u/EEQ37

I just put on It Was Written and think that one has aged very well. What else holds up and what doesn't?

I just put on It Was Written and think that one has aged very well. What else holds up and what doesn’t?

This is based on first impressions for many of them, so I could easily see placements changing with more listens.

One thing that became obvious. Ghost has one of the most consistent catalogues in hiphop, period. I honestly don’t think he’s made a bad album. Even the lower ranked ones still have something worthwhile in them.

What was interesting was hearing the evolution in sound. You start with raw early Wu sound, him coming into his own, and then gradually hear outside influences creeping in through the 2000s. More commerical RnB influence starts showing up. Sometimes a followup album feels like a reaction to the previous one.

His voice gets deeper and dustier over time, the flow slows a bit, but it still works. He doesn’t lose the emotion. The 2010’s albums lean more into soul and mood, and it suits him well.

I also came away appreciating the later era stuff more than I expected. Even Supreme Clientele 2 which came with a huge amount of expectation is still a solid late career album.

One of the greatest in the game:

1. Supreme Clientele

2. Fishscale

3. Ironman

4. The Pretty Toney Album

5. Twelve Reasons to Die

6. Sour Soul

7. Ghost Files: Bronze Tape / Propane Tape

8. Twelve Reasons to Die II

9. Supreme Clientele 2

10. More Fish

11. Big Doe Rehab

12. 36 Seasons

13. Apollo Kids

14. Bulletproof Wallets

15. Lost Tapes

16. Ghostface Killahs

17. Czarface Meets Ghostface

18. Wu-Massacre

19. Ghostdini: Wizard of Poetry

20. Set the Tone

I’m from Australia, and on the day Wu-Tang Forever was released, my friend and I walked 6 km to our local record shop with our portable CD players. We bought the album, then walked all the way back home again, completely absorbed by it. We hardly said a word to each other. That memory has stayed with me ever since. This album is embedded in my DNA. I adore it, and the older I get, the more I continue to appreciate it.

I understand why people say it’s bloated or that the intro is too long, but I’ve never seen it that way. Since it’s a double album, the intros, skits, and atmosphere justify the length for me. It’s like when people complained about Return of the King having too many endings. The scale is part of the experience. I always play the album with no skips as though it’s an entire movie.

This is absolute top-tier Wu production. Of course Enter the Wu-Tang is considered an influential classic, but for me this is RZA at the peak of his powers. They were never quite the same after this album. The beats are just incredible, back to back. I can’t help but wonder how the rest of the Wu catalog might’ve turned out had RZA not shifted their sound so dramatically as quickly as he did.

Everyone is at the top of their game on this album spitting straight fire. For 1997, the lyrics are way ahead of their time too.

I adore this album and just wanted to share that with everyone.
Peace.

I’m getting into Ghostface’s later albums. Which of these are the stand outs?

36 Seasons
The Lost Tapes
The Ghost Filles: The Bronze Tape/Propane Tape
Czarface Meets Ghostface
Ghostface Killahs
Set the Tone (Guns & Roses)
Supreme Clientele 2