Take a Look Over Your Shoulder [ENHANCED] [EXPLICIT LYRICS]

Warren G

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 25, 1997)
• Original Release Date: March 25, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced, Explicit Lyrics
• Label: Def Jam
• ASIN: B0000024MZ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #127,083 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Of all the L.A. postgangstas, Warren G's probably the most pop-oriented and least hip-hop-committed. As with his sharp, multiplatinum debut Regulate...G Funk Era, his follow-up, Take a Look over Your Shoulder, is hardly concerned with rapping at all. It's such an afterthought, in fact, that he's happy doling out verses to unknown rhymers like K-9, Malik, and Knee-Hi--or better yet, to R&B crooners like Nanci Fletcher or Nate Dogg (the voice behind his huge hit "Regulate")--even if it means sublimating his own voice in the process.

But like his brother, Dr. Dre, Warren is a rapper only by circumstance and a producer by passion. His personality comes through in ultraslick funk-enhanced rewrites of familiar, road-tested tunes: The Isley Brothers' "Cooling Me Out" becomes Warren's "Smoking Me Out," and Marley-by-way-of-Clapton's "I Shot the Sheriff" becomes Take a Look's terrific first single. It might make Warren and crew the world's richest cover band if only he weren't so good at rethinking grooves and repackaging oldies as pop gems for the '90s. If the entire album were as tight and tuneful as the standouts (those mentioned, plus Nate's showcase "Annie Mae"), Take a Look would be a masterpiece. As it stands, Warren's still a great pop singles artist. And with his new record going light on the gangsta tales, that's apparently all he's aiming for. --Roni Sarig

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Long Beach G-Funk; essential summertime listening., April 18, 2000

By	Mr.Hip-Hop (The Land Where Hip-Hop And Jazz Live.) - See all my reviews

Warren G's sophomore album Take A Look Over Your Shoulder is one of hip-hop's greatest albums. This fun and interesting album has it all: bouncing party beats, the thoughtful lyrics, and that great G-Funk style and flavor. The songs are all touched with sun-soaked keyboards, and most notably the great guitar in many of the songs. The innovative styles and rapping on this album are breezy and laid-back, which is definitely Warren's style. In my mind, he is the true originator of G-Funk production, not Dr. Dre or Big Hutch, and Daz Dillinger would be G-Funk's greatest innovator. Warren also is a great rapper, his lyrics are comical and thoughtful at the same time. This was Warren's first album to be released on his new label, G-Funk Recordings, and this album has excellent guests as well. Nate Dogg, Ron Isley, Jayo Felony, Mr. Malik, The Five Footaz, The Twinz, Reel Tight, and Erick Sermon, plus many others. These guests fit well with Warren's beautiful beats.

Highlights on this album include "Annie Mae", a great duet with Nate Dogg, which will remind many of Warren's hit "Regulate", because it once again has Warren and Nate trading lines. This time though, it's about a girl named Annie Mae, and Warren and Nate compliment each other well here. The second single "Smoking Me Out", features Ron Isley singing the hook for a bouncy party track. Warren puts in a very nice rap, as well as on the excellent "Reality", a laid-back track celebrating a sunset gangsta scene. On "Young Fun", Jayo Felony and Knee-Hi join Warren for a funky gangsta track about life as a kid. Even though the promotional version of "What We Go Through" features Kurupt and Daz Dillinger and was taken off of the album, the new one is an excellent track, featuring Bad A$$, Mr. Malik and Technique (who is listed on the album as Perfect) for a pretty piano-laced track. On this song, Warren disses LL Cool J, really tearing him up. Many have wondered why Warren did diss LL, and it was because LL dissed Warren on his 1995 Mr. Smith LP. "We Brings Heat" is a nice track that features The Five Footaz and The Twinz, and is very good though Warren's beat sounds kind of like West Coast Mobb Deep (if one can picture that), it's still a great beat. "Transformers" is another nice keyboard-laced track, extremely nice laid-back track with a vocoder chorus. My favorite is "Relax Your Mind", which features Reel Tight singing the chorus, and a relaxing beat that really does clear your thoughts. "To All DJ's" is sure to get the party up, an extremely funky track with Mr. Malik. The first single "I Shot The Sheriff", is another one of the album's best, while the remix is included and done by Erick Sermon of EPMD, and the beat is a sample of "Strictly Business", performed by EPMD. On the European version, there is the bonus "What's Love Got To Do With It", and the song's remix. I have heard it and it's a great song, with cool guitars and lyrics. All of the tracks are good, "Back Up" is probably the album's worst, but it still is excellent.

To conclude my review, I would recommend this if you like G-Funk. If you do, it's a must.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Warren Gets The Little Brother Treatment {4.5 Stars}, January 24, 2007

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

I challenge you to name 10 producers from the west coast that were better than Warren G in the 90's. There's DJ Quik (yes, I put his name first...Dre is overrated), Dr. Dre, and...well..... While there are other notable producers that may have been just as good, like DJ Muggs, Daz, Battlecat, Sir Jinx, Bud'da, Soopafly, E-Swift (Alkaholiks), Shock G, and Johnny J (I know I've left out a ton of legendary westside beatsmiths, but I'm trying to make a point, not write a novel). I wouldn't necessarily say that any of them were BETTER than Warren Griffin III. As a matter of fact, the problem Warren G runs into most is the fact that he's so heavily slept on (his own brother, Dr. Dre, didn't take him seriously as a producer). Even the editorial reviewer of this album grabbed a pillow and took a snooze -- I noticed that Amazon has a knack for posting bogus editorial reviews, but that's another story. Anyway, I think what turned people off to Warren G is because he took 3 years off from his classic debut and a lot people expected the Regulate II LP. Instead of trying to duplicate that album, he went in a different direction (something that I actually respect people more for doing -- more "artists" should do it). The truth is, this album is off the charts. Despite being totally ignored by his label (Def Jam), this joint still had a few classics (We Brings Heat, Transformers, What We Go Through, I Shot The Sheriff (EPMD Remix), Back Up, & Smokin' Me Out) getting spins on the radio. The quality of the album kept it afloat because, trust me, there were NO promo dollars put behind it. And on top of all that, with the exception of one or two fillers, the rest of the tracks are strong.

There are a few tracks on the album that should've been left off the album. "Annie Mae" suffers from lazy production and the original version of "I Shot The Sheriff" is skip material in my book. As a matter of fact, a lot of the production is so laid back that I'd have to say that it's almost too smooth. Don't get me wrong though, the beats are still top notch. Some will tell you that Warren's rhymes aren't up to par, but the editorial review summed it up best when it said: "...like his brother, Dr. Dre, Warren is a rapper only by circumstance and a producer by passion..." With that being said, I don't really expect much from him on the lyrical tip (nor does he -- hence the abundance of guest rappers).

Take A Look Over Your Shoulder (Reality) is easily Warren G's second best album. The production is on point and the guests all do a great job of sharing the load. Warren G is a capable rapper, but the focus for me was on the beats. I recommend adding this one to the collection. Amazon is selling this for less than a buck. If that ain't a steal, I don't know what is.

Standout Tracks: Back Up Feat. K-9 & P-C, Relax Ya Mind Feat. Reel Tight, What We Go Through Feat. Mr. Malik, Perfec & Bada**, Reality, To All D.J.'s Feat. Mr. Malik, We Brings Heat Feat. The Twinz & Da Five Footaz (My Favorite), Smokin' Me Out Feat. Ron Isley, Transformers, and Young Fun Feat. Knee-Hi & Jayo Felony

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Possibly Warren's Most Underrated LP (Rating: 8 out of 10- -4.0 stars), June 5, 2007

By	Chandler "Infamous" (Atlanta (College Park), Georgia) - See all my reviews

I'm a laid back type of guy, who enjoyed laid back type of music, especially from the west coast. To me, I find a lot of Warren G.'s music to be laid back and fit my prefrence of my enjoyment, and that is why I listen to his albums. Like everyone realized, Def Jam hardly promoted any west coast artists on thier label, despite his multiplatnum debut Regulate...G Funk Era. True, this album isn't his first, but it holds it's own as well.

Like most of Warren's albums, what stands out to me is the production. It's the type of west coast production that anyone can vibe to. "We Brings Heat" is the type of west coast production that I love so much. "Transformers" carries another dope beat. A personal favorite of mine is the song "Relax Your Mind" featuring Real Tight, more of that laid back feel here.

Lyrically, Warren is still good. "Reality" and "Can You Feel It" show off his lyrical skills. The EPMD remix of "I Shot The Sheriff" is dope lyrically and production wise.

What weighs this album down for me is first the skippable tracks. I wasn't feeling the origonal version of "I Shot The Sheriff". It's not a bad job, but really don't think Warren is good at producing reggae sounding tracks, as you can see Erick Sermon did a better job remixing it, and the two tracks are side by side in comparison. Also some of the guest appearances aren't all that good as well, although others were nice.

But overall, I find "Take A Look Over Your Shoulder" to be a highly underrated LP for 1997. It sucks that Def Jam didn't push their west coast artists, and the fact that this is out of print shows how much they care about this LP. If you're a fan of west coast rap music, I recommend that you check this out. Peace.

Lyrics: A
Production: A+
Guest Appearances: B-
Musical Vibes: A+


Top 5 Favorite Tracks
1. Relax Your Mind (featuring Reel Tight) [personal favorite]
2. Reality
3. Transformers
4. We Brings Heat (featuring Da Five Footaz, The Twinz, Knee-Hi, and Ricky Harris)
5. I Shot The Sheriff (EPMD Remix)

Honorable Mention Tracks
1. Annie Mae (featuring Nate Dogg)
2. Young Fun (featuring Knee-Hi and Jayo Felony)
3. Smokin' Me Out (featuring Ronald Isley)