REVIEW: ANTHOLOGY: A DECADE OF HITS 1988-1998
The few of us who know the Dream Warriors material well know that they are the
greatest hip-hop group in Canadian history. Everyone else that doesn't should
pick up this CD and see if they don't agree after they are finished listening
to it.
"Anthology" covers the first ten years of the group (which is comprised of King
Lu, Capitol Q, and also featured Spek and DJ Luv in the mid-ninetees), and is
as good a listen as any hip-hop greatest hits package that is out there today.
Featuring a total of 17 tracks, the album is comprised of 3 from "And Now The
Legacy Begins", 5 each from "Subliminal Simulation" and "The Master Plan", 2
new tracks, and 2 remixes. And in spite of having just 3 albums from which
to choose the material for this compolation, it never lets up. The tracks go
in chronological order, which gives listeners the pleasure of hearing the Warriors
light early sounds with obscure jazz samples evolve on to their current heavily
experimental electronic sound.
The song that put the Warriors on the map, "My Definition Of A Boombastic Jazz
Style", kicks off the album (while a nicely-done remix of the joint by Young
Disciples closes it out), and flows into the next two tracks, "Wash Your Face
In My Sink" and "Ludi", which defined the Warriors style of 1991: a bizarre
sound with bizarre lyrics that always meant more than they said, creating a
sound that was loved in the clubs and by critics alike.
The Warriors next passage of time, 1994, was marked by the addition of members
Spek and Luv, and saw them create some of the illest jazzy tracks of that period,
while continuing to puncuate the beat with their poinent lyrics. The sound
was far more polised than their earlier material, and it was a re-invention
of sorts, well at the same time remaining perfeclty Dream Warriors. Guest apperances
by Digable Planets (on "Tricycles and Kittens") and Gangstarr (Guru on "I've
Lost My Ignornace and Primo on "It's A Project Thing") were far more appropriate
and iller than the token guest apperances that litter rap albums today. Also
of note is one of my all-time favs, "Day In Day Out".
When 1996 arrived, the Warriors had evolved yet again, this time into a well-oiled
unit with smooth love jams backed with equally smooth r&b beats. Well the 5
songs from this time period mark the closest the Warriors ever got to becoming
a "hip-pop" group, it still proves to be relevant hip-hop better than 95% of
everything else out there. "Float On" and "What Do You Want Ladies" are a couple
of guilty pleasures, with the Warriors bringing their own take on the love/sex
rap song. Meanwhile, they continuied to pave roads in other directions of the
hip-hop universe, also doing a rap/reggae collabo with Beenie Man: the suprisingly
good and aptly-titled "Sound Clash".
Now as the new millenium arrives, the Dream Warriors are once again the original
duo of Q and Lu, and appeared to have re-captured their essence and spirit of
what it meant to be a Dream Warrior in the beginning. After flirting with becoming
a more predictable and simpler group, the two new tracks on the album, "Dreamwarriors.com"
and "U Ready" are totally what you're not expecting, which could very well be
what you're expecting. As they were in 1991, the Warriors are now once again
steps ahead of the game, with complex, electronic, speaced-out beats and lyrics
that leave you scratching your head. The Dream Warriors are cleary entering
the next decade as they entered the last, and hip-hop fans are the benifactors.
Without a bad track on the album, "Anthology" makes for an enjoyable listen,
but more importantly does an excellent job bringing across the feeling and transition
of the what the Dream Warriors have been since their inception. It's a blueprint
marking the master plan of one of the more creative and inventive hip-hop forces
that has ever existed. With their relatively clean lyrics, songs that are far
more thought-provoking then they are confrontational, and a well-crafted original
sound (no matter what that sound might be), the Dream Warriors have always been
everything the rest of hip-hop wasn't. And for that, I'm thankful.
9.5/10
Reviewed by Brian
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