Midnight Marauders & Enter the Wu-Tang - 25 Years Later

[SlangKing]

vs.



Both released November 9, 1993, so both are 25 years old today. I was 17 at the time and had these on nearly constant rotation. For Tribe, it was a definite peak and sadly, they wouldn't do anything close to this good until 2016's excellent farewell album. Q Tip was his uniformly fantastic self, but Phife seemed to have grown by leaps and bounds on his tracks.

And Wu-Tang was visceral and dizzying - an instantly recognizable production aesthetic and ridiculous amount of distinct, fully-formed styles on the mic. In retrospect the tightness of the album is really let down by some of the long-winded sketches buried in there - but holy shit does the music still pack a punch.

So what do we think 25 years on?

[Darkness_Fish]

Enter the Wu Tang is a proper one-off, a moment of genius which shows how quite often the best music is made by those with really limited resources. I'm not the biggest hip-hop fan here by any means, but imo, none of them ever came close to this level again. That production job, with its long manipulated soul samples with grainy quality caused by imperfect equipment, it's absolute perfection via poverty. I think a lot of the credit has to go to Ol' Dirty Bastard, too. He's just the most instantly recognisable vocalist, you first think he's some kind of Bez-like chancer, and before you know it you're waiting for him to make an appearance again, he's a big factor in raising the album from monochrome to technicolour. Pity about those shitty skits, mind.

Can't say I was ever that interested in Tribe, myself. Y'never know though, I might check it out again one day.

[SlangKing]

You're dead on with that the description of the production - perfection via poverty. It's something they lost as soon as Wu Tang Forever dropped. I think in large part, the reverance for Liquid Swords is in part due to how closely the productions hew to the original debut.

ODB really did ooze character everytime he popped in - he and Method Man really had the most distinctive vocals out the gate. My favorite always was GZA's turn on Clan in Da Front. Anyway, apparently they celebrated today with an appearance on Good Morning Amercia complete with ODB's son in tow. Can't say I saw that coming in 1993...

[sloopjohnc]

Both released November 9, 1993, so both are 25 years old today. I was 17 at the time and had these on nearly constant rotation. For Tribe, it was a definite peak and sadly, they wouldn't do anything close to this good until 2016's excellent farewell album. Q Tip was his uniformly fantastic self, but Phife seemed to have grown by leaps and bounds on his tracks.

I'm a big Q-Tip fan, but Phife absolutely owns that album.

[$P.Muff$]

"C.R.E.A.M." is the best track from either album. I don't find the Wu sketches to be such a nuisance in comparison to another record from that year, 'Doggystyle', but with the rare exception, hip hop sketches are a pain.

[GoogaMooga]

Got rid of all the Wu-Tang because of the skits

[BARON CORNY DOG]

I can't really give these records their adequate due. Twin towers---somehow I didn't realize they came out on the same day! This was when I listened to a lot of this stuff and for me, Midnight Marauders is the one I still listen to. I'm not sure which one is better or what, but the older I got, the less fun the Wu Tang record was. But I never tire of Midnight Marauders. I love the perfect narcotic production---it helps that all the songs seem to have about the same pace or BPM or whatever. It's a masterpiece in any genre.

[Ranking Ted]

I can't really give these records their adequate due. Twin towers---somehow I didn't realize they came out on the same day! This was when I listened to a lot of this stuff and for me, Midnight Marauders is the one I still listen to. I'm not sure which one is better or what, but the older I got, the less fun the Wu Tang record was. But I never tire of Midnight Marauders. I love the perfect narcotic production---it helps that all the songs seem to have about the same pace or BPM or whatever. It's a masterpiece in any genre.

I came to MM later than 36C - around a decade after it was released! It’s therefore a little fresher to my ears now for the reasons you state. But they’re both 10/10 genre defining records. In fact, I’m struggling to think of any released since then that beats them. Maybe Liquid Swords is on the same level.

[sloopjohnc]

I can't really give these records their adequate due. Twin towers---somehow I didn't realize they came out on the same day! This was when I listened to a lot of this stuff and for me, Midnight Marauders is the one I still listen to. I'm not sure which one is better or what, but the older I got, the less fun the Wu Tang record was. But I never tire of Midnight Marauders.

Ditto.