Album review: Wu Block, Wu Block (E1)

A collaborative effort between sundry Wu Tang Clansmen and D- Block inmates – notably Ghostface Killah and Sheek Louch – Wu Block suffers from the absence of a few vital presences, in particular Wu Tang producer the RZA.

Rarely do these symphonic-soul samples and montaged grooves achieve quite the sinister stasis he conjures, and some tracks consequently languish dully in the well-trodden territory of drugs and guns and amoral materialism. It's all thrown into stark relief by the rare appearance of Wu Tang genius GZA on "Drivin' Round", a survey of neighbourhood like the street-corner bum: "Button on his lapel, picture of Obama/Four years later we stuck in the same drama," observes GZA. "What is the key to life, with no ignition?

Download: Driving Around; Comin' for Ya Head; Crack Spot Stories