Album: 36 Seasons
Release Date: December 9, 2014
Producers: The Revelations
Review: In 2013 Ghostface released 12 Reasons to Die, a concept album where he played a gangster named Tony Starks (again taking a name from the Marvel Comics character Iron Man), whose girlfriend double-crosses him for the DeLuca family, a rival crime outfit. The DeLucas kill him, melt his remains into 12 vinyl records and he returns as Ghostface Killah, a Punisher-type vigilante/outlaw. It's a pretty entertaining concept and makes use of great music by producer Adrian Younge.
36 Seasons follows up with a similar presentation: a concept album about Tony Starks returning to New York after a nine-year absence. His girlfriend has moved on, his neighborhood of the Stapleton Projects has turned to shit and his best friend Rog is now a police officer who asks Tony to "handle" some local crooks (their leader played by Kool G Rap). Apparently this is a different Tony Starks than on 12 Reasons to Die; Tony gets his friend Mig to help him on his mission, but Tony gets seriously wounded and has his life saved by a mysterious surgeon. Returning home (though with a mask (pictured) that he needs to breathe), Tony is arrested by the cops and while in prison realizes that his police friend set him up and is his girlfriend's new beau. Of course Tony seeks revenge, gets the girl back and saves the neighborhood.
I'll be the first to admit I'm a sucker for a concept album. My first was probably Tommy by The Who, followed by Nine Inch Nails' The Downward Spiral, David Bowie's Outside and so on. So long as the effort to tell the story pays off, I'm down with an album that you have to hear from front to back to appreciate. Having said that, I really believe that 12 Reasons to Die and 36 Seasons are quality listens. I'll get into the balance of story and music when we get to them on the Map of Shaolin, but for now here's a quick look at 36 Seasons.
It starts off with a bang on "The Battlefield," where we meet Tony Starks on his homecoming trip. Kool G Rap slays his first appearance here, as does newcomer AZ, and the music is catchy and rockin'. Kandace Springs, who plays Tony's ex Bamboo, shines on "Love Don't Live Here No More," providing sad vocals as she breaks Tony's heart.
"Here I Go Again" provides a great example of Ghost telling a story while remaining entertaining with his style of rhymes. He relays a conversation he had with his cop friend Rog:
"'We got some niggaz runnin' drugs that can't be touched
Unless you wanna handle the dirt; that would mean so much.'
I said 'I got this - message received
I'mma clean up the block like you wouldn't believe.
Call me Mr. Clean - AKA Starkiano
Nine years later slid across the Verazzanno."
Ghostface even steps back for four full tracks, letting Kool G Rap and Nems handle the brief "Loyalty," having producers The Revelations perform covers of The Persuaders' "It's a Thin Line Between Love and Hate" and Fuzz's "I Love You for All Seasons" and featuring Kandace Springs solo on "Bamboo's Lament." And that "Thin Line" cover is one of the highlights of the album, no joke. Judging by the automobile foleys in the background at the beginning, it sounds like it's meant to be a song Tony listens to on his way to take out Kool G Rap with his friend Mig (played by Shawn Wigs of the Ghostface side act The Theodore Unit).
Throughout the album, the rhymes and music stay tight - from the denouement/epiphany on "Pieces to the Puzzle" to the superhero vow of "Call My Name" ("Call my name when you need me, I'll be there quick fast in a hurry / No need to worry / The almighty GFK, the masked avenger / New York's top contender, city's defender"). There are little intermissions from the rapid-fire storytelling, which help keep the audience from getting overwhelmed by the thousands of words flying by. I'll admit I liked hearing other Wu-Tang members on 12 Reasons to Die (Cappadonna trying to warn Tony that his girl is working for the DeLucas, RZA narrating the story, etc) but the guests on 36 Seasons really do their parts justice. Kool G Rap and AZ as the crooked kingpin and Rog the cop, Shawn Wigs as the best friend, Kandace Springs as Bamboo, Pharoahe Monch as the mad doctor - it's a cast of diverse and necessary characters on an engaging and fun album.
My copy of the album - which came from Get On Down, the distributor - came with 11 bonus instrumentals and a 24-page comic-style booklet representing the album in full, which helped make a bit of sense of the story. The instrumentals give the music a great chance to shine and the comic is a good visual aid for any track on the album.
More on this beast when we come to it properly on the Map, but for now I gotta say it seems like Ghostface has found a hell of a niche in using original retro music and an acting cast of rappers to tell a comic book story. It's fun, it lends itself to some of the most ear-catching music in Ghost's solo career and tight narrative rhymes. Check it out!
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