Customer Reviews

Resurrection

5 star:		(89)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Common has enjoyed a long and well praised career. Although it would be hard to say that his style hasn't changed (sometimes for better sometimes for worse), for the most part his concepts and views have not. With recent appearances it seems that Common is returning to where he began (check out Kanye's Get Em High, his spot on Chappelle's Show - Food, and Jada's remix to Why among others). But, Common's hunger and brilliance was first fully realized here.

One thing you cannot fail to mention when talking about Resurrection is NO I.D. who produces all but two tracks on the album. The tracks he made for this album are beautiful; it's always made me wonder what happened to him (although he's shown up again recently on Ghostface's Pretty Tony album). Even more mysterious is the albums other production credit goes to Ynot, who's disappearance is even more drastic (barring this album I've never herd him mentioned). Regardless the two provide a stellar backdrop for the album with their production. All the beats in general are very jazzy and sample heavy. Almost all tracks do NOT have your typical chorus (and absolutely NO R&B hooks), instead replaced by repeated relevant samples (DJ Premier style if you will).

The album opens up with the appropriately titled Resurrection accompanied by scratches proclaiming the same. Nice smooth production over a jazzy piano loop, as Common just seamlessly flows over the beat. Great opener, also a nice touch of bringing the beat back after the fade out. In general Common's ability to flow over the beats on these albums is incredible, especially when you consider he actually switches it up.

I Used to Love H.E.R. is probably the most well know song on the album. This was the first time the concept was used. After you hear the twist at the end, like a movie, you'll want to go back and see the real meaning of the song. Also started the Ice Cube beef when Cube took offense to the Boys N' the Hood reference. Makes you long for the days when songs were less one-dimensional. Has anybody ever realized that Hip-Hop has taken even more declines than at the end of the story?? Is that not scary?

Watermelon, is a laid back groove with Common just flowing ("Everybody that here me say I Jams like the NBA cause I'm on fire/Even if I was a Michelan I wouldn't tire"). Book of Life, goes for the more introspective Common as he relates to the struggles of urban life growing up. This is a great track that not should be overlooked on this album, as I often did at first. Great references and samples (Roy Ayers's "Everybody Loves the Sunshine").
The interlude into In My Own World is incredible, almost disappointing it wasn't used as a full track. Then the main beat comes in, and you tend to forget this. Jazzy xylophones accompany scratches and a nice baseline. NO I.D. raps here and actually holds his own along with Common. This is one of the album highlights, if only for the production.

Nuthin' To Do, infuses some nice sax samples including an Ol' Dirty Bastard sample. Communism has more of a vibes along as Common rips as many words with `com' in them for about a minuet.
Thisisme, follows this is one of my favorite songs on the album, mainly to the smooth groves and samples provided again by NO I.D. The chorus samples Naughty By Nature ("I love the way I am and can't nobody out here change me!") as Common proclaims himself just as he is.
Orange Pineapples, is more of a somber track has Common switching up his flow back and forth every other verse. Chapter 13 follows and is the first track on this album not produced by NO I.D. Instead it is handled by Ynot who also exchanges rhymes with Common. This is another incredible track on the album, with a good mix of meaningful lyrics and some clever punch lines, backed by excellent production.

NO I.D. returns with Maintaining, an up tempo piano looped track and subtle horns, along with a sample from `Scenario" (Tribe Called Quest). Common flows really well over the beat dropping some nice lyrics. Ynot follows this track with a slow paced low key piano loop. Another nice track and lyrics, Common makes a lot of references to other songs, people and even throws out a little jab at LL ("When I'm alone in my room sometimes I stare at the wall/ And in the back of my mind I hear.. a wack-ass rhyme!!").

Finally to close off the album is Pop's Rap (parts II & III to be followed on his next two albums). It's actually Common's father (at least I'm assuming) pulling a Gil Scott-Heron over a nice beat and some keyboards.

The final running time on the album is about 54 min, although it certainly doesn't seem this short, probably due to the fact that no time is wasted (excluding about 2 min of skit time). There's no song on here that's skippable, in fact it's the opposite. The smooth production is enough reason alone to just listen to Common's flow. Common's lyrics never stray away from intelligent wordplay or meaningful insights, making almost every moment of the album brilliant. The album also has a high reply value, it'll prolly find it's way back into your deck easily.

Bottom line: amazing production, superior lyrics that don't get old, and almost no time wasted. I seriously cannot think of any flaws that this album has, and if I'm just overlooking any there are defiantly none that would cause great problems. It's a must for classic Hip-Hop fans, you won't be disappointed by how good this album is, or how easy it is to listen to. (9/10)

This album is full of memories for me, and is bittersweet; it's both one of the greatest hip-hop albums ever and one of the last. Everything in rap music, including Common's (he'll always be Common Sense to me) own efforts, have disappointed since then. In fact, as hard as I've looked, as long as I've waited, I'm pretty sure hip-hop doesn't exist anymore.

I like calling this the Greatest Hip-Hop Album Ever. It's probably not true but it doesn't matter to me; I've heard a lot of rap music but never anything so in line with true musicianship (there's something else that doesn't exist anymore...)

Anyway this fits somewhere in league with "Midnight Marauders" for musical sensibility and "Enter The Wu-Tang" for innovation and brash nonconformity. In many ways it surpasses them both.

So pick this up if you've never heard it. It's so intensely musical (thanks to No ID's once-in-a-lifetime production) it doesn't require you to like rap music at all. Common's lyrics are clever and occasionally brilliant, and his delivery top-notch. If you are a rap fan and haven't heard this, you've missed out. If you are a fan and think of this album as confusing, soft and uninspired, shame on you; this was the peak the music will never again reach.

Sometimes there are artist who virtually come from no where and releases an LP that are considered one of the best albums of a generation. In Hip Hop, Common Sense's Resurrection is that album. Common's first album, Can I Borrow A Dollar? was a solid debut showing a very charismatic MC who was still developing his style and trying to find his niche in the Hip Hop world. On Resurrection, Common reemerge as an promiment MC with lyrics that are leaps ahead of his debut.

Make no mistake this is arguably the best display of lyricism in Hip Hop. All throughout the album Common uses multi-layered lyrics including evasive puns, punchlines and other literary techniques of writing that almost no Hip Hop album has been able to match thus far. Listening to this album for the past three years I am still picking up on puns that I did not catch listening the first hundred times. The prime example would be "Orangle Pineapple Juice" which probably has more wordplay than any other song I have heard. Other examples would be the title track, "Watermelon", "Communism" (where he plays with words beginning with "com") and "Sum S... I Wrote".

For those thinking that this album is only filled with braggadocio rhymes, think again. Common covers a wide variety of subject matter speaking on his life, being an MC in the rap world and expresing his love for Hip Hop. Over a hard drum and bass, Common tells of the problems of moving from adolesence to becoming a young adult on "The Book Of Life". Common executes this perfectly with quotables such as "I went to school for fourteen years and my best teacher was experience". This song is one of the highlights of the album and reaches all people as they move from adolescence to adulthood.

On "This Is Me", Common rhymes over a drum, bass and piano beat provide by No I.D. he track is filled with puns where Common declares that he refuses to sacrifice his integrity to sell records, defines what hardcore is and declares himself a "gangster of love" expressing a love for himself and everyone. With the spectacular lyrics and beat combined with the honesty that Common brings to the track, I think this is the best song on the album. These songs are a testament to his life at the time and reaches out to those who are experiencing the same situations.

"I Used To Love H.E.R." is the most poignant song on the
album where the young MC personifies Hip Hop as a girl he
grew up with. He reminisces on his earliest memories of Hip
Hop, showing it's evolution from rappers rhyming simply because of their genuine love of the artform to the gangster rap that flooded the mainstream (no pun intended) during the early 90s for no other goal than for financial gain. He laments on lack of creativity and criticizes rappers using a gimmicks to sell records all while expressing his love for Hip Hop which he sees as an artform that is slowly dying. One of the greatest Hip Hop songs ever.

No I.D.does the majority of the production on this album (Y-Not produces "Chapter 13" and "Sum S I Wrote") and although Common's lyrical prowess receives the most attention on reviews on this album, No. I.D. and Y-Not create beautiful soundscapes for Common to shine over. Using jazz based production No I.D. and Y-Not create magnificent beats such as the title track, "Nuttin' To Do" "Communism" "This Is Me" and "Chapter 13". The beats on this album are amazing in their own right.

As a Hip Hop fan who lived the early part of his life in the
South Side of Chicago and now in my late teenage years growing into a young adult I have a strong connection to this album. This album has songs that reflect what my life is like right now, that express my love for Hip Hop, myself and for others. This album has creative songs concepts which includes the use of alliteration, personification and anecdotes while displaying an unprecendented style of rhyming filled with puns and punchlines. Not only Common's stellar lyrics capture you but he is extremely charismatic with sincerity that is definitely missing from Hip Hop. With Common's sophomore release he establishes himself as one of Hip Hop's greatest lyricist. I strongly recommend this album to any music listener.

Common is at the peak of his lyrical genious on this album; it is really a very soulfully produced album, and Common uses more metaphors on the CD then. . . damn i dunno, he just uses a hellova lot of em.
Hell, if you want the biggest metaphor filled song in hip hop all you have to do is listen to track #2 "I used to love H.E.R". It has a suprise ending that will completely change the way you view the song's message when you hear it the second time around. TRUST ME, you will play the song over again when you hear that last line of the song. Hah, im not giving away the metaphor, it would ruin the suprise intended in the song.

Enough about Track #2 though, because you will find that this album is not simply about that song but about virtually every other track. For instance, the first track on the CD- "Resurrection" displays Commons hottest flows, while track #8- "Communism" displays the flexiblity of Common's lyrics ( there a many words in this track that start with "com-"; a perfect match for the name of the track, as well as his own name).

Bottom line, every track is very creative and even makes Common's year 2000 classic "Like Water For Chocolate" a little bit weak in comparrison.

I can say without hesitation that this is one of the best cd's that I've ever bought. I've had it for at least six months and I still listen to it almost everyday. First of all, Common is one of the greatest m.c.'s of all time. His rhymes are metaphoric. They are so superior to really everyone else out there in the rap business. But despite how intricate and deep his rhymes are, he still comes off as just having fun. After one song, you can tell Common both loves being an m.c., and respects his position as an m.c. Something a lot of rappers forget to do. Also, the production on this cd is amazing. Almost every song is a masterpiece. Not since MC Solaar's Prose Combat have I heard an album so complete in both its lyricism and its production. By the time you get to the 15th track, you're already psyched to hear the first one over again. It really is that kind of an album.

This has gotta be the dopest sophomore effort from any emcee. I remember about six or seven years back, I was really feelin Common's first album "Can I Borrow A Dollar?". Then about two years later, he hits me with Resurrection. From the first track, all the way to the last track there are dope rhymes and beats. The banginest track on the album "I Used To Love H.E.R." really changed my life. I've always had love for hip-hop but I never realized that she was being abused until I heard "I Used To Love H.E.R." That track really opened my eyes. What makes the album so tight is the fact that Common seems like a regular guy, but he possesses ENOURMOUS skills on the mic, and that's what makes his name a paradox. He's my favortite emcee and I hope he gets his due props soon.

This is a Very Beautiful Album...I recently Became interested in Common, after hearing him on "Get em High" a song on Kanye West's Debut album, The College Dropout. I not too long after picked up Be (Common's most recent album) and was NOT dissapointed. So Finnally, I picked up Resurrection...WOW.....This is not only Beautiful Hip-Hop, but I would almost compare this to Poetry rather than Rap music. The Beats(Most of which are produced by No I.D. Kanye's mentor) are very Jazz like in nature, with alot of piano, and horns, amidst the dark, and heavy percussion. Common Is Telling Tales from the hood beautifully, with Songs like
"Chapter 13 (Rich man vs Poor man)" where he explains the difficulties of having money problems. He also talks about how Hip-Hop has changed and evolved. On
"I used to love H.E.R." Common Talks about Hip-Hop as though it was a woman, and explains how 'she' changed from a girl that just wanted to make good music, to a a girl that "Only tells sad stories". This is a great album. If U like Common, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Kanye West, or The Roots, This album is for You..

After listening to this album, you'll probably come to the conclusion that Common is a superb MC. His lyrics and wordplay are amazing; just listen to "Communism" where flips verses with words beginning with "com-" (e.g. "I'm too Com-plex/Watch Com get Com-plicated.."). "I Used To Love H.E.R." is one of the best metaphors ever used in a hip-hop song and tracks like "Sum ... I Wrote" and the title track feature excellent lyrics courtesy of Common and production courtesy of No I.D. and Ynot. If you do not have this album, pick it up now.

Common's Resurrection is not only on of the top 10 hip hop albums of the decade, but one of the greatest of all time. In each song, Common intricately details every aspect of his life in precise lyrics surrounded bu lush musical sounscapes. As soon as the album opens with the title track, Common displays his flow and range as an MC. He uses clever rhymes and beautiful descriptions in talking about life, Chicago, love and most of all, hip hop. "I Used to Love H.E.R." is maybe the greatest song about hip hop and the love for it that Common has. At the time of the album's release, the hip hop industry was full of violent and aggressive music. Wu Tang Clan was riding on the success of their debut and Dr. Dre was blazing over radios all over the country. Common's cd provides an alternative, someone who can talk about his true emotions and express them with love and conviction. Common's lyrics are extremely well-backed by producer No ID, who provides beats that make your head nod and complement Common's lyrics perfectly. Only more icing is added onto the cake with the addition of the superb Mista Sinista adding the scratches to each song. Every song is perfect, the beats, the rhymes, the cuts and the raw emotion that goes into every track. Common is the rare mc who not only flows so well, but talks about so much. He is a true poet and philosopher, one who can command everyone's attention. Resurrection is a classic hip hop album and a testament to the life and love of Common.

Every single person who listens to hip hop at all and in any form should absolutely get this CD. This one is in my top ten favotite hip hop albums ever. A seminal classic on par with Tribe's "Midnight Marauders", De La's "3 Ft..." and Nas's "Illmatic." This album sparked much of the conscious hip hop that has been released in the last ten years. Take Back Star as a prime example. This is one of those records that will always be remembered as a timeless hip hop classic. This album is to hip hop what Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue" is to jazz...or some other silly analogy which currently eludes me. I don't even have the words to describe how masterful this record is. If you don't own it, you're sleeping. PERIOD. So come correct, I'm flossin' and cold, cold lampin' (Just kidding).