Cactus album vinyl4/20/2023 ![]() ![]() Matching MC Serch's bombastic, goofy good nature and Prime Minister Pete Nice's gritty, English-trained wordsmithery (sounding like a young Don in training), 3rd Bass' debut album is revelatory in its way. ~ Stanton Swihartīesides the upper-middle-class frat-punks-in-rap-clothing shtick of the Beastie Boys and emissary/producer Rick Rubin, who both gained a legitimate, earned respect in the rap community, there were very few white kids in rap's first decade who spoke the poetry of the street with compassion and veneration for the form. It may not have completely integrated rap, but it was a precursor to a culture that became more inclusive and widespread after its arrival. The Cactus Album was also important because it proved to the hip-hop heads that white kids could play along without appropriating or bastardizing the culture. Not every single idea plays out successfully - Serch's Tom Waits impression on "Flippin' Off the Wall." is on the wrong side of the taste line, and "Desert Boots" is a puzzling Western-themed insertion - but they are at least interesting stretches that add to the dense, layered texture of the album. The duo may not have come from the streets, but their hearts were there, and it shows. For one, it is full of great songs, alternately upbeat rollers ("Sons of 3rd Bass"), casual-but-sincere disses ("The Gas Face"), razor-sharp street didacticism ("Triple Stage Darkness," "Wordz of Wizdom"), and sweaty city anthems ("Brooklyn Queens," "Steppin' to the A.M.," odes to day and night, respectively), with A-plus production by heavyweights Prince Paul and Bomb Squad, as well as the surprising, overshadowing work of Sam Sever. Recorded at Chung King, Green Street Studios, New York, New York Island Media, West Babylon, New York.īesides the upper-middle-class frat-punks-in-rap-clothing shtick of the Beastie Boys and emissary/producer Rick Rubin, who both gained a legitimate, earned respect in the rap community, there were very few white kids in rap's first decade who spoke the poetry of the street with compassion and veneration for the form. Serch, Sam Sever, Prince Paul.Įngineers include: Greg Gordon, Curt Fresca, Kevin Reynolds. Producers include: Keith Shocklee, Hank Shocklee, M.C. McCarty's frenetic soloing with an impossibly overdriven tone that Jack White only dreams of matching powers (and we do mean POWERS) incredible versions of "Parchman Farm" and "You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover" as well as bloozy, boogie-in' originals like "Let Me Swim" and "Oleo." Our Real Gone reissue comes in a limited edition (of 700) 180-gram edition that captures every bit of the glorious sonic excess with the original cover art intact (hey, is that cactus giving you the finger?).3rd Bass includes: MC Search (Michael Berrin) Prime Minister Pete Nice (Peter Nash). Finally back on vinyl where it belongs comes the 1970 debut record from the supercharged supergroup that melted minds and loudspeakers (not necessarily in that order)! We're talking Cactus, people, with the Vanilla Fudge rhythm section of bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice, Amboy Dukes vocalist Rusty Day, and, oh yes, the AMAZING guitarist Jim McCarty, late of the Detroit Wheels but somehow reincarnated here as the speed freak spawn of Alvin Lee, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page. ![]()
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