Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version [Explicit Lyrics]

Ol Dirty Bastard

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 28, 1995)
• Original Release Date: March 28, 1995
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics
• Label: Elektra / Wea
• ASIN: B000002HFU
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (84 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #12,245 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Return's title and various lyrics acknowledge Wu-Tang's self-built mythology, but Ol' Dirty Bastard's solo debut, like the man himself, runs on its own idiosyncratic power. Rapping forcefully and on point--mumbling, singing, allowing weird wordless sounds to escape his throat in an assertion of his right to make random noise--ODB slips from mode to mode like Marvin Gaye juxtaposing the gruff and the smooth in the same song. The production, mostly by the RZA, sets the man down in the middle of funky, shape-shifting tracks to scream for blood, shout out to the Temptations and "you other grooops!" and threaten "any MC in any 52 states." "I love that guy," ODB secret identity Russell Jones declares of his alter ego at the outset; after a listen to this disc, it's likely at least part of you will, too. --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ODB FOREVER!!!, July 26, 2001

By	Karen Robinson (california) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

ODB may not be pretty to look at, but he got some serious "disposition". And if you don't know what I'm talking about, you need to go out and buy this cd now. I used to only love his single "Shimmy shimmy ya" because it reminded me of the great Wu-tang style. Then I listened to the rest of the album and I could not believe my ears. Yes, ODB is raw, but he has so much energy and imagination. "Goin' down"(song #10) has got to be one the the greatest musical masterpieces of the 20th century. In this one song alone can you see all of ODB's genius: throat sounds, his signiture screaming, various rap styles, and his rendition of "Somewhere over the rainbow". He doesn't go at this album alone though. Method Man, the GZA and RZA(producer as well) ...make guest spots on several songs. This album will not disappoint. ODB is a true original in the hip hop community and its time he got some due respect.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Complete insanity -- BANGIN', October 25, 2001

By	Patrick G. Varine "Dubwiser Extraordinaire" (Georgetown, Delaware) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Some people are just not ready for Ol' Dirty Bastard.

NO ONE was ready for him when this album came out. They only knew him as the guy who did a little screaming and a little rapping on "Enter the 36 Chambers." Little did they know that Russell Jones would go on to become the next Clown Prince of Hip-Hop. "Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version" is bangin', offensive, noisy and hilarious all at the same time.

Almost entirely RZA-produced, the tracks on this album are unlike any other. Melodies shift and mutate into one another, sometimes changing into totally different entities. Some beats roll along; others are choppy and distorted. Similarly, Dirty's flow goes from sing-songy to balls-out roaring in seconds.

He pays homage to soul-crooners of the past on "Drunk Game (Sweet Sugar Pie)," name-checking Gladys Knight, the Temptations and Marvin Gaye while he rants and raves and practically has an orgasm mid-song. He leads insane sing-along chants in songs like the single, "Shimmy Shimmy Ya" and the BANGIN' "Brooklyn Zoo," where he lets you know, "Shame on you/When you step through to/The Ol' Dirty Bastard/BROOKLYYYYYN ZOO!"

There are plenty of great songs here. "Baby C'mon" shifts from hardcore and grimy to a slick bass loop midway through, and "The Stomp" is just what its title suggests: a hardcore, concrete-breaking beat and some typical Ol' Dirtyisms: "Baby girl/Tell me why, tell me so/I ask you to go hiiiigh, you ask me to go low/So I go low/*SLURRRRP*/Taste the sheeeeit/*SLURRRRP*/Taste it again, I like it!" ...what do you say about lyrics like that??

Some of the best songs pair Dirty with fellow Clan members, however. On the nasty "Damage," ODB mixes it up with Raekwon and Method Man. He gets with Meth again on one of my favorite tracks, the short and low-key "Dirty Dancin'." And he teams up with the RZA on the "Clan In Da Front"-in-reverse, "Cuttin' Headz," tag-teaming some great lines with the Clan's uber-producer.

There are a couple of low moments, where either the production could use a little shoring up, but for the most part, "Return to the 36 Chambers" is an off-kilter, offensive, chauvinistic, mysogynistic, hilarious album, and well worth your money if you like hip-hop, comedy and skills.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ol' Dirty Bastard was everything today's rappers aren't -, December 14, 2005

By	Crisis - See all my reviews

- real.

This album is a classic, hands down. From the pure funkiness of "Shimmy Shimmy Ya," which you'll find yourself singing along with each listen, to the hardcore vibe of "Raw Hide," this album delivers exactly what you'd want and expect from Dirt Dawg: lyrics so bizarre, and incoherrent, that they're more complicated than most you'll ever read or here.

This is ODB at his best, no doubt. This is an undisputed classic, and one of the greatest albums to ever come from the Wu-Tang's camp of artists. ODB will forever live on through his music, and in hip-hop fans hearts around the nation. If you don't have this album yet, please, do yourself a favor, and purchase it. You won't regret it.