Crate Digging: The Cold Vein

by Cannibal Ox

I totally missed the boat on this album when it first dropped back in 2001. I finally got it a few years later, but have felt like I never really 'got it'. I always heard about how groundbreaking this album was, but by the time I listened to it, there had been enough imitators and people inspired by it, that it sounded a little common in places.

Listening to it again today, and trying hard to see it as predating artists like Aesop Rock, Mr. Lif, Cage, the Reavers, and others, I can definitely see the appeal of some of this album, although I think it's a little too long, or a little monotonous in places.

Vast Aire has always been a rapper I have a hard time dealing with. I love his flow when he appears on someone else's track, but when he is the star of the show, I find I get sick of him after three or four songs. He and Vordul Megallah (who is called Shamar here - what's up with that?) find a good balance between their different styles, but Vordul is pretty weak on the first half of this album.

It's hard to imagine listening to El-P's rock-inflected production and having never heard that type of hip-hop before. He definitely knows what he's doing on here, but a few too many tracks sound like the others. I feel like he more anticipates than delivers on this, for a good chunk of the album.

This is a good album, but I find it difficult to place it up on the pedestal that so many other heads do. It feels a little more dated than classic these days I fear, although there are a few tracks (such as 'Painkillers', 'Pigeon', 'Raspberry Fields', and 'The F-Word') that I really feel.

Crate Digging: None Shall Pass

by Aesop Rock

I remember picking this up at Fat Beats on a trip to NYC two summers ago, along with a ton of other albums. After I got back home, it took me a couple of days to make my way through all of my purchases, and I think some albums got a little less play than others. Due to this, I didn't really think of this as a terribly memorable album, and thought it was time to give it another spin and see what the deal was.

Truthfully, it's a little disappointing, and I'm not sure why. It's good - all of the individual tracks stand on their own, and blend well into a cohesive whole. The only problem is, they don't stand out.

Most of the production is by Blockhead, with the remaining tracks mostly handled by Aesop himself, although there is an El-P track, and another provided by Rob Sonic. The overall sound is reserved and chill, although it is still very much a Def Jux album.

Aesop Rock's wordplay is clever and masterful, but he is, in my opinion, showed up by Tha Jugganaut's Breezly Brewin on 'Getaway Car', my favourite track on this album.

The packaging for this disk is fantastic, and I like the costume party cartoon by Jeremy Fish.

This album does have a place in my collection, and it's very nice to groove to, but it still isn't standing out in my mind as a classic or a must-have.