| Liquid Swords | |||||
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| Studio album by Genius/GZA | |||||
| Released | November 7, 1995 | ||||
| Recorded | 1994-1995 | ||||
| Genre | Hip hop, East Coast hip hop | ||||
| Length | 55:17 | ||||
| Label | Geffen/MCA Records GEFD-24813 |
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| Producer | RZA 4th Disciple |
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| Professional reviews | |||||
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| Genius/GZA chronology | |||||
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Liquid Swords is a solo album by Wu-Tang Clan member GZA, widely regarded as a masterpiece of the East Coast hip hop renaissance. It was released on November 7, 1995 through Geffen Records.
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Overview
Though the album was credited to GZA alone, there are numerous guest appearances from the entire Wu-Tang Clan, like all their earlier solo albums. Liquid Swords is characteristic of the Wu-Tang Clan in its minimalist, menacing and ominous beats by producer RZA, and its cinematic themes relating to Asian cinema, particularly Samurai cinema. GZA also covers many themes, such as chess, crime and philosophy. The album begins with a monologue from a little boy; his monologue, and many of the other skits scattered throughout the album, are from the cult film Shogun Assassin. These samples, along with eerie beats gives Liquid Swords a distinctive, creepy, unsettling sound, proving influential to many subsequent East Coast hip hop artists.
Cover Art
The album is also known for its distinctive cover, designed by DC-Milestone comic book artist Denys Cowan who was commissioned by Garfield, an avid comic book fan under the auspices of GZA Graphics, a subsidiary company of GZA Entertainment owned by Genius and Garfield. The concept of the chessboard with its sword-wielding warriors was conceived by Genius, an avid chess player. The Genius version of the Wu-Tang Clan logo, the "G" using the logo iconography, was rendered by Wu-Tang Clan DJ Mathematics.
Videos
Genius also enjoyed a successful side career as a music video director, and with Garfield as writer and producer, created all four videos for the Liquid Swords album ("Liquid Swords", "Cold World", "Shadowboxin'/4th Chamber","I Gotcha Back"), and also did videos for Sunz of Man, Ghostface Killah's song on the Sunset Park film soundtrack, Shabazz the Disciple (Penalty Records) and Case (Def Jam). The Source magazine recognized their video "Shadowboxin'/4th Chamber" as one of the Top Five Videos of 1995.
Reception
Critical response was almost universally positive. Steve Huey of All Music Guide remarked that Liquid Swords is often referred to as "the best Wu-Tang solo project of all" and "Liquid Swords cemented the Genius/GZA's reputation as the best pure lyricist in the group -- and one of the best of the '90s."[1] Steve Juon of RapReviews.com wrote that Liquid Swords was "the purest representation of the Wu-Tang sound and style at a time when they truly reigned over all others in hip-hop in the mid-90's". [11] Liquid Swords is ranked #1 for the year 1995 on RateYourMusic.com, its currently the second-highest rated Hip Hop album of all time on the site, behind only the Clan's Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).[12] The public and critical reception was so positive that the album's marketing campaign for its November 1995 release read "Finally...In the Year of the Wu" to commemorate an astounding year-long run of hit Wu-Tang Clan solo albums. In 1998, Liquid Swords was named as one of rap magazine The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums. Chris Rock ranked Liquid Swords 13th on his list of the Top 25 Hip-Hop Albums ever [13], but in one of his concerts, he said that is one of his top 3 favorite albums.
Trivia
- The album was performed in its entirety in July 13 2007 at the Pitchfork Music Festival and again in England, on December 09 at All Tomorrows Parties and on December 10 at KOKO (venue) in London. After the cancellation of an appearance in Brooklyn, New York, the performance was rescheduled for December 13 and 14 at the Knitting Factory in New York.
- In the film The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Cal, played by Seth Rogen can be seen wearing an iron-on Liquid Swords shirt.
- "I Gotcha' Back" can be heard in the film Smokin' Aces [14] and is featured in the movie's soundtrack.
Track listing
- All songs produced by RZA unless otherwise noted.
| # | Title | Time | Performer(s) | Sample(s) |
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| 1 | "Liquid Swords" | 4:31 |
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| 2 | "Duel of the Iron Mic" | 4:06 |
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| 3 | "Living in the World Today" | 4:23 |
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| 4 | "Gold" | 3:57 |
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| 5 | "Cold World" | 5:31 |
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| 6 | "Labels" | 2:54 |
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| 7 | "4th Chamber" | 4:37 |
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| 8 | "Shadowboxin'" | 3:30 |
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| 9 | "Hell's Wind Staff/Killah Hills 10304" | 5:09 |
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| 10 | "Investigative Reports" | 3:50 |
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| 11 | "Swordsman" | 3:21 |
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| 12 | "I Gotcha' Back" | 5:01 |
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| 13 | "B.I.B.L.E. (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth)" | 4:33 |
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Personnel
- Raekwon the Chef - Performer
- Ghostface Killah - Performer
- Method Man - Performer
- Mark A. Humphrey - Photography
- GZA - Performer
- U-God - Performer
- Killah Priest - Performer
- Dreddy Kruger - Performer
- RZA - Producer & Performer
- ODB - Performer
- Masta Killa - Performer
- Inspectah Deck - Performer
Album chart positions
| Year | Album | Chart positions | ||
| Billboard 200 | Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums | |||
| 1995 | Liquid Swords | #9 | #2 | |
Singles chart positions
| Year | Song | Chart positions | |||
| Billboard Hot 100 | Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | Hot Rap Singles | Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales | ||
| 1994 | "I Gotcha Back" | - | - | #29 | #39 |
| 1995 | "Cold World" | #97 | #57 | #8 | #8 |
| 1995 | "Liquid Swords" | #48 | #33 | #3 | #2 |
| 1995 | "Shadowboxin'" | #67 | #41 | #10 | #9 |
References
- ^ a b Huey, Steve. Liquid Swords > Overview. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2007-12-03.
- ^ http://www.buy.com/retail/proreviews/product.asp?sku=60010370&loc=109&PageFormat=7 source
- ^ http://www.buy.com/retail/proreviews/product.asp?sku=60010370&loc=109&PageFormat=7 source
- ^ Juon, Steve. Genius/GZA :: Liquid Swords :: Geffen Records. Rap Reviews. Retrieved on 2007-12-03.
- ^ http://www.buy.com/retail/proreviews/product.asp?sku=60010370&loc=109&PageFormat=7 source
- ^ http://www.buy.com/retail/proreviews/product.asp?sku=60010370&loc=109&PageFormat=7 source
- ^ http://www.q4music.com/nav?page=q4music.review.redirect&fixture_review=127268&resource=127268&fixture_artist=142388 October 2000
- ^ http://www.buy.com/retail/proreviews/product.asp?sku=60010370&loc=109&PageFormat=7 source
- ^ http://stylusmagazine.com/articles/on_second_thought/gza-liquid-swords.htm link
- ^ http://www.buy.com/retail/proreviews/product.asp?sku=60010370&loc=109&PageFormat=7 source
- ^ http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/BTTL_liquidswords.html
- ^ http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/genius___gza/liquid_swords/
- ^ http://rateyourmusic.com/list/tha_flu/chris_rocks_top_25_hip_hop_albums
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGj1VGBMJ2g
