Name: Mecca and the Soul Brother [Vinyl]
Brand: Wea Int'L
SKU: 24150319
Price: 23.78 GBP
Availability: InStock

Mecca and the Soul Brother [Vinyl]

Rating

Album: Mecca and the Soul Brother [Vinyl]
#	Song Title		Time
	Disc 1
1)	Return of the Mecca	More Info...	0:05
2)	For Pete's Sake	More Info...	0:05
3)	Ghettos of the Mind	More Info...	0:05
4)	Lots of Lovin'	More Info...	0:05
5)	Act Like You Know	More Info...	0:04
6)	Straighten It Out	More Info...	0:04
7)	Soul Brother #1	More Info...	0:04
8)	Wig Out	More Info...	0:04
9)	Anger in the Nation	More Info...	0:05
10)	They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)	More Info...	0:04

Album: Mecca and the Soul Brother [Vinyl]
#	Song Title		Time
	Disc 1
1)	Return of the Mecca	More Info...	0:05
2)	For Pete's Sake	More Info...	0:05
3)	Ghettos of the Mind	More Info...	0:05
4)	Lots of Lovin'	More Info...	0:05
5)	Act Like You Know	More Info...	0:04
6)	Straighten It Out	More Info...	0:04
7)	Soul Brother #1	More Info...	0:04
8)	Wig Out	More Info...	0:04
9)	Anger in the Nation	More Info...	0:05
10)	They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)	More Info...	0:04

Performer Notes

Engineers include: John Croslin, Jamey Staub, Chris Champion.
Recorded at Greene Street Studios, New York, New York.
It would have been hard to match the artistic success of their debut EP on a full-length recording, but Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth did just that on Mecca and the Soul Brother, and they did so in the most unlikely way of all after the succinctness of All Souled Out -- by coming up with a sprawling, nearly 80-minute-long album on which not a single song or interlude is a throwaway or a superfluous piece. Granted, 80 minutes is a long stretch of time for sustained listening, but the music is completely worthy of that time, allowing the duo to stretch out in ways that their EP rendered impossible. Again, the primary star is Pete Rock's production acumen, and he ups the ante of rock-solid drums, steady cymbal beats, smooth-rolling bass, and fatback organ, not to mention his signature horn loops. C.L. Smooth is the perfect vocal match for the music. He is maybe one of the few MCs capable of rapping a fairly credible love song, as he does on "Lots of Lovin'." "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)," a tribute to friend and Heavy D. dancer Trouble T-Roy, who was accidentally killed, packs a poignant emotional weight, but it is Smooth's more direct and conscientious -- and frequently autobiographical -- side which ultimately carries the album lyrically. The songs are connected and the album is propelled forward by Rock's quick, soul-tight interludes; these are usually bits of old R&B and soul tunes but sometimes they're spoken pieces or spontaneous, freestyle sessions. These interludes provide a sort of dense spiritual tone and resonance in the album that is not religiously based at all, but fully hip-hop based, emerging from the urban altars that are the basements and rooftops of the city. ~ Stanton Swihart

Professional Reviews

Rolling Stone (5/13/99, p.72) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90's."

Option (Nov.-Dec./92, p.135) - "...laid-back beats and meandering jazz samples surround Smooth's vocals, which are cool, textured and direct..."