1994 was tremendous, as I've said time and time again. I'm here to set the record straight with Method Man's debut album, Tical. One year after coming off of the successful and classic debut Wu-Tang album, Meth was the first to step up to the plate and release the first Wu solo album, to much hype. A lot has been said about this album, that it was weak, average, disappointing, what have you. But the bottom line (which will be addressed in The Last Word) is that this album represents Meth in his prime, representing in a way that he SHOULD'VE represented on his second album. Here's the COMPLETE review:
Album Highlights: Tical, Biscuits, Bring The Pain, All I Need, What The Blood Clot, Meth vs.Chef (listen as Meth and Rae do battle, just for fun), Release Yo Delf, I Get My Thang In Action, Stimulation, and Mr.Sandman (RZA and Inspektah Deck KILL this track) and Method Man(Remix).
Production: Thumbs up. RZA was only two releases away from his most defined production work ever is Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. RZA's production gems are Bring The Pain, Meth vs. Chef, What The Blood Clot.
Lyrics and Subject Matter: Thumbs up. This was back in the days before cars, women, clothing, jewerly, etc was the order of the day.
Originality: Thumbs up.
The Last Word: Here's the deal. Is the album a CLASSIC? In so many words yes!!!!! This album is NOT up there with the likes of Raekwon and GZA's first albums, but it's excellent in it's own right. It's an excellent first album from Meth, and it's strong enough for a four star rating. Overall, I strongly recommend this for the fans of the early Wu-Tang, back when things were original in hip hop music.