Customer Reviews

Love Movement

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(50)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I am prolly one of the biggest Tribe Called Quest fans in the world and I'm gonna have to say this album isn't even close to as great as there first three albums were. This was the first album I bought of the Tribe and when I did, I thought that The Love Movement was the best album I've heard in a long time. Because of how much I loved the album I thought that I should buy all there albums and see how great they were. When I did I noticed that The Low End Theory, Midnight Mauraders, and Peoples Instinctive Travels were just unbelievably incredible. Thats when I became a huge Tribe fan. Back to The Love Movement though. I must say "Find A Way", "Common Ground", and "Busta's Laiment" are great songs with excellent lyrics as always and superb beats. Those 3 songs alone give the album a star. The rest of the first 15 songs are given another star and the bonus tracks deserve to give the album a third. If you were thinking about buying this album while not owning the first 3 albums of the Tribe, that might not be wise considering the extreme enjoyment and relaxation you can get from the first 3 excellent albums.

I've been a Tribe fan for a while, and have been waiting for this album since BR&L came out well over a year ago. It's a pretty disappointing album, all told. Too much of the production sounds exactly the same ... even worse than was the case with BR&L. Not one track of the new stuff, except possibly the track with Noreiga, has anything real interesting. The inclusion of the remixed stuff at the end was a bad idea ... every track at the end is better than almost all the stuff in the beginning. It shows how far Quest has fallen lately. That Scenario remix has been crying out for a release evre since the original Scenario 12" dropped years ago, and the jazz and oh mi god remixes just show how great and funky the Tribe sound was in the years up to Midnight Maurauders. I hope the breakup spurs Q-Tip to some good solo projects ... I'm afraid the group's creative juices dried up after MM, and Love Movement is the musical equivalent of an open casket.

While I happily defended BEATS, RHYMES, & LIFE from the onslaught of disgruntled Tribe fans, I am not prepared to do the same with this album.

Whether it be the in-fighting between Tip & Phife, the label drama with Jive Records, or JayDee trying to juggle this & Slum Village's FANTASTIC VOL. 2 (FANTASTIC VOL. 2 was also suppose to be a 1998 release, until A&M Records shut down, and the album wound up being released in 2000 instead), THE LOVE MOVEMENT is not all it could have been.

The Ummah beatwork this time out seems rushed. Considering that the album was held back (it was originally suppose to be a Valentine's Day release...get it?) They at least could have polished it up a little bit more, as most of the production sounds unfinished. Meanwhile, Tip & Phife's chemistry doesn't seem to be...THERE anymore. It's seems that they just said their verses and go home. Even though they try to convey the LOVE aspect of the album, it's hard, considering that they were on the verge of splitting and can't show their chemisrty anymore.

While the first single, "FIND A WAY", has a pulse as far as chemistry goes, the others like "STEP IT UP", "PAD & PEN", "BUSTA'S LAMENT", "HOT 4 U", & "AGAINST THE WORLD", show that Tip & Phife are lost a duo. Other inexcuseable moments are "DA BOOTY" (Ugh. Too bad for words), "LIKE IT LIKE THAT" ("Do/You/Like it? Say 'yeah' if you like it like that". Nice hook, guys!), & "ROCK ROCK Y'ALL" (a very sucky track for a very mediocre posse cut!). The biggest crime is "GIVE ME". You see, Tip is planning on singing on his next solo project next year, and if this song 'GIVE ME', where Tip sings the hook, serves as an indication, Tip needs to stop it! NOW! It's as if the insomnia-curing beat, and the unwelcomed appearance of NORE are not enough to make you turn from this tripe.

This album has it's good moments, like "START IT UP", "FIND A WAY", "MUDDY RANKS", & "THE LOVE", but the album's real redeeming value are the unreleased remixes, which is the only thing about this CD that makes it worth the purchase.

Considering all that Tip, Phife, & Ali went through, splittig up was the right thing to do. If only they didn't go all out by releasing sub-par side album's (Tip's commercial tripe AMPLIFIED, Phife's coulda-been-better VENTILATION, and Ali's nonexistant contributions to the weak LUCY PEARL project) that made the Tribe look even worse.

Now that a major force in progressive hip-hop is gone, who's gonna take the weight?

it's almost impossible to review this cd without the obligatory comparison to old-school tribe, but i'm going to try anyway. as perhaps the first clearly defined concept album tribe called has released, "the love movement" certainly transmits a special, unqiue vibe. it's full of bass and more mellow tunes that focus principally, but not surprisingly, on love. it's not about the elation and passion of love; instead it's got more of a 60s peace and love flavor, which is refreshing. it's easy to group a lot of the songs under the same category because many sound so alike. the more upbeat songs, "steppin it up" and "rock rock y'all", though they're as good as anything here, seem a little out of place as a result. it makes the record hard to appreciate during the first couple listens. but there is quality here: "find a way" is a great song about the back-and-forth endearing frictions of a relationship; "common ground" spits the necessary wisdom about how to live and love. it's got more soul than anything on the record; "4 moms" is a nice little instrumental, but instantly likeable; you'll notice there's alot of synthesized bass on the cd, which is cool at first, but gets a little tired after a while. there's a couple weak tracks, especially "give me", which is the poorest they've done in years. sorry, but noreaga just doesn't fit with tribe - styles conflict distractingly. the extra six songs are nice to have, but don't all fit in. on top of that, they only drag out the length of an already way too long cd. such a concept album could only have worked well with something around 40-45 minutes, because it can really only hold your attention that long. it sounds silly, but it's true. however, there is enough quality material on here to merit a listen from fans or anyone interested in mellower rap. it's got a certain quality about it that makes it a keeper, so take a shot and give it a thorough listen, because it's the last (great) thing tribe ever did.

The reviewer who said "this album isn't as close to as great as their previous 3" has no place calling himself "probably the world's greatest tribe fan." Tribe put out 4 albums before The Love Movement, not 3.
Now that I got that off of my chest, I think the Love Movement is highly underrated. I think the members of Tribe knew exactly how they wanted to go out: subtly and smoothly. If you listen closely, you'll find that this album contains the same social consciousness that made them famous, particularly on tracks such as "The Love" and perhaps less obviously on songs such as "Give Me." But the most important statement this album makes is about love on all levels, a message that doesn't always have to come in a complex package. And quite simply, this is one of the most chill albums ever made.
Is "The Love Movement" their best work? Probably not. Is it a darn good hip hop album? You better believe it. All who were disappointed in this album should give it another spin.
I can't wait till Tribe makes their new millenium comeback in a few months...
By the way, to the reviewer who only counted 3 previous works, the one you left off is Beats, Rhymes, and Life, another underappreciated album.

I've been listenin' to the tribe from year dot,remember bouncin' to 'Can i kick it' when i was ten years old.And you've really got to label A.T.C.Q as one of the greatest hip-hop groups eva,I own every single tribe album and even Q-Tip's solo ablum(Which i tried desparately to like,but i just don't)and i have to admit i bought 'The love movement' completely out of impulse without even listenin' to one track(which is forgivable considering the Quest's track record)and i was really not impressed one bit,i couldn't reconize one stand out track,listened to the album about three or four times and tossed it in my cd collection with other impulse buys that i wasn't ever gonna play again,such as Cannabis's first album.Then i about six months after i purchased it i decided to dig it out and play it again and realised that it was actually a pretty decent album,with maybe four or five really good tunes and realised that i had judged the album the against Quest's earlier efforts and not against what the quality of albums were like in that year from other artists,and it actually stands out as quite good,by no means a classic,but not as terrible as i first thought it was.It's a sad day to think there is goin' to be no more A.T.C.Q. albums,and i think all in all considerin' the groups problems at this time they bowed out of hip-hop with their heads held high and as one of the greatest bands of all time in all genres of music.One Love.

After a three-peat of classic albums and one wack album, A Tribe Called Quest announced that they were breaking up after eight years in the game. But The Love Movement sounds just like Mase's last album released right before he too ended his era of fame: a bunch of lame songs that the Tribe seemingly hurried up to make just so they can get away from each other. If that ain't bad enough, most of the songs sound the same because of The Ummah's production.

If you take the production from "The Hop", a song off their disappointing Beats, Rhymes and Life album, and spead it out over fifteen tracks, you have a pretty good idea how the songs on this album sound like. But the beat to "Find a Way" crowded dance floors; still, you can't ignore Q-Tip's now non-existent rhyme skills: "I'm'a still just chill with you/Maybe things could change if you change your crew/If not, then I guess it is cool." Sheesh. Why not just hang up the mic right then and there? There are worse songs than this, but I didn't feel like punishing myself by listening to them again just to review the album.

Q-Tip and Phife remind me of senior citizens who once knew how to ball, teaming up against some young new jacks in a two-on-two. The guest stars on this album outshine both of them. Noreaga does his thing on "Give Me", while Busta Rhymes and Redman show up for "Stoppin' It Up". How can anyone survive when Redman busts lines like, "I'm 6'1" with a big a' gun/To carry it, you need a waistline the size of Big Pun"? And for the finale, the "Twice Inna Lifetime" guys Wordsworth, Jane Doe, Punchline and Mos Def come and rap circles around Q-Tip on "Rock Rock Ya'll".

The only reason to buy this album is for the bonus tracks at the end (B-sides and remixes of their, to quote L.O.N.S., classic material--speaking of that, check out L.O.N.S. and Tribe on the "Scenario" remix). Unfortunately, instead of leaving the rap game with an album that would make fans sad that they broke up, A Tribe Called Quest left us with an album that has us wondering why haven't they broke up sooner.

Ah yes, one of hip-hop's greatest groups is bidding us fairwell. This album follows in the footsteps of their last effort Beats, Rhymes And Life and is not as good as their first three albums or even B.R. & L. for that matter. Of course, every Tribe album is solid and The Love Movement has plenty of good tracks. From "Find A Way" to "The Love" to "Busta's Lament", there are plenty of good beats and lyrics to go around. The problems? Well, some of the relationship lyrics get boring, there are some filler tracks ("Hot 4 U" and a few others don't flow as well as the stand-out tracks) and a few bad guest appearences (Noreaga's verse on "Give Me" is pretty sad). Of course, there are the rare bonus tracks which are all pretty good. The Love Movement is one of those albums where sometimes you feel it and sometimes you don't. Tribe could have gone out with more of a bang, but there are one of the greatest hip-hop groups ever. They changed the face of hip-hop and we should thank them for that. All respect is due.

Back in college I remember hearing Low End Theory for the first time and thinking it just wasn't People's Instinctive Travels. Of course by the end of the year, Low End Theory being the classic it is, I hardly listened to anything else. Now listen to what I'm gonna tell you: A TRIBE CALLED QUEST MAKES ALBUMS THAT GROW ON YOU. This simple lesson is something I think about every time I buy one of their new releases (I have them all). So it goes with The Love Movement.

My first listen, I gotta admit I didn't really pay attention all the way through. I thought a lot of the tracks sounded the same. However I was smart enough too know that I just needed to hang in there and keep listening. Tribe's beats have grown subtler and subtler with each successive release. That means the new joints always take a little getting used to. I myself am now at a point where I can't get enough of Love Movement.

But that's the dope thing about Tribe. They're always experimenting, exploring new angles and not just grinding out the same old stuff. Haters need to realize there's a reason the joint's called The Love Movement and not The Love Stasis.

That said, for those of you who can't get past their need for the "old" Tribe ,the six bonus tracks are themselves probably worth the price of admission. It's pretty dope to revisit the old stuff that has more of a party vibe.

Now of the new material, some of the best cuts include Find a Way, Da Booty, Steppin' it Up, Give Me, and Rock Rock Y'all. But it's all good. There's less lyrical pyrotechnics than on previous releases as Phife and Q-tip instead choose to flex a smoother flow. They're growing up.

On a side note, Rock Rock Y'all boasts Mos Def showing off his considerable talents. Mark my words, Black Starr will be among hip-hop's leaders for a long time to come.

So pick this one up and then give it a little time. Chances are next year you'll be complaining that Tip's solo stuff may be good, but it just isn't The Love Movement.

As a Muslim and a fanatic about Hip-Hop and Tribe Called Quest, i believe that this is the worst album put out by the Tribe. The Beats are whack and the lyrics are plain dull. Tribe really sold out by not maintaining their righteousness as with thier last album, and basically are talking foolishness with this album. Word to my Brothers don't let the record industry pacify and disrespect you. Maintain you righteousness and Allah Will Help You. Truly Tribe wasted their time in producing this album. THe only good thing about this album are the six bonus tracks