Customer Reviews

Hardest Way to Make a Living

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I was not a fan of The Streets. There's a good reason for everything, and I believe the reason for this is because I never really gave it a good listen. That all changed with "The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living" because, quite simply, I can't stop listening! In my ADD-ridden life, it's tough for hip-hop to have any sort of lasting effect on me. Usually hip-hop albums get quite old, quite fast, at least for me. But I have been listening to this album for several weeks now and I plan to continue this for some time. Being a newcomer to The Streets, I am thoroughly amazed by how solid, clever, and brilliant this album is!

Solid: Song for song, this is a truly amazing album. It begins strongly with "Pranging Out," arguably the most accessible song on the album for casual listeners. This is how I was hooked in. The production values are top-notch and the lyrics are flawless. Honestly, my description for the opening track is really not all that different from the rest of the album. Each song, with the exception of 'Fake Street Hat' (maybe), is grade A quality. Forget about calling this a great hip-hop album. This is just a great album. Pure and simple.

Clever: Oh where do I begin on this? It starts pretty early with "War of the Sexes," a song about the differences between men and women and the difficulties for men in picking up women. He especially pays close attention to how womens' intellect is "higher," saying, "She's calculating all of the mad facts and figures/while you're pretending to listen, staring at her t**ts." See what I mean? Clever. In fact, the album can really be seen as an assortment of funny-because-it's-true lines. Take, for example, the line "If you never tell a lie to her, you don't have to remember anything!" Gosh! How true, how clever. In the song "Two Nations," the differences between England and the United States are compared in a serious, yet quasi-funny manner ("I'm proud we gave you people like John Lennon....even though you shot him as well"). Make no mistake about it, this album does not suffer in the lyrics department. It excels.

Brilliant: "Can't Con an Honest Jon" is a song about pulling off a con. To be more precise, it is a song describing, in detail, how to pull off a con. Again, it's clever, but it really is just an awesome idea for a song. What's more brilliant about this album, however, is just the sheer awesomeness that is exhibits. Despite its humorous moments and pervasive non-consequential moments, "The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living" still has its moments of sorrow and regret. "Never Went to Church" is a song about the memory of Mike Skinner's father and his search for God. It's wihout question, the most touching song on the album. In all it's honesty, it still remains a good quality song and you'll find yourself singing along with the chorus in no time. Amazing....brilliant....

To Americans, the idea of someone with a British accent rapping is really just a ludicrous idea. It's unfortunate, because American's could really be exposed to some of the greatest hip-hop available. Dizzee Rascal, The Streets, and others could really put Mike Jones and Paul Wall to shame. I guess that's what Mike means when he says "That's why I've sold 3 million albums and you've never heard of me." It's a shame, but for those of us who have heard...well we can brag about it.

Recommended to fans of Dizzee Rascal and The Streets and anyone who is tired of hearing songs about grills, rims, b**ches, hoes, being in the club, getting crunk, or anything else that makes you feel dumb for listening to it.

Key Tracks:

1. "Pranging Out"

2. "War of the Sexes"

3. "All Goes Out the Window"

4. "When You Wasn't Famous'

5. "Never Went To Church"

4 out of 5 Stars.

The reason I like the Streets is because I don't like rap. I'm a total crossover fan, but I am a fan. And what I liked about his last two releases is that they sounded so bizarre, that it wasn't even like rap. As one friend described it "a British guy talking over a drum beat," which is kind of true, but gosh the things he said were just so great.

Being an isolated American, the most entertaining portrait I've ever seen of the underbelly of British culture is from two of my favorite movies, Snatch and Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. And what's great about those movies is the extremely witty dialogue and the constant tongue in cheekery that goes on. Same goes for Mike Skinner's first two cds. I love hearing an honest everyman's point of view on such subjects as: dating, cell-phones, "mugging yourself," smoking weed and playing playstation, yukking it up with buddies, etc. And I like that gritty garage 2-step, do-it-yourself beats that he comes in with that sound just so freaking weird and unconventional that at first you can't believe its music.

And...

now...

Mike SKinner

is freaking huge.

His songs are all about being rich and famous, and not in an illuminating or surprising way. It's not about an everyman anymore, its like an MTV special, inside a celebrity's life.

And the beats are smooth, with impeccable singing(I really, really enjoyed hearing Mike Skinner struggle to stay on key while singing about "this thing he saw on his tv the other week") and HOOKS HOOKS HOOKS. Elements for a real great pop song.

It's easy to listen to a dude just like me complain about how things are. When his "Mike" character up and lost a thousand quid, I felt that annoyance and paranoia and pissed off at everything stuff. But when Mike Skinner, "UK's biggest living celebrity" complains about not being able to hold on to fifty grand, I'm not listening unless you've got something else interesting to say about it.

But still, I am a fan of Mike Skinner. Everything he does, I like. I like the sound of his voice, and he is way better than any other hip hop or rap or whatever act I can think of. It's nice to hear about something other than blingbling and street credz. I really like the song about the con with the dog, even though it seems really out of place (why is a millionaire going around grifting bar keeps out of four hundred pounds?)

And I like when Skinny gets personal and honest("Never Went to Church"). And I love when he turns a phrase (see: any British colloquialism I'm not familiar with.) And I'm pretty pumped about when he talks about everyday stuff from an artful dodger's perspective ("War of the Sexes.") But there just isn't enough of that stuff in this album. It seems like a concept album, like the last one was. A Grand Don't Come to Free tells a nice story, and is resolved in a surprising and satisfying way.

But this CD is all about how glum it is to be on top of the world. And I feel it. I feel it through the whole thing and then by the end, I am still feeling it but I don't know what to do with that feeling. And it's not a good feeling.

The Streets (Mike Skinner) is one of my favorite artists around. He's very original, hard-to-categorize, and doesn't sound like a lot of other hiphop acts.

This CD is yet another solid album beginning to end. It's not quite as good as A Grand..., which was a great day-in-the-life-of concept album, but this one's still great. I could see if you were a die-hard rap fan who only listened to rap, you might not like this guy.

The Streets always covers diverse topics (ie, missing his dead dad); he's one of the 'realest' rappers out there, not afraid to reveal his emotions and personal life.

The beats are actually decent, with more electro influences. The beats are still simple. The Streets is definitely not all about great beats; it's always been about Mike's rapping/talking. Luckily that format hasn't changed at all.

This is a very solid album. My biggest complaint is that it's too short at 11 songs 37 minutes long. Recommended to fans of his previous work.

4 stars compared to all music

2.5 compared to previous Streets releases: Original Pirate Material and A Grand Don't Come For Free

Mike Skinner has gotten lazy, seems like he didn't try hard enough on this album. There are some good beats but others are just average and can be bit boring. There are a few tracks which I end up skipping, not a good sign.

Original Pirate Material is a classic, it is definitely in my top albums and with time it will be regarded as an essential recording from the first decade of the 21st century. A Grand was an awesome album too, hooking you on the story told by each track leading to the next, as if it was a movie or book.

The Hardest Way To Make an Easy Living is weak when compared to previous albums. The pianos, strings and orchestration backed by garage beats, like tracks "Turn the Page" or "Weak Become Heroes" are nowhere to be found on this new album. There are no songs here that come close to the greatness of earlier releases.

It is almost as if Mike found an easy formula to create a few loops without creating anything as powerful as in Original Pirate or A Grand.

The main theme of this new album turns out to be a cliche everyone is tired of rock stars complaining about it: it's hard being famous.

As a positive note for this album Mike Skinner talks about this cliche in his usual straight-up-no-BS-just-like-it-is style. His lyrics always contain the right details to explain a particular situation. This turns out to be insightful and humorous, it is a highlight of the album, it is what Skinner does best.

On "Prangin' Out" Mike opens the album talking about drug induced paranoia and panic in a chilling way. "War of the Sexes" is a good example of how this album fails, great lyrics but just average beats. The single "When You Wasn't Famous" is maybe the best song on the album, followed by "Prangin' Out" and "Hotel Expressionism".

I was very optimistic to hear this album, maybe my expectations were too high and I turned out to be dissapointed by The Hardest Way To Make an Easy Living. There are enough good things on this album to make it worth your time therefore making it an enjoyable record but subpar when compared to aforementioned releases.

I hope Mike comes back with a mind blowing fourth album, I will hang in there and wait for it.

Cheers,

J

But it doesn't quite recapture the originality of "original pirate material". It opens, "I get back from touring

Suddenly it doesn't seem like much fun to be off my face

At a quarter to eleven am", and anyone who's heard "the streets" older stuff will know that there's something slightly offbeat from the older stuff. Personally, i wasn't a fan of "a grand dont come for free", and prefer this newer one to that. Skinner takes the concept behind "a grand dont come for free", and manages to create an anecdotal concept album revolving around his entire career as the man behind "the streets". Mike Skinner's style has definetly changed since his first stuff found it's way over to American shores, and the last track of "the hardest way to make an easy living" ends on a relatively light tone. The entire tone of this album is more mature, more developed than "the streets" older stuff. We get more reflection, less tales of drug inundated adventures on the streets of london. Whether this is a bad thing or a bad thing is still up in the air. "The streets" built it's image around an ability to portray London's drug and club culture first hand. I think this album is indicitative of good things to come. And i'd recommend it.

The Hardest Way to make an Easy Living is the third album from The Streets. The Streets is Mike Skinner; one of the best rappers out there today. I only use the word 'rapper' because 'hip hopper' is more of what he is, but that doesnt sound as good. Either way you slice it hes among the best but you've probably never heard of him. And now that may be because hes from the UK, but its more to do with the fact that the rap and hip hop scenes are dominated by names like 50 Cent or Chingy (coincidentally the sound 50 cents makes in ones pocket). Rappers who-while not exclusively-rap about bitches, hoes, guns, getting shot, ice, rims etc. etc. The Streets first album Original Pirate Material was a breath of fresh air to those weary of such things. A fusion of different sounds with savvy witty and truthful lyrics, ranging from drug us to political topics about...drug use. Its beats were good but...a bit home-brewed. There was a roughness to them, which was good because it suited the style of the album. The sound was a good mixture of electronica and hip hop.

His second album A Grand Dont Come For Free was an engaging narrative through the span of 24 hours which include songs ranging from inter-personal relationships, trust, drug use and repetitive living, its a major step up in terms of production value. While some praised Mike for hisn 'raw' sound on Pirate Material, it was a major gripe with some that it wasnt consistent. A Grand had much more focus, it showed an evolution from the lyrics and lyric structure we had heard before. I consider it his best album to date.

The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living is his newest album and shows a fusion of the first two albums. Its funnier and more fanciful than A Grand while retaining a crispness of sound Pirate Material lacked. Theres an emphasis on hooks and thats not a bad thing because the whole of the songs are excellent and not RELIANT on the hooks. While some deride Mike for going the way of Eminem and having his third album be about life after success, what is there to do? Hes found success and for the most its kept him in the same place to write the same type of lyrics and songs. But it allows him to pull back and show his view of the industry hes now a bigger part of. Its also allowed him to compare where he was and where he is, so while hes still more or less the same man from Original Pirate Material hes now a man who can reflect on losing and finding A Grand, and talk about dating celebrities. A solid work, hes over the sophomore slump and staying strong.

The first two albums The Streets put out blew me away. Original Pirate Material was fresh and abstract while A Grand Don't Come For Free was full of heart-felt tracks that I couldn't help but love. It seems with this album, Mike Skinner got lazy. The music, while catchy, is hardly original and the lyrics... aren't even in the same league as the first two albums. When You Wasn't Famous, the first single is just alright. I actually prefer the Professor Green remix. This album is mostly filler, with a few good tracks like Never Went To Church. Overall, I do like this album, it just doesn't compare to the first two.

It seems the general opinion on this page seems to place "The Hardest Way..." at their second best spot as far as The Streets albums go. I am going to have to disagree with this opinion. I originally was brought into the world of the streets with "Original Pirate Material" and loved the simple beats, good flow, and the mixture of funny songs, serious songs, and sad songs all together on one album.

I will admit when I first bought "A Grand Don't Come for Free" I was a little turned off by the slightly different styling. It had appeared that Skinner had decided just to talk semi-animatedly over the garage beats. But that album really is a classic once you listen to it and let the words, and beats get into you. This album to me turned from one I was sorry I bought in the first 2 days, to my favorite of all of the albums.

It is with regret that I must say this new album disapointed me completely. I have had it for a week and though the songs can be catchy and interesting, I feel it has lost the flair of the past albums. I saw a review that said it was glad to see this album after the second one which had strayed into another mainstream sound. I could not disagree more. I feel that this album is the one to stray into the mainstream. The beats are not as original or catchy, the songs not as funny or captivating. Besides his use of notoriously bad rhyming, which really helps the unique sound to most people and has stayed constant through all the records, it does not seem like the same old Mike to me.

I still like the cd. I'm not saying it is a complete waste of money, but I feel it is more for those who like the average typical rap sound. As someone who doesn't so much, I still enjoy the album because I love The Streets dearly. Give it a try yourself though. It seems I am the only person to rank this at the bottom of the list for the three albums, but I think most of the longtime fans will find that this record has strayed from the raw roots and unique style into a more mainstream sound.

Look, this isn't brilliant or ground-breaking stuff, but it is a lot of fun. Buy a used copy for $2 or so and you won't be unhappy. If new to the band, start your Mike Skinner experience with A Grand Don't Come for Free.

It's the third chapter for Mike Skinner, the biggest pop star from the UK. Almost every album has been a number one if I remember right. The last album was a concept album. This album is more about the spoils of success. It's less unfocused than the previous two. "War of The Sexes" reminds me of some of the songs on the first album. Some immediate favorites are "When You Wasn't Famous" and "Hotel Expressionism." The first is about the pitfalls of become a well known act. The second is about? Not sure. Maybe about destroying hotels? "Never Went To Church" explores to two great European narcotics: alcohol and Christianity. It has a tune that is like "Let It Be" by the Beatles. We always need a record to put on and smoke weed to. Here it is! The summer looks good.