Customer Reviews

Revolverlution

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

 

 

You know how so many rap media outlets complain how the best album never get enough airplay or sales. Stuff like Rawkus etc, overrated stuff.

Public Enemy is facing the same problem. It's latest album Revolverlution is full of floor-shaking beats and varied production that gives the groups still on point MC the perfect sonic background to drop some knowledge.

Problem is...does anyone care anymore?
Record companies have mega-selling rappers like Nelly (bless him, he's entertaining), Eminem, Dre, Red and Meth,Kurupt etc.
They dont need to deal with the always explosive Chuck D and his views anymore or with Public Enemy's crew for that matter.

Songs like " 5 4 3 2 1 Boom" and "Son of a Bush" feature superb production up there with the best of them. Over booming, classic
PE beats the crew drops political commentary but doesnt forget that the music needs to entertain as well. it certainly gets your adrenaline flowing just like hearing "Fight The Power" did.

The oft forgotten art of Deejaying has always been prominently featured on PE's albums. Personally, I really miss the scratching and other DJ techniques which were all over old skool rap albums. Terminator X blesses "Revolverlution" with some superb scratches, especially in the choruses. The afore-mentoned cut "5 4 3 2 1 Boom" is extremely catchy. As you'd expect it's not just about [RUMP]-shaking beats but the message as well. Chuck rips into the Bush family as well as various "black"-owned radio stations and record companies. Vitriol from an man no longer creating massive albums sales? No, definitely not. Chuck D doesnt need to do that, he does actually have something say as does Flavor Flav. All songs contain strong lyricism even if some of the topics are old and we've heard the social commentary before.

Besides 8 new songs, there are four remixes of old PE classics like "Shut'em Down". These have been done by artists around the world who were able to take part in a remixing contest at Public Enemy's website. Most of the mixes are quickly forgotte, but it's the few live tracks like an amazingly poignant "Fight The POwer" that are the highlights beside the eight new cuts.

Is this going to get you in a party mood like Dre or Nelly...probably not, but it's going to make you think while it's entertaining the hell out of you. Not an easy feat.

Where have the Public Enemys and the BDPs gone? They've all been buried by an industry that prefers to push music that seeks to destroy, not uplift, a culture. Revolverloution is not a full length album of new material but one song off this cd is worth an entire album of PDiddy/Eminem/YingYang nonsense. This is the root of Hip-Hop, an art form whose goal was to uplift and empower people. When Chuck D raps about the current state of our society, he is keenly aware of where we are and where we have come from. Only the Definitive Jux crew come close to Chuck these days in the power and message of their music, a testament to the sorry state of current pop music. The jams on this album are tight and the message is as clear as it was in '89. Few other rappers are actually standing up for truth in Hip-Hop and PE is back in full effect, Boyee!

I'll be the first to admit that I really wasn't looking forward to this record at all. Their last few albums were some of the most boring hiphop I had heard in a long, long time and it appears that the glory days of records like "It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back" and "Fear Of A Black Planet" were entirely over. I also wasn't to big on the idea of PE allowing unknown producers to remix some of their classics tracks, but I did think the idea could work.

At first listen I really didn't dig "Revolverlution" as it really didn't seem to have a place within the group's amazing discogrpahy, however upon second listen I began to get it. This isn't supposed to be a continuation of the PE mentality, but rather a rewriting of it for all those who live under the current Bush administration. Harking back to the days of Reagan you could understand where something like "It Takes A Nation Of Million..." would come from, the same with "Fear Of A Black Planet" ...

... In 2002, PE remains as important as they did in 1988.

Highly recommended.

I like this album. Its got a nice mix of old and new material. Along with some live material. Great to see PE still at it in this ever changing rap game.

First of all, I love Public Enemy; everything about them, from their old-school "throw your hands up in the air" verse styles to their often "so silly it's cool" verbalisms involving Flava Flav. I like how they consistently prove (and "Revolverlution" is no exception) that hip-hop is no top-40 radio gimmick -- that it can and indeed should have a message about the Black community that doesn't involve "pimpin" and driving fancy cars or selling drugs and pseudo (we hear that "pseudo" prefix a lot!) gangsterisms.

This album proves that P.E. still are relevant even though many of the trends in rap (and rap should have never become a suburban trend to begin with) have left them behind in favor of all that G-unit/cash money crud we hear on the radio now.

Honestly, I never believed that any of the members Public Enemy were especially talented lyricists, where you'll hear a verse and think "oh, dayummm..." but their lyrics are always meaningful and insightful and they make the listener think, as opposed to, say, the lyrics of Nelly where you just interpret them and think "boy, this guy is pretty dumb."

If this album were just a five song EP or a relatively short LP weighing in at 7-9 tracks or so, it would join the admittedly small pantheon of other relevant rap albums to come out within the last decade (the decade of frivolous "bling"), but it is needlessly weighed down by inferior remixes of older songs that are better presented elsewhere. I am reminded of that Oingo Boingo "greatest hits" album (Oingo Boingo are that new-wave pop act who wrote "Dead Man's Party") where instead of including all the studio versions of their hits, they decided to re-record everything and the whole album was just crummy. P.E. shouldn't have included "Fight the Power" (live) among others in this album because it just doesn't sound as good as the album version that came out several years earlier. I woould buy a live P.E. album but when I get the studio albums I'd prefer all-new material. It's their choice what to include in their albums, of course, but it just didn't go over well with me.

I say, get this album for "Son of a Bush," which, although it has some things I disagree with a little bit, it's still tremendously entertaining. Plus, the way Flava Flav says "he's the son of'a baaaad man!" over and over again is as cool as it is ironically adorable.

This odds-and-sods jumble--containing a few live cuts and even some old tunes remixed by fans via the Internet--looks more like a cash-in compilation than a legendary group's latest album. Yet while it's been a long time since Public Enemy's world-beating heyday, the grooves here prove Chuck D and Flavor Flav can bring the noise of old.

The Bomb Squad is long gone, but their trademark squeals and metallic crunch remain, animating grinding new tunes like the title track and "Son Of A Bush," as well as a respectably reworked quartet of classics. And Chuck D is still one of hip-hop's two or three most commanding MCs, even when the new songs--and his own paranoid musings--don't measure up to his mic presence. Fingering the Illuminati and Trilateral Commission on "Son Of A Bush," and pairing with fellow Bush-hater Paris on the remix of "Gotta Give The Peeps What They Need," he sounds more like longtime partner/professional conspiracy theorist Professor Griff. But Revolverlution's claims are only half the point; Public Enemy couldn't exist without a power to fight, and the sound of their struggle is as compelling as ever.

The new music on this album is phenomenal. Public Enemy are once again bringing the noise like they did during their 87-91 era. The amazing patchwork of sounds they have pieced together to make each track is stunning and reminiscent of the Bomb Squad's early work.

I have only two complaints. The remixes do not resonate with me at all and I do not feel they really blend with the overall aural sensation of the album (the five stars are for the new stuff). My other complaint is that there is just not enough new stuff! I keep playing these tracks over and over because I cannot get enough. I hope that Chuck decides to release an ep towards the end of the year to sate my appetite.

Overall, I am pleased with my purchase and I love the raw hunger and emotion that comes across in this work. "Son of a Bush" reminds me of the rage eminating from earlier classics such as "By the time I get to Arizona" and "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos". And the Flavor Flav track is probably the best he has ever done. Prof. Griff also represents with "Now a Daze" although I do miss his clever end-of-album spoken word.

Great job Chuck and thanks for signing my copy!

If you're going on original material, this is five stars without a question, a no-doubter that PE is in still in full effect. Obviously true from the opening track, "Give the Peeps What They Need," with Chuck's no-nonsense statement on the place we're in right now. The rest of the new stuff is equally good, from the timely "Son of a Bush" to the powerful "Now a Daze," and "Pesa #1" to the "ghetto metal" of "What Good Is a Bomb."

Drawbacks? Flavor Flav could have a stronger presence on the album, but that's a minor quibble. The bigger one is the heavy presence of remixes and live performances. We want all the new PE material we can get! Come on, Chuck. One original from you is worth three remixes. Besides, the live "Fight the Power" and "By the Time I Get to Arizona" are not upgrades over what we already have on CD. And do we need the four-way babble of "Burn Hollywood Burn"? Nope. I'll just go to "Fear of a Black Planet."

Still, this is far better than most stuff out there, and anything from PE is worth listening to. A good addition to the PE list.

Ok, at long last Public Enemy has finally let me down by allowing a bunch of sub-par average, non-innovative, non-avent guard, DJ's mix there stuff up. Even DJ Spookie's mix was not that grand. Everything sounds like beats that I discovered in the early 90's.

On the other hand, this album is only a couple bucks used, so I would HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY suggest buying it if only for 54321 BOOM which is perhaps one of the best PE tracks ever to come out! Not only are the beats right on, but the lyrics are some of the hardest I've heard yet!


And for the note, my review has nothing to do with me not being flexable to change of sound. Infact I LOVE the new PE (Whirl Odor) even though it has club friendly sounds, mainly for the fact that they are not your mere average club beats (they are very multi-layered) and of course the lyrics once again only get harder and harder and harder, and more direct and to the point as we aproach the last times of this world(lyness).

This is among the best albums of 2002---

Taking a cue from GREATEST MISSES, Public Enemy offers a combination of new studio recordings, remixes, studio outtakes, and live concert recordings for a dynamic package!

The REMIXES were all done through an internet-driven fan contest, where the winners were selected from all over the world! They mangle and mix genres from house, UK techno, ambient, drum & bass, & more---

The new band cuts flaunt a new ROCK-FUNK sound, bolstered by live instruments provided by THE SEVENTH OCTAVE, a new band fronted by PROFESSOR GRIFF---

The LIVE cuts are culled from 15-years worth of touring by the band--- Public Enemy were among the few rap acts to cultivate a world-wide audience from the beginning---

Best cuts are:
SON OF A BUSH
REVOLVERLUTION
GIVE THE PEEPS remix with PARIS
WHAT GOOD IS A BOMB
BY THE TIME I GET TO ARIZONA

Be on deck when the next, ALL-LIVE Public Enemy album drops, also, THE SEVENTH OCTAVE is coming soon!