Album: The Pretty Toney Album
Release Date: April 20, 2004
Producers: Various
Review: Ironman and Supreme Clientele both absolutely killed and Bulletproof Wallets was - at the very least - a good album. The Pretty Toney Album is Ghostface's fourth solo record in under eight years. He's long since become the most prolific Wu general with a solo career, currently clocking in at 10 albums with an 11th on the way in 2015. But turning out nearly a dozen albums in under 20 years doesn't mean anything if they're not good, so the question remains: is Pretty Toney a quality record?
Short answer: Yes. Yes it is.
To date, my least favorite Ghost records have been Big Doe Rehab and Ghostdini: The Wizard of Emerald City - and that's not to say they're ostensibly awful albums; they just don't grab me the way some others do. On the other hand, it wouldn't do Pretty Toney justice to simply say it's a pass or a fail; let's take a look at some of the individual tracks.
Opener "Biscuits" reminds me of one of my favorite things about Ghostface Killah. Regardless of who's producing, he still finds the old-school soul-inspired music over which to rhyme. Here it's True Master with syrupy horns and piano dipped in the 1970s providing the backdrop for comfortable verses by Ghost and Trife. This immeasurably entertaining music permeates much of the rest of the record: "Beat the Clock," "Save Me Dear" and more sound like that perfect mixture of classic black cinema andthe tried-and-true Wu-Tang sound.
"Metal Lungies" is an interesting track because it's killer on its own but, as a huge fan of Masta Killa, I really love the alternate version that appears on his mix Masta Killa Presents: The Next Chamber, with Ghost's verse and one by MK (lifting a couple lines off his verse from his solo record track "Whatever") replacing the appearances by the admittedly competent Sheek Louch and Styles P.
Truth be told, I could do without "Tush." That's not a judgment on Missy Elliott; it just lacks the fire that the first half of the album brings. The lyrics are little to write home about either ("You wanna get up in my tush, tush, tush? You could slide in the bush bush bush" and "If you ain't slurpin' you're better off jerkin'"). It and "Last Night" are just a six-minute lull before things kick back in with "Holla," a Ghostface-produced track that brilliantly samples The Delfonics to keep the feel of the album alive.
By the time the album nears its end with "Be This Way" and "Tooken Back," it should be apparent that Pretty Toney is just a pleasure to listen to. It may lack a little of the lyrical finesse of Supreme Clientele that makes you stop what you're doing and listen on repeat in awe, but Ghost never turns in a rusty verse throughout this solid 49 minutes of rap. It ends with a bang on "Run" and settles down with the end credits-esque "Love," which may as well be somebody saying "See? I told you so. Wu-Tang is forever, motherfuckers." It's just that enjoyable.
Legacy: I got really heavy into Ghostface a year or two after this, with the seemingly back-to-back releases of Fishscale and More Fish (which are coming soon on the Map), so it's interesting to see him hammer out his distinct style on Supreme Clientele and Pretty Toney before breaking into those. Supreme Clientele is probably Ghost's best in his portfolio, though I'd rank 12 Reasons to Die a close second. Even still, despite those highlights, Pretty Toney is a quality listen - especially musically. It also comes just before Method Man's Tical 0: The Prequel, which is - I'm sorry Meth - a terrible album, so it's good to see GFK holding down the fort before Meth's least impressive album.
Recommended Tracks: Metal Lungies, Biscuits, Run.
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