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JURASSIC 5 - QUALITY CONTROL:
as promised, here's that jurassic 5 review. i like the album a little more than i did yesterday but, still, i don't know if i could recommend it. let's get into it then.

the j5 aren't 5, really, but i hope (hope) they don't mean it in a ben folds five kind of way. there are four emcees and two deejays, and they're all fond (some might say "overly") of the old school. their rhyme routines and the emphasis they place on the main tenets on b-boyism (dancing, djing, graf, etc.) confirms this. quality control is their first long-player and it's also their first (album) release on a major. so will the move to the big time mean a change in the group? or does the saying, "you can take the group out of an indie, but you can't take the indie out of the group" apply?

long-time fans will be glad to see that it's the latter. no concessions whatsoever have been made to appease the mainstream. on the other hand, this long-time follower finds himself somewhat disappointed in the finished product. oh, there are some excellent tracks alright: "the influence" with its phat doo-wop loops; "swing set," the djs' showcase track, swings like nobody's business even if it is a bit incongruous with the rest of the album; and "monkey bars" features dexterous rhyming and an ever-evolving beat. however, a lot of what remains is lackluster and dull.

mainly the problem seems to be a breakdown in the production department. in the indie world, the beats appear to be downplayed so that the rapper's message is not lost: the emphasis clearly placed on lyrics and "skills." the j5 have always been different, though, in that their beats have always been unusually fresh and often futuristic. on quality control, too many of the tracks become monotonous or aren't given enough time to expand and grow before they're cut off. as a result, the rhymes aren't as effective and the group comes off sounding like a treacherous 3 tribute band.

in addition to this, i can't help but escape the feeling that the group thinks it's better than anything that's out there right now. not that they in particular are better, but the style that they're performing in, with its roots firmly in the old school, is superior. throwing in things like shout-outs by sean lennon only further this indie attitude. personally, i don't think the old school was the best and it seems that most people who do, e.g. the group's proponents, probably weren't even listening to hip-hop ten years ago (if you must know, the golden era of 1987-1992 will always be king in my heart).

you may be asking right now, "what does this have to do with the music?" frankly, the answer is "nothing," however if the music being made was strong enough, i'd forgive this posturing in a second. "great expectations" is the best track on the album and its sound --great communication between mc and dj; chemistry like no other group out there; and a complicated, unfolding, yet always funky beat -- is what we've become accustomed to when listening to the j5. "great expectations" isn't just a song title, though: when dealing with the jurassic 5, it's something we're used to having as far as the group's concerned. so it pains me to say that, on this occasion, for me at least, they failed to meet them.