Hybrid Theory EP 6 track CD (before Linkin Park) [Original recording, CD]

Linkin Park (Author) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Original Release Date: 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording, CD
• Label: Produced by Mike Shinoda
• ASIN: B001P4U13Q
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #182,779 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

The rare Hybrid Theory EP by Linkin Park before they were the huge success they are today....This is 1999 reissue that was given outto the Linkin Park Underground members the first year it was available... TRACKLIST: 1. Carousel. 2. Technique (short). 3. Step Up. 4. And One. 5. High Voltage. 6. Part Of Me.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars How to spot a counterfeit., April 13, 2010

By 

Kathy "moo" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hybrid Theory EP 6 track CD (before Linkin Park) (Audio CD)

Pirates like to make a whole lot of money selling fake rare CD's.

Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory EP is a popular item to rip off. The key to seeing it's fake is looking at the spelling on the back. Joseph Hahn's Name should not be spelled "Josepph." If you plan on getting pirated music, at the very least don't pay for it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Hybrid Theory EP, December 14, 2010

By 

Jason C. Wilkerson (Green Bay, WI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hybrid Theory EP 6 track CD (before Linkin Park) (Audio CD)

I'll avoid talking about sellers and just tell you about the EP itself:

There once was a little bad called Xero created by some southern California natives looking for a break. Lineup changes (particularly the introduction of a new lead singer/screamer from Arizona) and a name change later and they released a self titled EP called The Hybrid Theory EP. The name change reflected their intention to create music that fused together elements of hard rock, hip hop, pop, industrial, and techno into one hybrid of style. One more name change later they released a full length album called Hybrid Theory under the name Linkin Park and became one of the biggest bands on the planet.

The tracks on The Hybrid Theory EP have popped up here and there on future Linkin Park albums and EP's, but it's only found a fully remastered release as a benefit of joining Linkin Park's fan club LPUnderground. That's really not a good thing for LP fans who might have felt a little put out by the band's movement away from their roots, abandoning a lot of the hard rock that drove their early mainstream releases.

On this particularly EP, it's easy to see what's going to drive LP to become so big. The pop sensibility that allows them to create songs that will stick with you, but not grate on your senses is there. The crisp lyrical flow of Shinoda's raps is ever present. The driving guitars, the beats, the turntables; all there. If anything, some of the tracks in this EP are better than some of the tracks that appeared on their first two albums. If anything, though, moving to a major label helped them hone in their influences allowing them to work as more of a cohesive unit then they sound like here.

Lyrically, I would say there are some tracks on here that definitely trump the material of their debut album. "High Voltage" is one of the best raps about the form ever written, and the re-envisioning that appears on the Reanimation album doesn't quite do it justice. It appears as though they maybe they didn't think their audience was quite ready for a complete hip hop track on their debut, but I think it would have been highly beneficial considering the albums and tracks that came after. Also, where Hybrid Theory was very "me-centric", it could have used a dose of the song "Carousel" which is an interesting look at addiction without directly blatantly stating exactly what the song is about.

If you can get a hold of it, and you're a Linkin Park fan, I highly recommend that you take a listen to The Hybrid Theory EP. You'll easily get a base for where this band has come from, and if you prefer old school LP and haven't heard it then it will help tide you over for a while. This EP will definitely give you a sense of how the band has progressed from the times before they were signed to a major label.

4.5/5

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5.0 out of 5 stars A Great EP From the Band's Earliest Years, May 7, 2011

By 

L. Wafflestein "The Music Collector" (Liberty, KY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hybrid Theory EP 6 track CD (before Linkin Park) (Audio CD)

One of the best things about this rare little EP is that its not just a collection of early demos from songs off their debut album, but rather entirely different tunes altogether. Even better, despite the fact that none of these songs made their way onto the full album, they're all surprisingly quite good. Its exciting to hear what Linkin Park sounded like before their debut, when they themselves were Hybrid Theory, not the album (they would later change their name to Linkin Park to avoid confusion with the similarly named group, Hybrid, a stellar progressive trance group, but hey, moving on). Its clearly still the same band, but the six songs here have a slightly different sound to them. Its delicious, crunchy rap rock, but with more hip-hop than Hybrid Theory the full album had. On "Step Up" and "High Voltage", Mike Shinoda's rapping even takes center stage as far as lyrical content is concerned, conjuring an atmosphere thats more mysterious and less angst in mood. It may not be a side of Linkin Park that most people who listen to them are accustomed to, but who can argue when Mike's delivering lines as witty as "Watch as the room rocks/Men only moonwalk/Mixed media slang's bangin' in your boom box"? Hybrid Theory EP has me curious what it would have been like if Linkin Park had actually gone in this direction for their full length debut, or if Mike had leaned more in this direction with his Fort Minor project. Perhaps it sounds better in concept than it would have been in reality; one can only dream...