Track Listing

1. The Return Of Clyde Smith (Skit)
2. Shakey Dog
3. Kilo - Ghostface Killah, Raekwon
4. The Champ
5. Major Operation (Skit)
6. 9 Milli Bros - Ghostface Killah, Wu-Tang Clan
7. Beauty Jackson
8. Heart Street Directions (Skit)
9. Columbus Exchange (Skit)/ Crackspot
10. R.A.G.U. - Ghostface Killah, Raekwon
11. Bad Mouth Kid (Skit)
12. Whip You With A Strap
13. Back Like That - Ghostface Killah, Ne-Yo
14. Be Easy - Ghostface Killah, Trife Da God
15. Clipse of Doom - Ghostface Killah, Trife
16. Jellyfish - Ghostface Killah, Theodore Unit, Capadonna, Shawn Wigs, Trife
17. Dogs Of War - Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Theodore Unit, Capadonna, Trife, Sun God
18. Barbershop
19. Ms. Sweetwater (Skit)
20. Big Girl
21. Underwater
22. The Ironman Takeover (Skit)
23. Momma - Ghostface Killah, Megan Rochell
24. Three Bricks - Ghostface Killah, The Notorious B.I.G., Raekwon

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #58826 in Music
• Released on: 2006-04-03
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 65 minutes

Customer Reviews

One of the illest
Im a BIG wu fan since 98 when i bought the ONLY BUILT FOR CUBAN LINX album and loved it,from then on iv bought most of the wu's albums however at first i wasnt that keen on killah but when i bought the SUPREME CLIENTELE album i was a fan and this for me is just as good its a classic 06 was a good year for hip hop and this album is one ov the reasons,SICK killah at his best.

A EPIC ALBUM IN SCALE
Whenever a veteran artist professes disinterest in modern music, a safe retreat into the past -- a tired attempt at recapturing the magic of classic material -- tends to follow. Since Ghostface Killah towed that line after the two least-thrilling albums of his career, Fishscale seemed destined to be just another part of his discography; if his fans were lucky, they'd get a couple flashes of his mad maverick genius and nothing as clumsily foul as "Tush." Fishscale is much more generous than that. It's evident that Ghost knows where he's at in his career, and it's directly acknowledged by the Mickey Goldmill-like boxing coach during "The Champ": "You ain't been hungry...since Supreme Clientele!" Ghost responds by pouring all that he has, both lyrically and vocally, into every track on the album. The scenarios he recounts are as detailed and off-the-wall as ever, elaborate screenplays laid out with a vocal style that's ceaselessly fluid and never abrasive. This is especially remarkable since each one of Ghost's lines, when transcribed, require one-to-five exclamation points, and every frantic scene's details -- from the onions on the steak, to the show on the television, to the socks sticking out of the "big Frankenstein hole" in a shoe worn by an accomplice -- are itemized without derailing the events. Since no active MC sounds better over obscure '70s soul samples, Ghost was wise to select productions that are best suited for him, no matter how bizarre or un-pop. Just Blaze, Lewis Parker, MoSS, Crack Val, Pete Rock, Doom, the late J Dilla, and several others supply Ghost with a tremendous round of productions. "Underwater" is the loopiest of all, even by Doom standards; its balmy Bobbi Humphrey flute and slippery beat, aided by burbling water effects, backs a hallucinatory journey in which Ghost swims with butterflies, casts his gaze on numerous riches (rubies, the Heart of the Ocean, "Gucci belts that they rocked for no reason from A Different World") and bumps into a Bentley-driving, Isley Brothers-listening, girlfriend-smacking SpongeBob Squarepants before hitting spiritual paydirt. "Back Like That," featuring Ne-Yo, is the lone apparent crossover attempt, and it hardly compromises Ghost's character the way "Tush" did in 2004 ("In the summertime, I broke his jaw -- had to do it to him quick, old fashion, in the back of the mall"). Another completely unique track is "Whip You with a Strap," where Ghost recalls the pain of being whipped by his mom with more than a hint of misty-eyed wistfulness. How many other MCs are capable of making you feel nostalgic about leaking welts you never had? More importantly, how many MCs entering their late-thirties have made an album as vital as any other in his or her career?

Another Wu Tang Classic...
It was likely that the members of the once mighty Wu-Tang Clan and their many relatives were becoming too prolific - releases post 1997 seemed too varied and many were lacking in quality. There became an idea that the initial wave of Wu-Tang Releases - 36 Chambers, Method Man's Tical, Raekwon's Only Built for Cuban Linx, Genius/GZA's Liquid Swords, Gravediggaz's 6 Feet Deep, ODB's Return to the 36 Chambers, & Ghostface Killah's Ironman set the bar too high and would remain unsurpassed. Follow-up albums by Genius/GZA, Ghostface and Method Man all seemed lacking, while the Cappadonna, Inspectah Deck, Masta Killa and U God albums were lacklustre. To be fair, you could still get a one or two disc compilation of classics from the many albums released, and the soundtrack to Ghost Dog: the Way of the Samurai is one of the greatest Wu-related releases. Fishscale follows Supreme Clientale, Ghostface's album that received a mixed reception - possibly as it wasn't Ironman?

There is a notion that acts and producers who have appeared in the wake of the Clan have surpassed them and that the RZA and co are no longer pioneers - something that could be argued when you hear a producer like Dangermouse or Timbaland, or acts like Kanye West, The Neptunes and Outkast/The Dungeon Family. Fishscale has countered that notion, a concept album centred around cocaine (the source being `Fish' from `Ironman' or tracks like `Glaciers of Ice' & `Ice Cream' from `Only Built 4 Cuban Linx' as well as the `Scarface' references common to hip hop). It's done very well critically and was seen as the best hip hop release of 2006, which is fair enough - though am sure this popularity will irk others to suggest other albums for that honour! There has already been a related follow up in December 2006 - `More Fish' - which isn't as great, but is worth getting if you want a bit more...

`Fishscale' offers 24 tracks, including a bonus track `Three Bricks' that features the Notorous BIG and frequent Ghostface-associate Chef Raekwon - I'm quite dubious about any BIG posthumous collaborations as I am the Tupac ones. There are may different producers - Lewis Parker, MoSS, Just Blaze, Metal Fingerz DOOM, J Dilla, Pete Rock, Crack Val, Xtreme, Cool & Dre etc - which helps give the album a varied feel, much like `Stankonia.' Likewise, Ghostface employs plenty of choice samples throughout as well as a cast of great collaborators including Raekwon, Wu-Tang Clan, Ne-Yo, Trife, Capadonna, Shawn Wigs, Sun God & Megan Rochell. Kanye West features on `Back Like That' and the opening song proper `Shakey Dog' is very similar in style to West's `Golddigga.'

The Wu-Tang collage `9 Milli Bros' is excellent and works despite the fact the ODB is deceased - a reformation is due, which could be a great thing (as well as Raekwon's upcoming sequel to `Cuban Linx'). `The Champ' taps into African-American boxing imagery and features a live band, while `Be Easy' has a sample as funky as something on De La Soul's `Three Foot High & Rising' - a killer hook for sure. `Whip You Like a Strap' is a celebrated exploration of Ghost's personal history, while `Kilo' is an addictive coke-themed track that sits easily alongside early Wu-Classics like `C.R.E.A.M.', `A Better Tomorrow', `1-800 Suicide', `Daytona 500', `Killah Hills...', & `Criminology.'

`Fishscale' does have those gangsta elements that many think ruined hip hop/rap, but I think it's valid if you consider it alongside artists like Bruce Springsteen (`Highway Patrolman', `Straight Time'), Lou Reed (`Street Hassle', `I'm Waiting for the Man') and Suicide (`Frankie Teardrop', `Harlem') who explore the dark side of lives too. It certainly feels like one of the highlights of 2006 and proves that the Wu-Tang saga is far from over...