Customer Reviews

Muse Sick-N-Hour Mess Age

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Of course, this Public Enemy masterpiece was dissed by critics upon its initial release, which is a shame because it is one of the fiercest statements about life in America ever made. Chuck D, Flav and Terminator X are in brilliant form on every track---and the themes are PE's most mature yet. Racism, slavery, economic slavery, inner city crime, the war on drugs, corporate government control, poverty, guns, gangsta rap---you name it, PE attacks everything about our violent country and encourages ALL PEOPLE to get together. "Give it Up" is an incredibly groovy anthem that was a massive hit all over the world but was not played by corporate radio in our country, too controversial and uplifting to the masses, I suppose. "What Side you On?" encourages people to be good, peaceful and loving---instead of hateful, evil and spiteful---all to a massive, pulsing beat. "So What You Gonna Do Now" is one Of Chuck D's funkiest grooves, and the furious rapper attacks the gangsta rappers who glorify violence and guns in their songs. One of PE's best cuts. "Ain'tnuttin Buttersong" comments on the violent nature of the National Anthem with incredible clarity and conviction, and asks the listener if he or she is aware of the meaning of the song, which glorifies the use of guns and bombs going off to win a war. Haven't we suffered enough unnecessary deaths at the hands of worthless politicians who send our poor kids off to be massacred in wars for no reason? Chuck's question is a valid one; the song questions singing a song that celebrates killing, thus condemning war in general. All in all, Public Enemy's MUSE SICK-N-HOUR MESS AGE is as grand as any hip hop album ever made. If you listened to critics who initially brushed PE off as a has been, shame on you. Listen to it and decide for yourself. This album belongs in any music lover's collection.

Muse Sick N Hour Mess Age is an extraordinarily dense and confrontational CD, and the hip-hop press has no excuse for their shameful dismissal of it. They denounced it as tired, messy and behind the times, which must mean that it wasn't dumbed-down to fit the Chronic/Ready to Die sound that had taken over by 1994. Chuck D's hip-hop-Howlin' Wolf delivery is so fierce it still surprises me, especially in "Live and Undrugged," where he reaches a shamanistic fervor that few artists in all of popular music have ever achieved. PE moved away from their usual sample-heavy sound to an equally layered but even more chaotic mix, using far more live instruments and chants. Somehow, Chuck D manages to make himself heard loud and clear above this din. That his poison pen is directed as much at pathology within the African-American community as it is at racism against it may account for much of this CD's continuing unpopularity. "So Whatcha Gone Do Now?" is a lacerating critique of gangsta rap's glamorization of violence and an assertion of dignity that undoubtedly escaped all the music bigshots getting rich selling "Godfather"-style murder fantasies to white suburban kids. "Aintnuttin Buttersong" and "Hitler Day" make most of PE's previous antiracism anthems seem downright congenial by comparison. I was glad to hear that PE had outgrown their old sexist, gay-bashing ways ("beat up on a fagney" and other similarly stupid lyrics), even if their indictment of the World Health Organization for creating and disseminating AIDs is just loopy. Despite occasional flaws such as that, Muse Sick is as vital as It Takes a Nation of Millions or Fear of a Black Planet; to my ears, it's the most powerful mid-90s rap CD. Admittedly, it's very angry and difficult, although it is often spiked with humor; I especially loved "I can't believe it's not butter," a short sampling of that old Steam chant, "Na Na Na Na/Na Na Na Na/Hey Hey Hey/Goodbye," and a hilariously bad Ray Charles imitation.

I had this album when it first came out, was a big hip hop fan and this was one of my fave album at the time, along with Ice Cubes Predator. Unfortunatly I lost my copy in around 1996 and shortly after moved on to other music genres (thanks to the Wu Tang crappers), however recently I have been getting back into it, mostly the old stuff I used to listen to and listening to this album again gave me serious goosebumps. It's a great mix hip hop, rock and roll, jazz and soul (what kind of power you got?).

The fifth album by Public Enemy is probably my favorite because it is the most political and controversial out of all their albums. Met with mixed reviews by critics and fans, this didn't sell that well. It's too bad because there is alot of good stuff all over this record. The beats and lyrics are great. Favorites include Give It Up, What Side You On?, Bedlam 13:13, What Kind Of Power We Got?, Race Against Time, Aintnuttin Buttersong, Thin Line Between Law And R---, I Stand Accused, Hitler Day, and Living In A Zoo Remix. Highly Highly Recommended.

Although "...Nations" is siad to be the best P.E./hip-hop album ever made, I still think this album is alot better.
It took P.E. 9 months to complete this project, and the brilliance shows. The tracks are more intresting than ever, as the sound is dense and layered....and ferious!! Also alot of the songs have different people in the back talking during the bridges, like samples from news footages, speeches, political discussions and so on, which make this albums different after each lsiten. The lyrics are on point as usual, as Chuck attacks everything from the ignorant mentality of the black community, the corrupt actions of the health industry, the national anthem, and more! P.E. just doesn't spit a line or two, they spend entire songs discussing their disgust on each of these topics.
Flav is more than on point, delivering 3 classic songs that add some humour to the overall serious album.

Don't sleep, this album is a work of art, a phat album, and an educational political program, all rolled into one.
Also the cover is nice as well with a thick booklet with the lyrics, and some cool commentary by Chuck-D.

The black youth of 1994, unlike the black youth of 1988, wouldn't know what black pride is if it came and offered them 40 onces of afro-centric knowledge, a bag of intellectual marijuana to smoke on, and a 12 gauge mind gun to blast those who try to bring them down and make them feel inferior with more sensible words rather than using a real gun to shoot those that you hate. Sorry to break the news to you my black people but the black community is more chaotic than ever before.It's A NEW WORLD DISORDER with blacks killing blacks, blacks selling and using drugs,and young girls having babies at a young age, and the worse part about it, we not smart enough to realize the the problems of our race and for those who do have a problem they're scared to do something about it because the majority of blacks are locked up in this new modern day prison, and it seems like a no win situation for them-as far as the whites, they're laughing at us like clowns in a circus which is what I'm I'm ashamed to say that's what we been reudced to. Yeah, it's no longer a fear of a unified balck planet but, fear of the balck planet but it's fear of the balck planet being mentally demolished and controlled like puppets by the temptations of gangs,sex,drugs,two sided politics,and senseless violence. Those are the issues that public enemy adress on this newest masterpeice. This album is the most important album of hip-hop music today, and if you was a opened minded person you would realize the lyrical jewels dropped here.All of the other critics who agree with my point of view about this album pretty much sumed it up by going into detail about the lyrics and the new and improved P.E. production framework which consits of live intruments.What I will tell you is take time to opren your mind up to something other than gangster rap when listening to this album and ask yourself "what side are you on?" , as a young black person in this society. And if you can't figure that out, then P.E "Can't do nutthin for you man!"especaillly on this album that's too deep for the average man.

Muse Sick N Hour Mess Age
Don't let the obtuse title throw you off (an inverted reference to the O'Jays' "Message in our Music"). This is a great Public Enemy album. From the opening scratched-wails of "Whole Lotta Love Goin On..." to the roaring thrash guitar of "Hitler Day", this album packs a mega-dose wallop of hip-hop fury. This time around, Chuck D and the Bomb Squad crew bring more live instruments into the mix: Guitars, bass, drums & keyboards. It's almost an alternative-rock record, but that's no reason to think it's less potent. Lyrically, Chuck takes everyone to task on this record, challenging both the establishment of the United States of America, and the hip-hop audience themselves. "Give It Up" is a bluesy up-tempo jam and the first single. "Bedlam 14:14" finds Chuck remarking that he's "good enough to know no `Indo', I threw it out the window, along with the Super Nintendo", avoiding peer-pressure trends of drugs and video-games. "What'cha Gone Do?" is an early indictment of the growing `thug-life' culture in urban America and an thinly-veiled critique of gangster rap as well. The blistering "Live & Undrugged" finds Chuck nearly losing his breath on an extended rant, declaring himself the "rhymer in a zone". On "Hitler Day" Chuck blasts what he feels is a whitewashed nostalgia associated with mainstream holidays. "Godd Complexx" is a Flavor Flav cover of a piece by 70's-era spoken-word act the Last Poets. This album was somewhat passed over in the midst of the mid-90's zenith of Death Row and Bad Boy records, not to mention the debuts of people like Nas and Coolio. Def Jam also abruptly changed distributors, which probably also put a dent in promotion. A handful of mixed reviews at the time suggested that the band had lost a step, but compared to other rap works of the period, Muse Sick may end up being the least dated.

In 1994, Chuck D and the usual PE suspects released MUSE SICK-N-HOUR MESS AGE, possibly their most ambitious album ever. Not only did they follow up APOCALYPSE 91 with another sonic shift in style (GREATEST MISSES is not an album...read the liner notes) but they challenged the norm in Hiphop at the time: gangsta rap. The album was bold and unflinching, soulfully chaotic, and again ahead of it's time.
But the masses didn't get it...
However, after 8 years, not only does the LP still stand up as an amazing and relevant piece of work, it has also been re-discovered by PE fans across the globe. So many people that dismissed it the first time around have checked it again and heard whatever it was that they missed the first time around.
The trademark noise is still in effect, but it comes in with liver, funkier jams that expand the PE catalog. Chuck pulls no punches and Flav is on point as usual. Cuts by Terminator X and Kamron add fuel to the frenzy. The Bomb Squad personnell changes slightly for this effort, but the idea is still there.
The original teaser advertisement for this LP promised "a revolutionary barbecue of sight, sound, and soul..." MUSE SICK delivers on all points...don't sleep.

This album is an excellent addition to your Public Enemy collection. Although not as powerful,inovative or groundbreaking as their first three albums, it's still excellent in its own way. The first 8 songs are amazing, all blending into each other to create a lightning of sound (is this the most pretentious review ever). It isn't that good after that, until maybe the song Hitler Day, which is a sort of 'Channel Zero' like song. Buy it.

This c.d. is so underrated that it's dumbfounding... if you're a fan of classic hip hop or p.e. you need to have this album or at least download the songs... the best songs include "give it up, what side you on, bedlam 13:13, so whatcha gonna do" and many others... i recommend this album to everyone... it's really good.