Well I'm sure as hell not reviewing Tical if that's what you wanted, I'm not letting my reviewing partner get a pass on that one. (I know the title of this post kind of gave all this away but just play along) No no, instead I'm here to provide a review of Ghostface Killahs debut album Ironman. I don't have all that much to say about the album, so I'm continuing to ramble on so this intro looks like I put some effort into it.
But yes, Ghostfaces bizarrely consistent career had to start somewhere, which is exactly where we find ourselves now. Ironman serves as the final solo album before the wu tangs second full length album. Because it seems as though all the solo albums gradually got better and this was coming off the heels of GZAs classic Liquid Swords, Ironman was released to considerable expectations.
Im on record of being a huge ghostface fan, but most of my fandom actually came from ghosts later work. All though I remember enjoying the album, it has easily received the least amount of spins among the first solo wu albums. For the first time in my reviewing process of the wu, I'm listening to an album that I truly haven't heard in a while and could have possibly formed a new opinion. So lets see how this turns out.
Oh yeah almost forgot, RZA produced the album in its entirety
1. Iron Maiden (Feat. Raekwon & Cappadonna)
Incredibly cool track name aside, Ironman starts of with a sample from a movie that I'm too tired to try and find the name of. I've always loved this because of my obvious bias I have towards wu skits. After it has passed, we flow right into a banging RZA instrumental. Its just classic wu. After the well received combination of Ghost and Rae, the two capitalize as the chef hops on this and complements ghosts flow nicely. As indicated on the cover, Cappadonna makes his first appearance. I guess he was alright.
2. Wildflower (Feat. Scotty Wotty & Jamie Summers)
If you've already heard this then you can take this out of context and make me look just a terrible person, but this song cracks me up every time I hear it. Its incredibly brutal, mean, and offensive to everyone, but just lighten up guys. Ghost finds out that his girl has been cheating and makes the song uncomfortable for everyone, by stating his thoughts in shocking detail.
3. The Faster Blade (Feat. Raekwon)
As Ghostface did on Rae's debut, Raekwon takes up a whole song for himself, as this is a solo track by the chef. Rae definitely sound up to par and sounds confident but the instrumental was the best part of this track. Probably should have been used on a different track, as this is just begging for Ghostface to spit a few bars.
4. 260 (Feat. Raekwon)
As Raekwon makes yet another appearance, it is clear that this is connected to OB4CL, or the two just realize how great their chemistry is. Anyways, this starts off with another movie sample from "Iron Maiden". Ghost and Rae rap about one of their crime tales about robbery over a beat that is extra heavy on the horn, which I'm always a fan of. Ultimately, this is alright but not at the level of the two's later robbery track such as, "The Hilton".
5. Assassination Day (Feat. Inspectah Deck, The RZA, Raekwon, & Masta Killa)
The first real wu posse cut of the album, although Ghostface is unfortunately left off his own song once again. This sounds slightly out of place, but that's only because it was supposed to appear on Deck's studio debut, until most of the material was washed away in a flood. Deck was at his peak at this point of his career and he shows here as he beats out everyone else's verses. RZAs instrumental sound great, especially when it first kicks in. I would have liked to have seen our host on here, but this is still one of the best songs on the album.
6. Poisonous Darts
Only really remember this one because it contains the first and only Kung fu sample of the album. Ghost rips through the song with only a short hook to take his breath. He's talking about nothing really, which is when Ghost is at his best. The beat on here is beautifully complex that takes a few listens to really appreciate. This sound much better today.
7. Winter Warz (Feat. U-God, Masta Killa, Cappadonna, & Raekwon)
One of the more well known and received tracks of the album just happens to be a personal favorite of mine. One reason I love this so much how U-God and Masta Killa completely destroy the shit, which is weird considering who they are at this point. Then Cappadonna arrives. Cappa raps, and raps, and raps, and, raps, and I think you get the point. I promise its the longest verse I've ever heard and reaches the point to where its just pure comedy. The beat is fairly raw as well.
8. Box In Hand (Feat. Raekwon, Method Man, & The Force MDS)
I'm actually surprised how great this instrumental sound nowadays, considering I remembered exactly none of it until now. Piano and scratches are always winners in my book. Most of the rapping of here is only average, but Method Man does steal the show in fairly decisive fashion. Pretty nice track.
9. Fish (Feat. Raekwon & Cappadonna)
I was actually wrong about RZA producing the entire album, as this is actually a True Master produced song. Its very similar to a RZA beat, which is always a good thing and makes for another good appearance by the master. The cover boys take care of the rapping, with none of them doing anything memorable. And holy shit the warriors are coming back.
10. Camay (Feat. Raekwon & Cappadonna)
I'd say this is the weakest track on the album. The beat has a nice baseline and percussion if you pay attention, but only if you pay attention. For someone that's not a hip hop freak, this comes off as a pretty boring instrumental. Most disappointing of all, this is a sex track that ghost fails at, an area that he traditionally excels at. Yeah, no one else is very good either.
11. Daytona 500 (Feat. Raekwon, Cappadonna, & Force MDS)
I don't dislike Cappadona at all, but is there any real reason that he has to be the third member of this trifecta. There are plenty of other under appreciated and more deserving artists available. Not that it matters in this track though, because it knocks. I mentioned earlier that I loved scratches, which makes this a favorite for me because they certainly take that shit to an extreme on here. Hook is annoying as hell, but this was a good song overall
12. Motherless Child (Feat. Raekwon)
I've never liked this one very much either. Never understood what the whole process was by slowing the tempo, taking it back up, and then slowing it again with this. This actually is pretty good by it self but gets lost in the middle in the context of the album. RZAs beat is actually top notch though. The vocal sample, keys, and continuous humming are a great effect.
13. Black Jesus (Feat. Raekwon, U-God, & Popa Wu)
And Popa Wu has made his mandatory appearance, which only leads into a decent track. The chanting mixed with the soft acoustic strings played sporadically throughout the song is downright epic. U-God also thinks its okay to appear again, although I will admit defeat as he lays down the best verse. Now if we can get down that whole consistency thing we might have something.
14. After The Smoke Is Clear (Feat. Raekwon, the RZA, & the Delfonics)
This songs obvious shared characteristics of "Camay" are one of the main reasons this song isn't very good. None of the rappers sound very engaged or like they want to be there. Hook is terribly sang and only hurts the song. Next please.
15. I That I Got Is You (Feat. Mary J. Blige)
Easily the most known and successful song off the album. The beat is incredibly dramatic as Ghostface reminisces over the childhood hardships. You feel it bit bad for him but its not that tear jerking. With that being said, I do enjoy the song because I've il ways though ghost excels in the R&B environment. Still don't like Mary J
16. The Soul Controller (Feat. The Force MDs & Popa Wu)
So I was actually looking on Wikipedia and read that this song has since been removed from print, which is a goddamn tragedy considering its the best song on the fucking album. I mean are you serious. I guess this is where all Ghostfaces sample troubles started. Anyways, it takes all of five seconds to find this on the Internet so I highly suggest you check this out.
17. Marvel (Feat. The RZA)
I have no idea why this closed out the album. I enjoyed the track, but it sound more like a mid track album if not a RZA experiment. The beat sound very similar to some of his current work and doesn't really for this setting, asides from the hook. Not bad, just simply interesting.
Rating: 4/5
As I said at the beginning of the review, I had no real plan on this rating or what to give it. This is a thoroughly enjoyable album that deserves the wu label on it. I can't see too many wu Stan's that don't already own this, but if you're new to Ghostface or the wu in general, there are more entertaining and just frankly better Ghostface (which says a whole lot about the man's catalog) albums out there. All in all, a quality debut that just unluckily follows two of out genres classics.