I never really liked the sound of slug, tho Ant's production always sounded tight. That's why i was so shocked, when i decided to listen to this particular CD... I really wouldnt have imagined what i was about to hear. Slug's voice and flow seems to have changed a lot, for me, for the better and the majority of Ant's beats are reminiscent of the scale of excellence shown on B Ali's shadows on the sun and Champion. From Track 1-13...it is non stop creative hip hop!. Tracks like Musical chairs, Angelface and Get fly posess a soulful essence that make u just wanna chill out, and listen to what is being said. Whilst, tracks like the phenomenal "Smart went crazy" , the arrival, Panic Attack, Bam enable you to just simply get involved with the energetic sound being provided. Basically, what is being said is that Atmosphere have come back in the '05 with an album that truly marks their revival from so called disapointments earlier in the years. For me, this IS atmosphere...off the Creative and honest lyrics w/ amazing, capturising beats all wrapped up in one. So, when slug says "im just a man who loves rap, so much infact i put every piece of my self inside these fckin tracks"...we can't help but belive the kid. Give this a listen if you're into more modern, thought-provking hiphop with a variety of different sounds that keep you tuned in to each and every track. PEACE. (and by the way, all you atmoshphere nerds stop hating on this, just because its different to earlier releases...appreciate the change you fools...)

Lyrics - 8.5/10
Beats - 9.5/10
Originality - 9/10
Replay Value - 9/10
X Factor - 9/10


If you found this helpful, check out my other reviews

First,I'd like to say that this album has a different sound from the other Atmosphere albums which is by far good. I liked Sevens Travel but I felt it wasnt as good as his previous releases. But on his new cd, you can see that SLug has become a professional with his music and the way he develops throughout the album and reaches an extraordinary high with the last song, Little Man. Pour Me Another is an instant Atmosphere classic. As well as Smart Went Crazy. He introduces himself from the beginning, develops with the "having fun' theme, and it gets even better from track 8 til the end. I've never felt Slugs energy as hard as he pours out his soul in Pour Me Another, since Woman with Tattooed Hands, and F**k You Lucy. This album is a classic that takes a few listens to digest. Hope I was helpful to anyone.

Playing into the joke of the album's title, I don't remember when rocking shows across the country, getting paid and laid wasn't fun, but nonetheless, Atmosphere is back with another dope album. You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having is 13 tracks of finely crafted music by producer ANT, who flexes as much originality as he does versatility. Lyrically, Slug complements the music with abstract concepts ("Smart Went Crazy"), and well-structured story raps ("Musical Chairs"). I can't foresee the day when Atmosphere will make a bad album, and You Can't Imagine... follows the tradition of good hip-hop we've come to expect. It's just comforting knowing that other people are devoid of complete happiness, too.

- Corey Bloom
Synthesis.net

The last track on this album is the tripartite "Little Man", in which Slug addresses the first verse to his son, the second verse to his father, and the last verse to himself. Acknowledging genealogical traits consistent among the three generations, Slug places himself at the center of the three generations in a way that suggests that the father and the son are variations of himself. Thus the piece has a sense of folding in on itself in the last verse when Slug addresses himself, and this abstract idea is reflected by the physical image of the overly self-conscious rapper curled up on an anonymous hotel bed: "rolled up like a naked fetus / come and save him, Jesus / place him back in time before the Reaganomics and Adidas". It's a masterfuly constructed piece, and though the lyrics are more blunt and conversational than philisophical, the abstact nature of the song is captured by the pentatonic, Eastern-influenced music that forms the backdrop for Slug's rhymes and gives the entire piece a quasi-mystical feel.

Nowhere else can you hear hip-hop like this. So it's ironic that, in the last verse of "Little Man", Slug sings this line to himself: "Your raps are exhausted / Stop it / Everybody knows that you've lost it". In fact, nothing could be further from the truth; with the release of this album, Atmosphere has taken their game to a whole new level.

Atmosphere showed early promise on the geeky, lo-fi "Overcast!" (circa 2001), and seemed to peak on 2002's "Lucy Ford" release. Their third CD, "God Loves Ugly", managed to be both completely introspective and almost entirely uninspired, and the follow-up CD, 2004's "Seven's Travels", was a hit-or-miss affair with a handful of memorable tracks and a truckload of filler. By 2005, the only Atmosphere CD I was listening to was "Lucy Ford", and time had tarnished most of the rhymes on that album; with the exception of "They're All Gonna Laugh @ You", the tracks on "Lucy Ford" sound somewhat juvenile today, as charming as they still are.

So I kept walking the first time I spotted this CD in the record store, figuring that Atmosphere was long past whatever brief prime they might have enjoyed a few years back. But when I sampled some of this CD on Amazon, I realized that these guys have pulled off a major comeback from out of nowhere.

The most immediately arresting feature of this CD is the production; Ant has dug deep and come up with a mind-boggling array of samples that gives this record a character unlike any other Atmosphere CD, or any other hip-hop release in recent memory. The album is permeated with a gritty, old-school flavor that relies heavily on fuzzy, distorted beats, gospel riffs, turntable scratching and sampled voice-overs that bring to mind Public Enemy's "Fear of a Black Planet". There are fantastically intricate layers of sound at work here, but never so much that the beats detract from the rhymes. On the contrary, the choice of beats and samples seems more directly related to the rhymes than on previous releases (see the discussion of "Little Man" above) in a way that gives this record a rare degree of integrity. The one notable exception is "That Night", which purposefully stands apart from all the other songs on the album and thus has a sound all its own.

Ant's complex and edgy production seems to be spurring Slug on; his delivery is far more sure here than on any other Atmosphere CD. His rhymes were always intellegent, but there's a more confident flow at work here, and even his voice seems to have more character.

Like all great pop music, this album succeeds on several levels. It has a consistency of character, but enough variety from track to track to keep the listener from getting bored. On some of the songs, distortion or other effects are applied to Slug's voice; on "That Night" he delivers the lyrics in a hushed, intimate tone. As background music, most of the songs on the album provide plenty of bump; on the other hand, discerning listeners will find that the lyrics almost never disappoint, and there's always plenty to come back for.

Ok... This is not by any stretch of the imagination my favorite Atmosphere album, but, I'd say that that's partially my fault if not ALL my fault. This is probably the most "acceptable" Atmosphere album for the public. I guess you could give it the title of "Mainstream" but that's hardly true either.

The point being that even though this isn't my favorite Atmosphere album, it's absolutely great. It's probably as "mainstream" as an atmosphere album can get, with old fashioned hip hop beats by Ant (who never fails to come through with great beats... If you don't believe me, buy any atmosphere album or any Brother Ali Album) and introspective yet digestable lyrics by Slug. I say this kind of tongue in cheek in the sense that Slug historically wrote poems that were like riddles that took some intelligence to break completely down and these ones seem to be more straighforward. It's a bit of a catch 22 in that I LOVED the riddles, but I like that you can "just" listen to the tracks now.

The standout tracks are pretty hard to find, really. It's not that they don't exist, it's just that they're all pretty damn good. Personally, I loved the tracks Panic Attack (the argument of Perscription pills vs. street drugs), That Night, a track about a girl who was raped and killed at an Atmosphere concert, and Little Man, a story about fathers from the perspective of father to son, son to father, and third person narrative towards oneself. It's a strange way to look at the story, but it's very nice becasue it hits all sides. It's introspective, but it's not afraid to be self depreciating either, (Slug's pretty good at this anyways).

I guess the best way for me to describe this album in my personal opinion is to say this is a good "Atmosphere for Beginners" album. Most people I know who own Atmosphere albums tend to buy everything they can get their hands on as quickly as they can get their hands on them and people who FIRST get into Atmosphere tend to be more interested (initially) in either Seven's Travels or this album. PERSONALLY, as a FAVORITE Atmosphere album, I'd go with Lucy Ford, but it's kind of the "middle ground" between Headshots:7 and Seven's Travels and I like that it's got a little more apparent continuity than Godlovesugly (another GREAT album). I'm not a big fan of Overcast, but that's kind of a point of contention with a lot of Atmosphere fans... But if you don't have this album, you should. it's good. If you have and like other Atmosphere albums, you'll still like this, I'm sure. If you haven't got them, this is a great place to start...

Bottom Line: If you like hip-hop, you'll dig this. Yes, it's better than Seven's Travels. No, it's not the same as Lucy Ford or even God Loves Ugly. However, it's still dope, so quit lying to yourselves. If you like Atmosphere, buy this CD. Just do it. Notice the 3-or-fewer star ratings all say 'It's still a solid album, and Ant did a really good job, and the lyrics aren't bad, and it's still better than everything out there right now, and you should definitely buy this CD, but....". Enough said.

While this album does have some memorable moments it does not live up to Atmosphere's previous efforts. The opening track is a wonderful opener grabbing your attention and forcing you to sit back and enjoy. However the rest of the album does not live up to the hype. Some of the tracks lack focus and come off as tracks that should have been thrown in the recyle bin. With that being said there are some extraordinary tracks on here. "hockey hair" is an upbeat song with slug talking about the difficulties of being on the road. "Angelface" is another good one offering the same insight on what he has learned from touring the country. Overall I like this album, but it lacks some of the cleverness, that made Atmosphere's really releases so memorable.

Okay...with the way Hip-Hop is going I have to admit, I didn't expect this album to be as good as it is. It blew me away. The productions is ANT's best yet, and Slugs lyrics are only getting deeper. Every track on here is amazing, and there aren't any skits which kinda hurt Seven's Travels, but this album is a classic.

slug is an amazing rapper, is lyrics are so deep and inspiring. he is a true poet and knows how to flow on a beat. he needs more exposure to the public. more people should know about him. smart went crazy is one of the best rap songs ever made no doubt. all songs on this album are great, i can listen to it from start to finish. if you are a fan of REAL rap or are a fan of atmosphere, then buy this album. support real music!!!!