The Main Ingredient

Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth, Pete Rock

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 8, 1994)
• Original Release Date: November 8, 1994
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Elektra / Wea
• ASIN: B000002HFW
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #12,958 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > Rap & Hip-Hop > Experimental Rap

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Marley Marl disciple Pete Rock is rightly hailed as one of the greatest producers around. Jazzy and soulful, his productions are some of the smoothest, funkiest, most innovative, and listenable on record. Though he's produced a crate-full of hits, it's his work with front man C.L. Smooth that's most fondly remembered, and The Main Ingredient--the duo's second album, after Mecca and the Soul Brother--lives up to the hype. Smooth's proficiency on the mic doesn't match his partner's studio wizardry, but not many do, and Smooth's easygoing, free-flowing delivery complements the grooves to good effect (and more importantly, keeps Rock from taking on too many vocal duties). Great for parties or a lazy weekend afternoon, The Main Ingredient is fondly remembered for all the right reasons. --Randy Silver

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Those Were The Days............, January 20, 2005

By	C. Gray (Brooklyn, New York) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Back when MC's actually sat down and wrote intricate intelligent lyrics, there was a rapper name CL Smooth who was as respected as they came. Teamed with the super producer Pete Rock, the duo would combine for two all-time classics; Mecca & The Soul Brother and the Main Ingredient. Both offerings are equally timeless pieces of art. However, the second can be considered the more focused and polished work of the two. Going into this album Pete Rock made a name for himself as a producer who was adept in looping horn riffs into melodic and jazzy rhythms. Rather than following his own blueprint, he advanced his style on the Main Ingredient, creating a more ambitious and soulful album. He brings his A-game, because in the early 90's the rap game was generated by A-list producers and MC's. The standout production includes I Get Physical with its gentle guitar riff; I Got a Love with its driving energetic hook; All the Places with its soulful jazzy light cadence; I'll Take You There with its head bopping yet easeful kick; and the title cut which is laced with the aforementioned signature horn riffs. While Pete Rock provides the engine for this ship, CL Smooth directs the navigation with his well thought lyrics that compliment each track like french fries to a burger. There are no ignorant misogynistic references, or useless repetitious usage of the N-word. This is pure hip-hop when hip-hop seemed to matter as a true art form. This album represents a time when MCs maintained their respective pace and competition through the use of intelligence as opposed to lazy ignorance.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth- The Main Ingredient, September 13, 2003

By	Constant (Vancouver, BC Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth's second album "The Main Ingredient" (1994) is an underated slept on gem. Pete Rock's amazing production matched with C.L.'s addictive and intelligent rhyming make an album to remember. Beats are excellent from start to finish on this sixteen track release, cd has great replay value and music sounds ahead of its time which it was. My favourite track is "It's On You" love the verses, beat and background chorus on this one. Love the way "I Get Physical" flows and the outstanding guitar & piano backed "All The Places" has C.L. talking about where he has been- a very memorable track. Relaxed tracks like "Carmel City" , "Searching" and lead single "Take You There" create a feel good album. Music on this is substantial and relaxed at the same time. Every track on this is nice to me, and "The Main Ingredient" flows concurrently throughout with the end result being a highly enjoyable and memorable album which I would recommend for any Hip Hop collection.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Before Jay-Z, there was C.L. Smooth, June 28, 2006

By	R. Stokes (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This album represented 90's hip hop in its truest sense. It was almost ahead of it's time. It too bad that it did not get the recognition it deserved and it's too bad that Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth does not get the props they deserve. Pete is definitely one of the great hip hop chemists and C.L. Smooth is a lyricist in every sense of the word. I wonder if C.L. serves as inspiration for Hova because to my knowledge, very few could wrap lyrics around a beat like C.L in the early 90's just very few could wrap lyrics around a beat like Jay in the late 90's. C.L.'s lyricism was stellar as well as witty. It's those same lyrical attributes that made Jay the most loved and most envied in the game. The Main Ingredient is a work of art.

Make love a great influence.

Rest in peace Curtis Sneed. We love you and still miss you. We used to jam this album didn't we?