Customer Reviews

Hard to Swallow

5 star:		(92)
4 star:		(41)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(38)

 

 

If it weren't for the fact that people are reluctant to give a CD that says Vanilla Ice on it a chance, this album would be comparably great in the eyes of many to that of Korn's self-titled or Limp Bizkit's "Three Dollar Bill Yall$". The Rob that the public knows of as Vanilla Ice is just not who he is, it's an image put together by the music industry. This is who Vanilla Ice is, no gimmicks, Rob Van Winkle flat out. It's undeniable what talent the man has. The lyrics on here are painful but powerful and a no-holds barred reflection on his own history. Vanilla Ice, more than anyone, is ashamed of his past image and he releases his aggression about this on track's like "Fxck Me", where he screams out, "Fxck Vanilla Ice...Ice Ice Baby...Ice Ice Beeyatch!" I respect Rob more than anyone for being able to let the door open to everyone on his past and to put it behind him by making music he truly puts his heart into. Vanilla Ice may not be the best rapper, but as an all-around artist he has something many don't have. His band on here as well is solid. Kudos to Ross Robinson who did a fabulous job producing this album. Stand out tracks include "Living", "Scars", "A.D.D." and possibly most notibly,"Too Cold", a remake of his biggest hit "Ice Ice Baby". From start to finish this album is perfection. It may not be the prettiest music, but it is a prime example of release of anguish. Give it a chance if you haven't already, I can't stress it any more.

Wow, who could of figured someone like Vanilla Ice, the most hated man on earth, could come up with such a worthy rapcore cd? Not me! Hard To Swallow was produced by VERY well known producer, Ross Robinson (Korn, Bizkit, Soulfly, Slipknot, Machine Head) and the man does not disappoint. One of the elements that makes this release so powerful is all the rage pent up inside of Vanilla Ice, this was his outlet, to just let it all out. He stabs back at all the people who told him he was sh-t (critics, past friends/fans). I seriously think Ice has a chance at being able to enter the Nu-Metal arena. Songs like Too Cold and F* Me are heavier than Bizkit could want to be and a lot smoother at the same time. All along I never thought I would find myself admitting to liking this, but I think as time goes by, more people will accept this and Ice will regain very well deserved fame. If you like this try (hed)p.e. or Crazy Town or Kottonmouth Kings.

I bought this album back in 1998 and it was in my car CD changer for like 2 years. I couldn't stop listening to it. I just popped it in my computer to give a listen after gathering dust for a few years. I came around looking to see if he released any more albums. Apparently he released a new one under the name V-Ice back in 2001, which I plan on buying ASAP.

Anyway, for those of you who are hesitant to buy a Vanilla Ice CD check out this little factoid. The producer of the album is Ross Robinson, the same producer for Korn, Deftones, and others. Now would a hitter like that waste his time on any artist without raw talent, and pure emotion?

This album is REALLY good. DJ Swamp does some of the illest scrathin' I have ever heard on a few tracks. I used to love to blast this CD on my Nakamichi sound system for people, get them to admit they though it was awesome and/or beg me to tell them who it is, then tell them it was Vanilla Ice, then watch the expression on their face. Priceless.

To all you people who have ripped on this record you need to get your facts in order. First off if you notice the release date of the record you would notice it was October 98 which was before Kid Rocks latest album that brought him so much popularity. So this album was not a Kid Rock rip off. Second if the album was released in October then he had been working on it for around 6 months prior to release. Limp Bizcut did not gain huge noterity untill mid too late summer with the Faith remix. So he could not have copied them because the record was in production before Limp Bizcut had released there record. Korn is the only band that had any noterity at the time but they two were not as big as they are now. So just get off the guys back for ripping off music. If thats the case then Kid Rock, Korn,and Limp Bizcut are all guilty for ripping off Ice T and Body Count for this type of music. Because they were around when these bands were still in High School. Also Im not a Huge Vanilla Ice fan I have heard the album and think it's ok but people need to lay off with the he's ripping Limp Bizcut comments.

Yea we poked fun at the Ice man for most of the 90's, not taking him serious or not seriously enough. But even I wondered if this CD is just another attempt to fit into the enormously popular rap/metal style that's all the buzz nowadays. Ice traded his stylish good looks and innocent beats before on the Cypress Hill infectious, ill-recieved Mind Blowin CD about 5 years back. So is Vanilla Ice real about this, well, it may be Hard To Swallow for some but this is Ice at his extreme. I love this CD, Hard To Swallow is filled the earth shattering guitars and block droppin' grooves that make any nay-sayer think twice about Ice's creativity. He sounds genuine and honest about the music on HTS, unleashing his anger and frustrations into the songs, letting everyone know who thought of him as a joke, f off, I didn't care then, I don't care now, and I'll never ever care. Of all the great songs on this are opener Living, F**k Me, Scars, Zig-Zag stories, the rappin' Freestyle and the up-to-date version of Ice Ice Baby called Too Cold. It's much better than his To The Extreme version, not to mention it rocks. Vanilla Ice may not sell 10 million records again or be on the top of the charts, but if he's honest to his music and to his fans, then to Ice, that is all that matters. This is a really good album.

Vanilla Ice learned the hard way. As a broke young, 16 year old, he recorded "Ice Ice Baby." After 13 million records later he knows he sold out, he knows he was a puppet on the shelf and the record label crossed him over to territories he never wanted to go. The success and the extreme lows of nobody wanting to hear Vanilla Ice anymore just about killed this star, when he turned to drugs as an escape from the madness he and the label created for him. An overdose changed his life forever. He figured from that day on he's gonna do things his own way. Ice got married and now has a beautiful daughter. "Hard To Swallow" is an anger outlet for all the years of "Ice Ice Baby" ridiculing with a massive band attack of hardcore hip-hop. This is hard stuff in the vein of Korn or Limp Bizkit. The Vanilla "Ice Ice Baby" exorcising has definitely begun with the crushing track "Too Cold," where he takes a stab at himself for ever recording "Ice Ice Baby." This album hits hard and will definitely be "Hard To Swallow" for older fans, but the last track "Freestyle" hits older, hip-hop style with special guests Cyco, Zero, Jimmy Pop Ali and Rod J. Scratches by DJ Swamp. So to summarize it up, Vanilla Ice is back and he's pissed with a live metal band full of hip-hop jives.

Too Cold (Ice Ice Baby HArdcore 98) did it for me. I was watching behind the music for V-Ice, this song came on< I went on bought this cd and listened to it all day. Picture Limp Bizkit with A LOT of balls meets Old school KoRn. This is what this cd is. A Nu-Metal masterpiece.

I ordered this cd used, from one of amazons z-shops after hearing a few songs from it. I never liked Vanilla Ice much before it (except maybe Ice Ice Baby and Ninja Rap for there comedic value), but after hearing the new version of Ice Ice Baby (Too Cold) and d/l a few more songs. I thought they were good, KoRn-ish, metal. I would reccomend it just for the songs Too Cold, Living, F__k Me, and Scars. The rest of the album is good, except when he puts in small samples about god right before he does a really bad (bad as in filthy, smutty, or any other one of those lovely words) song, like Zig Zag Stories, or The Horny Song. But other than that it's a really good album in my opinion.

Hard To Swallow marked the return of probably the most parodied, hounded, and maybe even hated musician in America. This release finds Vanilla Ice angrier than ever, so it's fitting that the album falls into the rap/metal genre. Downtuned guitars, screamy vocals, and angry lyrics are the meal of the day in this album, and the results aren't quite as bad as most might think judging only from the artist's name listed on the CD's cover.

Get ready, because over the course of the album's 11 actual songs (2 pointless interludes) you're going to experience a lot of Mr. Ice's rage, which is mostly aimed at his naysayers. A theme which will probably be on your last nerve by the time the disc stops spinning. Though his lyrics are a bit trite at times, I think he proves he's still quite a competent vocalist/rapper as some of his rhymes are quite clever. Not every rhyme is gold, in fact there are quite a few stinker lines looming, but overall he puts up a pretty good performance.

Musically the album is really typical rap/metal fodder. The guitars are tuned low and make a lot of senseless noise during verses with the bass line thumping in the back, and the drums aren't much to write home about. They're just there to maintain the tempo.

I enjoyed the mixing on the album. It's nice to hear something angry that actually sounds angry and ugly. This album doesn't have a lot of polish production-wise and it works into Ice's favor by really helping express the anger he's wanting to convey.

The main problem with this CD is that almost all the songs tend to outstay their welcome. Too many times I found myself enjoying a song, but as songs crept closer and closer to the 5 minute mark (when the song was really finished at 3:30-4:00) started to grate on me. Songs like Scars, ADD, and F*ck Me are prime examples of this and find Ice usually screaming at the end about how bad life has treated him, etc. Or long musical outros that just aren't all that good. I can understand wanting to get that aggression out, but doing it in the lyrics might make it seem a bit less whiney.

In the end, this CD did win me over. It's just a good CD to pop in and chill out with. It's not without faults, but it's not without merit either. If rap/metal is your thing (and it's not mine, imagine that) I'd say give it a fair chance before knocking it just because of the artist.

Another example of a career in decline. But Vanilla seems not to grasp the reality of the situation. Well, it will be interesting to watch the slow painful slide into obscurity, where I might add, he and his music belong.