Main Ingredient

Pete Rock, Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth | Format: Audio Cassette

Product Details

• Audio Cassette (November 8, 1994)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Elektra / Wea
• ASIN: B000002HFX
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (63 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #613,600 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. In the House

2. Carmel City

3. I Get Physical

4. Sun Won't Come Out

5. I Got a Love

6. Escape

7. The Main Ingredient

8. Worldwide

9. All the Places

10. Tell Me

11. Take You There

12. Searching

13. Check It Out

14. In the Flesh

15. It's on You

16. Get on the Mic

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

Product Description

After the success of 2010's deluxe reissue of Pete Rock & CL Smooth ''Mecca and the Soul Brother'', Traffic Entertainment is proud to announce the release of Pete Rock and CL Smooth's 1994 classic, ''The Main Ingredient'' in the same deluxe packaging and expanded content concept. The album never gained the traction as the pairing's full length debut, which followed the 1991 EP, ''All Souled Out,'' and yielded the biggest hit of their con-joined career, ''They Reminisce Over You.'' But ''The Main Ingredient'' is nonetheless Pete and CL's most critically applauded work, a definitive symbol of the tempered consciousness and roughneck rhythm that defined the era. Pete Rock laid these backdrops in Rockland County, where he moved and built a studio after leaving Mount Vernon in 1993 (the cover shot for ''The Main Ingredient'' was taken in his Rockland lab). Though the scenery changed, his tools of choice didn't, and this is yet another testament to the Chocolate Boy Wonder's magical knack with the SP-1200 drum machine and sampler. With no Pro Tools and little input from outside of their immediate camp, Pete and CL recorded their final sixteen as a team over the course of a year between 1993 and 1994. ''This definitely marks a very high place in my career,'' says Pete. ''We were in a zone, and when you're in a zone, it's fun. It was a great time, and we put the album together with just that in mind. It was like a family thing, and music was a hobby, not a job. We kept it like we were in the basement, creating music just for the fun of it. Of course the business side reared its ugly head, and we eventually had to deal with that, but '94 was a great time. Music was more real back then. It was more original''. Traffic Entertainment now captures that time with this expanded deluxe edition of this seminal work. The second disc features the original 12'' mixes, a cappellas and instrumental mixes conveniently compiled. A 20 page book with extended artwork and liner notes by Pete Rock himself, along with new remastering completes this package, all housed in a sweet box! --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 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)   

This review is from: Main Ingredient (Audio CD)

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 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Main Ingredient (Audio CD)

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 Criminally Slept On {5 Stars}, February 27, 2007

By 

Norfeest "Yes Yes Y'all" (Washington DC USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Main Ingredient (Audio CD)

I'll go ahead and state the obvious: Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth never made a bad album. Period. They could probably come back from their 13 year hiatus and drop another classic as far as I'm concerned. The thing that makes this album great is 1) Pete Rock's immaculate production and 2) C.L.'s flow. You can't say that any of their albums sound like someone elses. CL has a unique format and interesting wordplay that commands attention. Pete Rock is easily one of the top 5 producers in hip hop history and his ear for jazz samples is unmatched to this day. They blend their talents on this album and the songs bleed into each other perfectly. Did I mention how P.R. drops snippets between tracks? Forget about it. He drops just enough to make you crave and come back for more. If you're not instantly feeling this album, your heart isn't beating.

Flaws? Forget about it. Moving on...

The Main Ingredient is the last release from the duo known as Pete Rock & CL Smooth. That should be reason enough for you to get this. If that's not enough, know that Pete Rock's production is on point and CL Smooth's unique flow and wordplay make for one of the smoothest/laid back rap albums you'll ever hear. This is one of those rap albums that hits you in a way that makes you remember exactly what you're doing and where you were when you heard it for the first time. Anything less than 5 stars for this album borders on blasphemous. I recommend making this album a collection cornerstone.

Standout Tracks: I Got A Love (My Favorite), In The House, Sun Won't Come Out, Carmel City....hell, every track on this album is top notch and they all stand out.