Track Listing

1. Narration - RZA
2. Wu Tang Clan Ain't Nothing To Fuck With - Wu-Tang Clan
3. Protect Ya Neck - Wu-Tang Clan
4. Shimmy Shimmy Ya - Ol' Dirty Bastard
5. Liquid Swords - GZA/Genius
6. METHOD Man - Method Man
7. Incarcerated Scarfaces - Raekwon The Chef
8. Ice Cream - Raekwon The Chef
9. Narration (2) - RZA
10. Bring The Pain - Method Man
11. Winter Warz - Ghostface Killah
12. Brooklyn Zoo - Ol' Dirty Bastard
13. All I Need - Method Man
14. Cream - Wu-Tang Clan
15. All That I Got Is You - Ghostface Killah
16. Narration (3) - RZA
17. Wu Wear The Garment Renaissance - Wu-Tang Clan

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #127725 in Music
• Released on: 2001-12-10
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics

Amazon.co.uk Review
It would be near to impossible to dispute that the Wu-Tang Clan are the most important hip-hop collective of the 1990s, something that the Clan seems determined not to let anyone forget. Although they released only two albums as a group in the decade (the ground-breaking Enter the Wu-Tang and the smash Wu-Tang Forever), there have been lots of albums from Wu members, associates, and guests galore--and none of it would have happened without the RZA, the singular producer whose stamp distinguishes the Clan. Working with soundscapes so dense that they have their own gravity, and an entire crew of gifted MCs (not to mention using pianos and strings), Robert "RZA" Diggs opened up mainstream hip-hop to a whole new sound. And he has the hits to prove it--"Ice Cream Man", "Brooklyn Zoo", "Method Man", "Protect Ya Neck", and "Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthin to F Wit". (Also check out Rahzel's version of this classic on Make the Music 2000.) Except for some pointless narration by RZA, this is the perfect intro to the Wu oeuvre--even if the pointlessly commercial "Wu Wear the Garment Renaissance" is included as a bonus track. --Randy Silver

Customer Reviews

An essential collection
Greatest Hits collections always divide opinion amongst fans, and surely no two Wu fans will agree on the final track listing. Where for example is the awesome 'Glaciers Of Ice' from Raekwon's 'Only Built For Cuban Linx' LP or 'Labels' from 'Liquid Swords' or 'Daytona 500' from 'Ironman'? The release of 'Hits' serves a dual purpose. Firstly and most importantly, it reminds long-time fans how good the Wu used to be. An unfortunate by-product of this is that it is a constant reminder of how bad they have become.

The first two tracks, 'Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing Ta F' Wit' and 'Protect Ya Neck' are two of the most essential hip hop tracks ever released. Both are lifted from the Wu's debut LP 'Enter The 36 Chambers', which is held up to be one of the finest hip hop LPs ever released. The other group track lifted from 'Enter The 36 Chambers' is unsurprisingly, 'C.R.E.A.M.'. These three tracks more than any others highlight the 'pass the mic' urgency that has been missing ever since their debut release.

Elsewhere, each of the mainstay Wu members get two album tracks included, except for some strange reason, the Gza, who's first major LP 'Liquid Swords' is regarded as perhaps the finest solo Wu release. It would've made sense to give two tracks from each album. It also seems odd that Cappadonna and Killah Priest's albums don't get a look in. 'One Step' by Killah Priest was one of the Wu's more commercially successful singles in the UK so it seems odd that it has been omitted. What is left on the collection, however, is pure quality.

ODB's two tracks hold no surprises. The first, 'Shimmy Shimmy Ya' was for a long time the essential ODB track, it's probably safe to say that 'Got Your Money' has now surpassed it in the public conscience. His other addition is 'Brooklyn Zoo' another of the stand out tracks from his wild LP '36 Chambers: The Dirty Version.' Compared to his later work ODB sounds very sober on these tracks, and he now slurs incoherently, his work on these two tracks is highly impressive.

The Raekwon tracks 'Incarcerated Scarfaces' and 'Ice Cream' hold no major surprises. 'Wu Gambino's' aside, 'Incarcerated Scarfaces' is probably the essential Raekwon track, and is a great demonstration of his rap / Mafioso patter. 'Ice Cream', meanwhile is Raekwon's salute to women. The Wu don't do romantic, this is about as close as it gets.

Method Man's signature track 'Method Man' is the fourth track lifted from 'Enter The 36 Chambers'. His other two tracks come from his solo debut 'Tical'. The inclusion of both 'Bring The Pain' and 'All I Need' should surprise nobody. It is perhaps Method Man whose style has deteriorated the most over the years - these tracks remind fans of the talent he once held.

Ghostface Killah's included tracks may cause the most controversy. 'Daytona 500' is widely regarded to be the standout track from 'Ironman'; its exclusion seems strange, certainly when the fairly bland 'Winter Warz' is included instead. 'All That I Got Is You', meanwhile, (featuring Mary J Blige) remains a touching record.

The new track 'Wu Wear' is essentially an advert for the Wu's fashion label and contains the almost subliminal chorus, "Ain't what you want baby / it's what you need baby." It isn't a very good track anyway, but it stands out as particularly poor when in such illustrious company. The notion of the Wu Tang prostituting their clothing label is a million miles away from the days when they sold CDs out of car boots to try to get a deal.

Rza's narrations serve almost as a director's commentary from a DVD, new comers to the Wu might not appreciate them, but I found some insight could be gleaned from his comments. He more than justifies each track's inclusion as well. Particularly interesting is the fact that 'Wu Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing Ta F' Wit' was originally recorded by Ghostface and Method Man and called 'Who The F' Are You?'

The lack of any tracks from 'Forever' doesn't go unnoticed, although it could simply be that a second 'Hits' collection will eventually be released containing tracks from the second round of albums. It is certain that volume two won't be anywhere near this standard. It's one of the most essential hip hop collections ever. Wu completists will want it for the unreleased track 'Wu Wear: The Garment Renaissance' which sadly is pretty poor. Anyone unfamiliar with the Wu will find 'Hits' an essential starting point for their collection. Every track on this collection (bar the last one) is as essential now as the day it was originally released.

If you like wu tang you shouldn't need this!
Don't get me wrong this is a collection of some of the greatest hip-hop tunes made, by an undisputed godfather of the genre. But if you want to hear RZA at his best buy the Wu-Tang albums, as some of the best tunes are missing from this one. Never been a fan of "greatest hits" albums, as some of the atmosphere of the album gets lost, and this is no exception. From "36 chambers" to "Iron flag" you've got classic tracks start to finish so to take just a few out is unneccesary. Die hard fans won't need this as they should have the tracks already. Newcomers will only be disappointed when they're hooked (which they undoubtedly will be), and have to duplicate the tracks again to hear more of that Wu-tang sound. Greatest hits albums are only worth getting if the rest of the material on the original albums isn't worth listening to and trust me this isn't the case with Rza, and, for that matter any of the Clan. I've got this as well as the albums and it never gets played. If your looking for an album to experience "RZA hits" start with "36 chambers" and before you know it you'll have the lot, except this one. - Dan Bunn Bring da ruckas!

a collection of the best wu songs on one album
this is a strong collection of wu tang songs, the best being the songs from raekwons "only built 4 cuban linx".the reason i liked this album so much is because it is all of the old stuff which is when i think wu tang were strongest by the way of beats and rhymes. the best example of this is probably liquid swords by the genis/gza, who in my opinion is the best mc in wu tang. but to get the best of this group yopu really must buy their first album and all the solo efforts as they are probably the best hip-hop act out there.