Customer Reviews

Legend of the Liquid Sword

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Did he ever leave? Not really, but the last album by the senior member of the Wu-Tang Clan was, while solid, not up to the standard set by his masterpiece "Liquid Swords". Thankfully the "Legend of the Liquid Sword" is almost entirely free of skits and corny choruses letting the GZA's lyrical genius and unique style shine on every track.
The Album starts with a short intro where GZA's son gives us some background, reminiscent of the Lone Wolf and Son intro on the original Liquid Swords album. The first track "Auto bio" is a triumphant piece of hip-hop history, documenting the GZA's paying of dues in the early days of rap. The track is dope; it reminds me of "Out of Here" on the first solo album by KRS-ONE. The rest of the album is of an equal caliber, amazing rhymes over solid beats.
The GZA drops not one but two of his trademark "Label" raps. Fame is an acrobatic flow through a star map worth of famous names, another instant classic. Animal Planet uses the names of various wild animals to create a flow that reflects on the beauty and violence that exist both in natural and human environments. If it sounds like elementary school you haven't heard the song, the GZA/Genius is way beyond college!
This is the best Wu album I've heard since Ghostface dropped Supreme Clientele, possibly the best since the original five classics of the Wu. That said, I firmly believe that the Wu-Tang will not regain their past glory until the RZA starts producing entire albums again. I know the man is busy, but a true Wu epic deserves the coherent atmosphere and consistent production that the RZA brought to the earliest Wu albums; this 9 different producers on a 15 track album ... that has taken over rap has got to stop! Even with the somewhat inconstant mood there are no throwaway songs on this one and the beats are all at least solid. The real shine on the album is, of course, the GZAs lyrics. The man never stops dropping absolute jewels, bar after bar he creates poetry that can be listened to dozens (or like the first Liquid Sword thousands) of times and will continue to engage and amaze. Unlike with many recent Wu releases I can easily recommend this album to all rap fans, proof that the Wu is not done creating true classics!

Wow. I can't believe I have slept on this album for so long. GZA shreds through this album with some of the illest rhymes, concepts, ideas, and flow I have heard in awhile. I loved every minute of it and suggest to every Wu and Hip Hop fan alike to cop this album ASAP!

Bar none one of the top 100 Hip Hop Albums of all time.

After "Beneath The Surface", GZA took 3 years off and came back in 2002 with his next album called "Legend Of The Liquid Sword". By the title, you might be thinking it might sound like "Liquid Swords", but no, it doesnt... at all lol. But let me get into the album a little bit more.

Lyric wise, GZA seemed like he did a little better on this album than he did on Beneath The Surface, maybe he didnt but to me it just seems like it a bit. There are NO skits on this album, which is by far good and shows GZA didnt show lazyness here. Every single song has great lyrics, so lyrically, I think GZA definately stepped up big time. "Knock Knock" has some NICE lyrics in the verses. "Fame", WOW, let me tell you something, READ the lyrics to this song and tell me if your amazed out of your AZZ! THEN! Read the lyrics to "Animal Planet" and tell me if you arent amazed again. GZA is a genius so he isnt trippin out when he calls himself that. He deserves to be called a genius. Lyrically he did better on this than he did on Beneath The Surface. If you want to see GZA step up, get this!

Production wise, still hardly not RZA production but then again its still good! Some beats I liked were "Silent", "Knock Knock", "Stay In Line", "Fam", "Fame", "Highway Robbery", "Luminal", "Sparring Minds" and "Rough Cut". These are all really good beats. The rest are decent efforts. But it sort of has the same sound as Beneath The Surface but a little better in my opinion. So production is good.

Overall, this album has a little bit more potential than B.T.S had, so if you liked that album then you will definatly like this album.

***SUPPORT GZA AND REAL HIPHOP AND BUY THIS***

My Top 5 Songs
1.Silent
2.Stay In Line
3.Animal Planet
4.Fame
5.Sparring Minds

The original "Liquid Swords" is one of my favourite hip-hop albums ever - it flows perfectly like the ideal combination of a kung-fu samuari flick and a violent comic book. Each track was like a series of images described with incredible flow and lyrical dexterity by Genius/Gza. "Beneath the Surface" was disappointing because Gza was hardly on it (his own album!), tracks were too short, lacked flow and seemed hurried. This album has loads of Gza on it (step in the right direction), but also lacks any sort of flow worth comparing to "Liquid Swords". Gza's lyrics seem more distorted and less coherent/clever. But I think the main two things that let this album down is a) the beats/production are too crisp and clean ("Liquid Swords" sounded plain dark and dirty) b) most of the tracks are Gza "battle rhymin'" which is good but gets boring after a while - only a few tracks feature "Liquid Swords"-esque story-telling and image-painting (like the excellent Muggs-produced serial-killer track "Luminal").
Still a lot better than all the commercial wackness out there at the moment, but it just seems the Wu have become a feint outline of their former selves to some extent. If you don't have it already, DEFINITELY get "Liquid Swords" instead.

GZA is my favorite rapper. I wasn't comfortable saying that before I bought this album. I have owned and loved Swords and BTS for years now, and I finally got the third piece of the puzzle. Theres something about GZA's style thats so live and raw it makes you feel like youre at one of his shows every time you hear him. Hes just got this energy that I havent found in any other MC, yet at the same time, hes got more rhyme-intelligence than pretty much any other MC in the game. His metaphors and references are straight GENIUS, and the production is just as good or better than BTS, which really has some killer beats. Overall, I would rank this album a neeotch below Swords and a bit above BTS. "Did Ya Say That?" has the best beat I have ever heard in my life. Seriously- that beat is worth the price tag by itself.

Pretty much the only flaw this CD has in my opinion, which is the same complaint that most of the people criticize this album for is the editing of some tracks. If not for that, this CD would get 5 stars. This album is obviously not as good as Liquid Swords and is better than Beneath the Surface (which is still in my mind a solid album). This album brings back some grimy beats with exceptional lyrics, which is nothing more than expected from GZA. The best lyricist in the Clan other than, dare I say Masta Killa. Best tracks on this piece are Auto Bio, Animal Planet, Fam(despite being edited), Fame, Highway Robbery(chorus does not fit song, ill other than that) Silent, Sparring Minds, Stay In Line, and What You Know About. Pick this up if you want some real Hip Hop, not any of that 50 Cent/G-Unit garbage. Must buy for any Wu fan.

GZA's (or Genius, Gary Grice...whatever) latest release boasts some of the best production I've heard in a long time. It includes a roster of Jay "Waxx" Garfield, BOOLA, Bink, Arabian "Q-Base" Knight, Tyquan Walker, Allah Mathematics, Jaz-O, DJ Muggs, RZA, and GZA himself on the cuts. If you think you've heard good usage of strings before, wait until you hear "Auto Bio."

"Legend of the Liquid Sword" features usual guest appearances from the extended Wu-Tang family, and this includes originals Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah, Masta Killa, and RZA. Sadly, O.D.B. is nowhere to be found, and Method Man must be off making more "Friday" rip-offs and bad deodorant commercials with Red Man.

While the guest emcees are solid, one is never allowed to forget that this is GZA/Genius' show. He sounds focused and ferocious throughout the album. As he brags, his lyrics speak "with non-additive slang. It's all actual thang." Such is all the more refreshing when compared to those currently topping the charts.

The only glaring slip-up on "Legend of the Liquid Sword" is a gratuitous attempt at recreating "Wu-Tang Clan [tune]" on a collaboration with RZA, "Fam (Members Only)." It just sounds like they're trying too hard.

The standout tracks are "Stay in Line" and, especially, "Fame." The latter has a much more classic Wu-Tang feel than any faux throwback; it ventures into the promised land of celebrity name word plays. You will need to look no further than here to find out about "Abraham's Lincoln" or "Brad's Pitt," and that is something in which I surely find comfort.

Like most Wu-Tang followers, I gave up on them after Raekwon's second album. But when "Ghost-deini" dropped Supreme Clientele in 2000, I believed in them again. However, that same year, The W, littered with guest stars, came out and I stopped buying their albums. So why did I buy this album? Because I wanted the uncensored version of "Knock Knock" (but it's even censored on here, what a shame). I checked out the rest of the album and I was pretty impressed.

GZA was never a bad lyricist; in fact, he's the best next to Raekwon. And I remember him from the classic Liquid Swords dropping jewels like "Labels". On his third album, Legend of the Liquid Sword, he has two songs like that ("Animal Planet" and "Fame"). Both are good, but the beat on "Fame" is a little dull. The wutang.com remix would have been better to put on here. I also enjoyed "Did He Say That", the RZA-produced "Rough Cut", and "Silent" with Ghost and Streetlife who was M.I.A. for some time.

I'll never compare this album to other Wu-Tang productions because that would be stupid (this is 2002, not the '90s). I see myself playing this album for a while. And instead of saying the Wu is back, I'll just say GZA is back.

I picked up this CD recently and I find GZA's rhymescheme to be excellent as expected. GZA hasn't lost his stee a bit when it comes to the ryhmes and the thoughts on this CD.Though,it still isn't as good as Liqiud Swords,it still comes pretty damn close. The only thing I didn't like about this CD is some of the production. This Q-Base guy is alright, I suppose, and Mathematics drops an incredible beat on "Fam" with Masta Killa and RZA. RZA drops a beat on this CD whoch I wasn't feeling at all. He could've done better with his reputation and his work on other Wu classics. other than that, the CD is packed with genius rhymes and Wordplay which is what you should be looking for, anyway.


Top 5 tracks
1.Sparring Minds feat. Inspectah Deck
2.Fam(Members Only) feat. Masta Killa and RZA
3.Auto Bio
4.Legend Of The Liquid Sword
5.Stay In Line

Legandary material by the GZA! You wonder why it takes GZA so long to put out albums? Lyrics like these would take rappers like Birdman and P. Diddy decades to write. Whether you're a Wu Tang fan or not you have to cop this album because lyricists like GZA are extremley rare in hip hop today. Not to mention his flow is off the hook along wit his beats. It makes you wonder why the clan hardly ever uses him. We all know he should have been on CREAM, Gravel Pit, I Can't Sleep ect. Just listen to his verse on The Jump Off, one of the illest verses of all time. Besides Method Man, GZA blows away the other Wu members. So if you're a Wu Tang fan you already know GZA's tight. So it's great to see his flow matched wit dope beats like on this album. The dopest tracks include: "Auto Bio"- the beat is perfect for GZA's flow. "Did ya say That"-GZA attacks the industry over another incredible beat. "Knock Knock"-Tight but the hook is kinda weak. "Animal Planet"- Crazy!!! The beat makes it an instant classic along wit the lyrics where GZA uses animals to describe certain people.(hustlers to chimps, feds to dogs, snitches to parrots ect.) "Fame"- GZA tells a story using celeb's names. The bass is crazy. "Uncut Material"-great beat produced by GZA himself. The hook is off the hook. Bottom Line: you need to cop this album! -Da Func Deezy, Holla at ya boy! And remember what GZA said: "A rhyme is a terrible thing to waste." Peace out yo!