8 Diagrams of 7 Soldiers
Guess who's back! I'm gonna give blogging another shot. We'll see how it goes.
Besides myself, Wu-Tang returned with a new album in late December. Amidst the holidays , it took me a while to get my head around it. I can now say, this album is amazing.
8 Diagrams is a comeback album for the Wu-Tang Clan as a group. The wiki page is really informative if you want to know what it is. 8 Diagrams showcases a Clan short one member (the 9th being Ol' Dirty Bastard, died 2004) with a surprising maturity. The idea of a more mature Wu-Tang Clan is a paradox to say the least, but it comes across amazingly well. Experimentation is what broke Wu-Tang onto the scene in 1993 and the experiment continues stronger than ever. This has of course become a point of contention amongst fans, some who favor the "classic" Wu sound. I couldn't care less. RZA's productions on this album are at least on par with his best work. There is the much touted "The Heart Gently Weeps" featuring a slew of guests including live instruments, but "Rushing Elephants" offers a disconcerting loop that shifts pitch and tempo in startling ways, and is probably the most exciting track, musically. One criticism of this album is the over use of sung choruses. This one I can see, but overall the production is striking.
The 8 surviving Clan members all contribute strong lyrics, with some contributions from other Wu Family members. Most immediately interesting to me is RZA contributing lyrically more than on any prior Wu albums. RZA's voice is one of the most distinct in Hip Hop and his rhymes are completely unorthodox. He has the only solo track of the record, "Sunlight" which is a haunting state-of-the-world address as well as a tribute to Allah. Eerie and slow this track is a stand out. "The Heart Gently Weeps" features Ghostface Killa at the top of his game, spitting a verse with story telling that is rarely matched. Detail after detail, built into a rhyme structure that is unpredictable but constantly on point. Ghost's storytelling blends with a bit of singing, which as far as i know is a first for him. Method Man delivers without falling into all the cliches he has made into a solo career. No member really disappoints, with the possible exception of Ghost who fails to produce a verse for the tribute to ODB, "Life Changes." The level of emotion the other MCs display here is rare for any music, but especially for Hip Hop. Other stand out tracks are "Campfire", "Unpredictable", "Wolves", "Weak Spot", "Tar Pit", and "16th Chamber ODB Special". That last track features some previously unreleased ODB verses, which is nice to hear. The fact that there wasn't more of his material worked into the album may unfortunately signify there is not a great wealth of reserve material to draw from.
Outside of the 8 Diagrams, I recently found Wu-Tang's official site. There is a media tab that has a pretty staggering collection of free MP3s, mostly B-sides, rarities, live tracks, and the such. Top picks would be the original Wu Demo Tape (which makes it even more baffling they ever made it big) and a a few live cuts from Cilvaringz. This was my first exposure to Cilvaringz, and I was pretty floored by his biting, politically charged lyrics that pull no punches.
One of the most appealing parts of Wu-Tang's music is the mythos that builds itself in samples and alliases and stories and anachronisms. Wu has built an entire universe in small bits, that over lap and build upon each other. This is the same thing that appeals to me about the larger Grant Morrison picture. Every thread left unexplored in one story eventually is picked up in another. A good example of this is how his New X Men story "Assault on Weapon Plus" left a lot of room to play around in the early weapon projects, of which the early ones were said to be performed on animals. After leaving Marvel, he and Quitely did a Vertigo mini-series called WE3. Short for Weapon 3, this series focused on a group of animal experiments conducted by the US military.
The ultimate manifestation of this impulse for Morrison seems to be his series 7 Soldiers of Victory.
It's almost misleading to call 7 Soldiers a series in and of itself. It is a #0 issue and a#1 issue with 7 mini-series in between. It would be fool hardy to try to analyze the series in full in this space. You could look at the Wikipedia, or here, or here, or, well point being there is plenty of coverage out there. What I'd like to point out is how Wu-Tangian the whole venture is.
Most apparent is the discord of art. 8 different artists worked on this series (1 for each mini and another for the bookends) and the visual styles they bring are very different. Klarion, the Witch Boy is painted by Frazer Irving in a pallet that rarely leaves icy blues and pinks, save for Klarion's fiery familiar, Teekl. Frankenstein is illustrated by Doug Mahnke, whose art is tangibly gritty, as if only recently dug up. Stack on top of this Simone Bianchi, Cameron Stewart, Ryan Sook, J.H. Williams III, and a half dozen others and you have what would be for any thing else total chaos. Wu-Tang is fairly similar in it's spread of MCs.
Besides the art, there is a mash up of themes as well. Just as the Wu-Tang Clan blends classic Kung Fu mythology, Samurai action, post-apocalyptic nightmares, super-heroes, politics, Muslim issues, alongside a smattering of more standard rap fare; Morrison brings together a story from a "proto-Camelot", a lost puritan witch village, urban pirates, science, mad-science, Buddhism, stage magic, arcane magic, super-heroes, classic monster movies, past, present, future, and everything in between. The story is everywhere, almost to where you might not believe that it could reconcile with itself.
Yet that is the beauty of both the Wu-Tang Clan and 7 Soldiers. It finds a way. All of the insanity coalesces into one thing. Themes and images are repeated until they just make sense. a puritan village would seem to have very little to do with New York's subways and their pirates but they cross paths until there is no other way. The number 7 is repeated so many times that it unifies the story, forcing an acceptance of the implicit numerology. Similarly Wu-Tang have solidified their fusing of archaic eastern martial arts with modern urban life styles that it seems natural now. To draw another comparison, its like a Tarantino movie. Insane in its mash up of influences and styles and music, yet it draws together in an undeniable way. This is the appeal of 7 soldiers, and of the larger Morrison story.
Besides myself, Wu-Tang returned with a new album in late December. Amidst the holidays , it took me a while to get my head around it. I can now say, this album is amazing.
8 Diagrams is a comeback album for the Wu-Tang Clan as a group. The wiki page is really informative if you want to know what it is. 8 Diagrams showcases a Clan short one member (the 9th being Ol' Dirty Bastard, died 2004) with a surprising maturity. The idea of a more mature Wu-Tang Clan is a paradox to say the least, but it comes across amazingly well. Experimentation is what broke Wu-Tang onto the scene in 1993 and the experiment continues stronger than ever. This has of course become a point of contention amongst fans, some who favor the "classic" Wu sound. I couldn't care less. RZA's productions on this album are at least on par with his best work. There is the much touted "The Heart Gently Weeps" featuring a slew of guests including live instruments, but "Rushing Elephants" offers a disconcerting loop that shifts pitch and tempo in startling ways, and is probably the most exciting track, musically. One criticism of this album is the over use of sung choruses. This one I can see, but overall the production is striking. The 8 surviving Clan members all contribute strong lyrics, with some contributions from other Wu Family members. Most immediately interesting to me is RZA contributing lyrically more than on any prior Wu albums. RZA's voice is one of the most distinct in Hip Hop and his rhymes are completely unorthodox. He has the only solo track of the record, "Sunlight" which is a haunting state-of-the-world address as well as a tribute to Allah. Eerie and slow this track is a stand out. "The Heart Gently Weeps" features Ghostface Killa at the top of his game, spitting a verse with story telling that is rarely matched. Detail after detail, built into a rhyme structure that is unpredictable but constantly on point. Ghost's storytelling blends with a bit of singing, which as far as i know is a first for him. Method Man delivers without falling into all the cliches he has made into a solo career. No member really disappoints, with the possible exception of Ghost who fails to produce a verse for the tribute to ODB, "Life Changes." The level of emotion the other MCs display here is rare for any music, but especially for Hip Hop. Other stand out tracks are "Campfire", "Unpredictable", "Wolves", "Weak Spot", "Tar Pit", and "16th Chamber ODB Special". That last track features some previously unreleased ODB verses, which is nice to hear. The fact that there wasn't more of his material worked into the album may unfortunately signify there is not a great wealth of reserve material to draw from.
Outside of the 8 Diagrams, I recently found Wu-Tang's official site. There is a media tab that has a pretty staggering collection of free MP3s, mostly B-sides, rarities, live tracks, and the such. Top picks would be the original Wu Demo Tape (which makes it even more baffling they ever made it big) and a a few live cuts from Cilvaringz. This was my first exposure to Cilvaringz, and I was pretty floored by his biting, politically charged lyrics that pull no punches.
One of the most appealing parts of Wu-Tang's music is the mythos that builds itself in samples and alliases and stories and anachronisms. Wu has built an entire universe in small bits, that over lap and build upon each other. This is the same thing that appeals to me about the larger Grant Morrison picture. Every thread left unexplored in one story eventually is picked up in another. A good example of this is how his New X Men story "Assault on Weapon Plus" left a lot of room to play around in the early weapon projects, of which the early ones were said to be performed on animals. After leaving Marvel, he and Quitely did a Vertigo mini-series called WE3. Short for Weapon 3, this series focused on a group of animal experiments conducted by the US military.
The ultimate manifestation of this impulse for Morrison seems to be his series 7 Soldiers of Victory.
It's almost misleading to call 7 Soldiers a series in and of itself. It is a #0 issue and a#1 issue with 7 mini-series in between. It would be fool hardy to try to analyze the series in full in this space. You could look at the Wikipedia, or here, or here, or, well point being there is plenty of coverage out there. What I'd like to point out is how Wu-Tangian the whole venture is.
Most apparent is the discord of art. 8 different artists worked on this series (1 for each mini and another for the bookends) and the visual styles they bring are very different. Klarion, the Witch Boy is painted by Frazer Irving in a pallet that rarely leaves icy blues and pinks, save for Klarion's fiery familiar, Teekl. Frankenstein is illustrated by Doug Mahnke, whose art is tangibly gritty, as if only recently dug up. Stack on top of this Simone Bianchi, Cameron Stewart, Ryan Sook, J.H. Williams III, and a half dozen others and you have what would be for any thing else total chaos. Wu-Tang is fairly similar in it's spread of MCs.
Besides the art, there is a mash up of themes as well. Just as the Wu-Tang Clan blends classic Kung Fu mythology, Samurai action, post-apocalyptic nightmares, super-heroes, politics, Muslim issues, alongside a smattering of more standard rap fare; Morrison brings together a story from a "proto-Camelot", a lost puritan witch village, urban pirates, science, mad-science, Buddhism, stage magic, arcane magic, super-heroes, classic monster movies, past, present, future, and everything in between. The story is everywhere, almost to where you might not believe that it could reconcile with itself.
Yet that is the beauty of both the Wu-Tang Clan and 7 Soldiers. It finds a way. All of the insanity coalesces into one thing. Themes and images are repeated until they just make sense. a puritan village would seem to have very little to do with New York's subways and their pirates but they cross paths until there is no other way. The number 7 is repeated so many times that it unifies the story, forcing an acceptance of the implicit numerology. Similarly Wu-Tang have solidified their fusing of archaic eastern martial arts with modern urban life styles that it seems natural now. To draw another comparison, its like a Tarantino movie. Insane in its mash up of influences and styles and music, yet it draws together in an undeniable way. This is the appeal of 7 soldiers, and of the larger Morrison story.
Labels: 7 Soldiers, 8 Diagrams, Bulleteer, Frankenstein, Grant Morrison, Klarion, Manhatten Guardian, Mister Miracle, Morrison, Shining Knight, Wu-Tang, Wu-Tang Clan, Zatanna
posted by The Effete Bomb @ 9:24 AM
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