This came out in 1999 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
With nine core members and an ever-expanding roster of satellite performers — and all of them delivering platters as fast as Domino’s — you’d have to spend plenty of time (and cash) to keep up with Wu-Tang Clan releases.
Fortunately, the Wu deal in volume, and they pass the savings on to you — in the form of this 18-track primer compiled by the New York ninja-rap posse’s production mastermind RZA. Along with essential tracks from the group’s 1993 Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), you get solo cuts from Method Man, ODB, GZA, Ghostface Killah and Raekwon, all featuring the Wu’s signature sound template: Horror-movie strings, kung fu-movie samples and whumping, slo-mo basslines. (What isn’t essential, however, are four pointless tracks of the RZA jabbering pointlessly about the songs — or about the group’s clothing line, as he does on one commercial, er, narration.) Once you’ve digested the hits and are ready to move on, try GZA / Genius’s new Beneath The Surface. Although he can play it as hard as his bandmates, GZA isn’t afraid to mix it up, making the string s a little sweeter, the delivery a little smoother and the chorus a little catchier.
