Run Dmc [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Run D.M.C. | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 1, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Arista
• ASIN: B00000J7IO
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,219 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #29 in Music > Rap & Hip-Hop > Old School

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The electronic boom-and-clank that marked Run-D.M.C.'s 1983 debut single, "It's Like That," expanded to album length early the next year. Still one of the genre's most entertaining long-players--and undergoing something of a renaissance thanks to Jason Nevins's remix of "It's Like That"--Run-D.M.C. showcased two rambunctious voices working at the top of their game (and their lungs), finishing each other's sentences and laying waste to sucker MCs, all over a minimal pulse: the sound of the first new school of hip-hop. Some peaks: Rock Box, a fierce introduction to their rock/rap fusion, and "Wake Up," a fantasy in which Ronald Reagan is spotted at a concert by our heroes. It was a dream, they admitted. But Run, D.M.C., and turntable king Jam Master Jay took it to the world. --Rickey Wright

Product Description

Repackaged digipak reissue of 1984 groundbreaking debut album featuring extensive sleeve notes & rare photos. Nine tracks including 'It's Like That', 'Sucker M.C.'s', 'Hard Times' & Rock Box. Arista. 2003. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best Albums Ever Recorded in any Genre, July 14, 2000

By 

Gregory Bravo (Buffalo, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Run Dmc (Audio CD)

This is one of those rare albums that not only started a true music revolution, but has stood the test of time as one of the greatest albums ever recorded. That is a bold statement, and I don't make it lightly given all the great music (both rap and otherwise) that has been recorded over the last 100 years.

What makes this album so great? Let me see if I can help you understand that.

First, of course, there is the pure genius of innovation. Sure, there was the Sugarhill Gang, and even that Blondie song before "Run-DMC," but they were just preparing the way for the true "Kings of Rock." From the first cut ("Hard Times,") with it's spare, unadorned beats and lyrical flow, in such contrast to the full disco/band rapping of the Sugarhill Gang and others of that time, through the live, powerful guitar of "Rock Box," through the scratching wizardry of "Jam-Master Jay" and "Jay's Game" (an underappreciated mix,) and the urban story songs "It's Like That" and "Wake Up," to the suble comedy of "30 Days," we see innovation in every cut. Before "scratching" and "DJ-ing" became "MTV Beach Party" staples, these guys were doing it/inventing it on the streets of Hollis, Queens. If you listen to any current MTV fare, you can hear straight flow from this album appropriated by such artists as Kid Rock and Everclear; if you ever see kids wearing shell-toe Adidas, you can thank Run-DMC. They started a music revolution and a cultural revolution with this album.

Besides the technical innovations, though, the MESSAGES on the album are as innovative as the flow, and, for me, make this one of the truly great albums. They rap about the grit of the streets, but always in a way that provides hope to the listener. From "Hard Times": "Hard Times are coming to your town, stay alert, don't let them get you down... B-B-B Beatin' Hard Times, that is my theme. Hard Times in life, hard times in death, I'm gonna keep on fighting til my very last breath." From "It's Like That": "When you really think about it, times aren't that bad... stop playing, start praying, you won't be sad."

One of the greatest disappointments that I've had is that, unfortunately, Run-DMC are no longer innovators, nor even very good. Everything went downhill after "Raising Hell," and for the very reasons that make "Run-DMC" a seminal album. They fell under the influence of sampling, gangster rap, and the negative vibe. Run-DMC, on some of the later albums, even had the gall to sample themselves! Sampling is not innovation. I loved "Darryl and Joe" the first time, but not the second, third, and fourth times, chopped up into bits on their later albums! The positive vibe dropped in most of the albums after "Raising Hell," with the N-word coming in again and again (among others) in an attempt, I guess, to show they were "hard." Finally, the low point in the history of Run-DMC: The latest video with Run and the WWF Wrestling Crew destroying cars with baseball bats.

Hey Darryl and Joe: Whatever happened to "Live Positive Forever and Ever"???

Despite all the mistakes they've made since, losing their original vision and being influenced by the negative vibe, Run-DMC still made one of the greatest albums of all time in "Run-DMC".

Buy it today to hear what great was.

Sigh in disgust at what might have been.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The impact this record had on hip-hop is undeniable!, January 2, 2000

By 

Tyfoon - See all my reviews

This review is from: Run Dmc (Audio CD)

There were three records that changed hip-hop forever. Those records were Public Enemy's "It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back", NWA's "Straight Outta Compton" and Run-DMC's self-entitled debut. The 12-inch "Sucker MC's" was a revolutionary song and a major breakthrough. Before Run-DMC, hip-hop had only been straight party-music, but when "Sucker MC's" arrived, all you heard was two voices and a drum, squashing wack rappers at the spot. Run-DMC was hip-hop's first supergroup, and they were straight ripping it. If there was only three records that deserved 5 stars, then it would be the three mentioned above.

CLASSIC!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars hail to the king, December 7, 2004

By 

liveon14887 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Run Dmc (Audio CD)

Gold chains, Kangols and leather jackets, Run DMC made it very clear that they were not into the style of space odyssey like Afrika Bambaataa or the street-glam fashion of Grandmaster Flash. Nor did these Hollis crew kids buy into the early hip-hop/rap chemistry that stressed 12-inch singles over full lengthed albums.

Run DMC's Run DMC is easily and simply hip-hop's first classic album. It set the stylistic and musical proocedure for future rap releases. The ruthless but classic Sucker MC's became a shocking revolution during hip-hop's earlier years while Rock Box was the first ever hip-hop track to feature guitars over hip-hop tracks.

Both Run and DMC had ruthless and tough-minded lyrics that were very versatile, whether it was reporting harsh realities of life (Hard Times) or hailing their DJ as the world's best (Jam Master Jay). But this was only the beginning for the three kids, who would soon turn into living legends, in reality and mentally.

R.I.P. Jam Master Jay, your presence is truly missed by the many.