he Wu-Tang Clan seemed like they had their career blueprint ready from day one, every move planned. Armed with their own logo (the soon to be omnipresent "W" hallmark of quality), their own in-house and in demand producer and designs to build their own industry within the music industry, people betting on this nine strong group with a bizarre kung Fu fetish changing the face of hip-hop would have been crazy- and crazy rich. Of course, it didn’t hurt when the media latched onto the Clan’s ready-made personality traits and, as a result, turned them into some kind of urban through-the-looking-glass version of NKOTB. Because, as important and fresh as 1993’s Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) was, it was this that broke them as a worldwide phenomenon.

They were such hot property that Loud Records gave them an uncharacteristically generous contract that allowed the members to sign with other labels as solo acts. Little Wu franchises popped up across the face of hip-hop as each solo album became an unofficial Clan album. And while rarely do solo/side projects fulfil their promise, in 1995 they cemented their place in hip-hop history with a stream of commercial and critical successes; the mainstreams subjugation to Meth and Mary J Blige's "All I Need" single was followed by the immediate classic status bestowed upon Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... and GZA/Genius Liquid Swords. They seemed unbeatable; fans clamoured for anything baring the Wu logo, and then came Forever. The group, pressured by expectations, fragmented, offering up a rushed collection of mediocre tracks devoid of the originality that was all over many of the members’ solo albums.

Since 36 Chambers, RZA had been tailoring his productions for the Clan MCs (the 1 bar hooks for ODB, the dark Mario Puzo street hell soundscapes for Rae, murky angel dust psychosis for Meth, clipped soul for Ghostface and, for GZA, the futuristic funk) but with Forever it looked like the well was empty. Perhaps sapped of the creative drive or pulled in too many directions, the album favoured a minimalist dry MIDI feel- in direct opposition to the chopped Willie Mitchell and sampled Soul classics style that permeated 36 Chambers. The RZA also used the album as a launching pad for his producer apprentices to step up to the plate for the album. Needless to say, most of the tracks here are so long and so dull that even 9 MC's, 2 guests and 6 producers couldn't save it from going under. As with many ill conceived double LPs it's in need of a serious editing, and here it’s sadly more to do with the quality rather than the quantity. After relentlessly raining Wu affiliated product on the fans, Forever needed to be a short, no-shit collection of songs. Sitting at the top, the group couldn’t afford to give up any ground in a genre as fickle as hip-hop. This is what might’ve been:

”Reunited” (Original LP Track)

Probably the second best piece of work that RZA has done in his new MIDI based production style (he bettered it with "NYC Everything" on the otherwise diabolical Bobby Digital debut) and therefore the opener on my Forever. The track is reminiscent, musically, of one of those Dre/Mel Man string-laden productions that they seem to roll off the studio conveyor belt without incurring NY's wrath for sounding too West Coast. “Reunited” has a regal, too posh for the gutter sound to it, so as the first track here it’s announcing the return of the rightful heirs to the place where they took the underground to meet the mainstream. It’s fitting that GZA drops his verse first on this track, because as much praise as RZA gets for being the brain behind the Wu-masterplan it’s GZA who consistently drops the smartest lyrics.

The framework of tight drums and live sounding precise bass playing sets up a contrast for the spiralling lines of violin building upon them throughout the track. This treble-ended wall of melody is probably the only example on the album where you can say that RZA didn’t either get lucky with a loop or just let the track rot by not bothering to spend the time programming it properly. It’s a sad state of affairs when something as commonplace in the history in music like a violin seems so odd in the context of a RZA production. The last 1:50 is devoted to the violins weaving in and out of each other and Roxanne crooning “its Wu, motherfuckers” a few times more than is really necessary. While “Triumph” may have featured all the members announcing their resurrection, this is the true comeback track.

"America" (America Is Dying Slowly compilation)

An incredible "lost" cut to keep the album moving with something a bit more lively than anything the Clan released on Forever. Based around a rhythm pattern that’s basic even for RZA, “America” is a little snippet of plucked strings against the stoned leanings of a chunky, loping sampled OV Wright piano loop (further proof of RZA's inspired thieving/reinvention). In this way it's reminiscent of his earlier production style, a simple but effective example of creating a real melodic swaggering track without fear of the track getting too repetitive.

Lyrically it's built on some not so subtle lines and rhymes with varying degrees of success ("my nigga Chuck he loved to fuck") to create snapshots of the temptations, ignorance and the realistic aftermath of unprotected sex. Best of all is the verse by Killah Priest (part Uzi salesman and part Apocalyptic prophet), the Wu-Tang affiliated MC that was left out in the cold for the uninspiring luminous cagoule wearing Cappadonna.

”As High As Wu-Tang Get” (Original LP Track)

On some tracks of the original Forever it seemed like everyone wanted to have their share of the royalties by inserting extra verses; forgetting that the strength of the Clan is the variety of attacks available. Here, ODB chants the catchy chorus in between a video game bass line that bounces like a ping pong ball between the speakers, and Meth and GZA provide the verses.

And while it’s not a perfect track- both MC’s seem unconcerned about rhyming along, in between or around the bass- it did offer a respite from a long stretch of mediocre on the original. With a little imaginative tweaking, it’s easy to imagine Ghostface playing around with a vocal melody here, this one could’ve been a gem.

”Put Your Hammer Down” (Exclusive to Funkmaster Flex Mix Tape Volume III - 60 Minutes of Funk)

This one wouldn’t sound out of place on Ironman were it not for the fact that Ghostface Killah only gets eight or so lines amongst the clatter of the other MCs. A descending organ riff over a jangling rhythm guitar gives a clean vinyl soul feel that GFK seems to prefer on his solo albums. I can’t accurately define ‘flow’ as it applies to hip-hop (though I am about to make a piss poor attempt) but Ghost’s voice has the ability to shift gears as it speeds up, pauses, he switches lanes going into songs and impersonations, drops rhymes in the middle of lines (not at the end), he changes tones and jabs and hollers out from the confines of the track. He energises every song he’s on. On this particular song the rest of the MCs do a passable job of keeping the pace he sets. In a group where Meth is now a cash-snuffling MTV clown, RZA a shadow of his former talented self and Raekwon is blinded by his ego; GFK still seems to be the only one to still be flying the Iron Flag for Wu-Tang.

”Diesel” (Triumph b-side)

This song may have initially sounded a little too leftfield for the unadventurous musical scope delivered on Forever but musically it would've fit perfectly on the more ragged 36 Chambers or much darker The W or 6 Feet Deep (RZA’s Gravediggaz side project debut). On a side note, I had hoped to fit the mighty Funkstörung remix of "Reunited" onto the LP, maybe as an indicator of where the Wu could’ve expanded out into an off the planet Sun Ra type collective, but it’s just too far out for a mainstream hip-hop album. “Diesel” comes with an ominous bass line, fractured seconds of a wailing soul vocal over a bare bones snare heavy beat. This music actually paints an atmosphere unlike many of the LP original cuts as a caged ODB bawls and whispers into the mic spouting snatches of fantastical conspiracy theories amongst his usual entertaining sing-song jabbering. It was most likely pulled because of ODB's off the wall lyrics, everybody loves Dirty for being maad and kerazy but when he is being actually insane it’s a little disconcerting. The thing with ODB is that on first listen it just sounds like he’s freewheeling between crack tokes (which I’m sure he was on some occasions), but when you sift through the lyrics there are snatches of amazing imagery:

Many lights UFO kites, Benjamin Franklin got it right
Abraham I stuck your cherry tree
Your white head came out my black pussy
I ran Rip Van Winkle on all fours

Raekwon, RZA, U-God and Meth play around the rants as they add their 8 bars here and there, but it's Dirty's inimitable style and personality which makes this worthy of inclusion.

”The MGM” (Original LP Track)

With their previous collaborations Raekwon and GFK had been highlighted as one of the best hip-hop tag teams ever; a tight style of interjections and doubling up that make this track so involving that at 2:40 it barely does them justice at all. Basically, the track is a tale of an uneventful night at a boxing match at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Hotel (the end of round bell sees Raekwon updating the listener on the fights progress). It’s the conversational style of the interplay between them that demands repeated listens- it’s obvious that some collaborative work has gone into this. As always, they pepper the lyrics with their own brand of initially impenetrable slang and no chorus- the two are enough to keep the interest as there are enough vocal hooks to satisfy.

RZA hands the reins over to True Master for an excellent widescreen production layering a choppy clanging guitar line with high-end Chinese film soundtrack strings over the rise and fall of the crowd noise.

”A Better Tomorrow” (Original LP Track)

Deck, Masta Killa (sounding very much like Gang Starr’s Guru here), U-God and Method Man offer their perspectives on the breakdown of the world around them and offer some advice on creating what they hope will be a better tomorrow for the next generation, but the inevitability that this cycle will go unbroken remains clear. There is still an air of despondency and inevitability though even with the straightforward common sense chorus.

You can't party your life away
Drink your life away
Smoke your life away
Fuck your life away
Dream your life away
Scheme your life away
Cause your seeds grow up the same way

Producer 4th Disciple supports this sad air by building a bed of mournful horns and rising/falling piano and by taking a huge bite from Peter Nero’s “Love Theme” from Romeo and Juliet. And while he may have studied and mastered the art of choosing and using obvious, but effective, samples from RZA, he also paid too much attention to the RZA drum programming class because his beats are just as boring as the vast majority on Forever.

"A Better Tomorrow" highlights the hypocrisy that rears its head within the Wu-Tang (and in much of hip-hop). When making these positive statements every once in a blue moon, some artists seem to continue filling tracks with screeds of ignorance spat out as casually as asking someone for the time. Here RZA offers a verse so entrenched in ugly misogyny that you wonder if he is even aware of what the song was actually supposed to be about. It is, of course, possible that he’s expressing himself like this to give an actual example of the attitudes that can assist in causing societal decline, but I fucking doubt it. I’m not sure what the Playing God small print says but I’d prefer to totally remove RZA’s verse from this song.

”Say What You Want (All Day Every Day)” Extended Version (Collaboration with Texas)

You haters are just pissed because RZA hasn’t used strings this epic since 36 Chambers and he used them on a collaboration with UK AOR act turned chart friendly trendies Texas. The Face ran a feature on the recording sessions which was characterised by the Clan’s poor timekeeping, their lack of interest in studio regulations and the reverence that Texas had for RZA. The Wu were unconcerned with any baggage that came along with working with them or what Texas might like the track to sound like- evidenced by the fact that this version was built from scratch using only two takes of Sharleen Spiteri's vocals.

The pulsing insistent bass, the snatches of slightly off key filmic orchestra; is your head nodding any less knowing that Texas are involved? When I hear the original version, I can hear those strings in my head, which to me is the sign that something went very right at that session. And that’s how I’m ending my take on the album, with Meth freestyling (not at his best mind you) to the old school Wu sound. Anyone who says my hacked up Forever is too short at 34 minutes is welcome to dig out (or point out alternate selections to me) the unchanging plod of the twenty five tracks that I dropped because I’m very happy with the new version.

It would fill several more pages to discuss the faults of the tracks that I had to edit from the album, and this is more about what I have salvaged to make my own Forever, but I've included a few low points to give a flavour of why so many tracks just didn't work. Disc One's first track "Wu-revolution (featuring Poppa Wu & Uncle Pete)" isn't even really a Wu track, putting it on the LP at all was a blunder, opening the LP with it was a blunder of clusterfuck proportions. Mathematics and all that 5% malarkey is an incredibly weak ‘philosophy’ in the hands of an erudite person; in the hands of these two it’s the disparate ramblings of glue sniffers. Claiming that the Wu-Tang will be passing on a message of solidarity, education and love doesn't really prepare the listener for the next 28 tracks each with a smattering of exactly the opposite.

"Dog Shit" is a solo piece by ODB spouting some unable-to-hold-his-beer embarrassing lyrics about how he treats his ladies friends...that's right, you guessed it, he shits on their lawn. Metaphorically, obviously. The clunky awkward bass line with a similarly thumping beat with an irritating high pitched whine provide some awkward melodic relief, but the track is basically atrocious in every way- acting more as a prime example of the third side of ODB where he plays the juvenile (as opposed to the clown or the lunatic). The pointless and piss poor skit tacked onto the end has GZA berating someone in the studio for, amongst other things, dressing like Soul II Soul. Snip!

Then we have "Black Shampoo," which is, as far as I'm concerned, the reason U-God was not on most of 36 Chambers. This solo effort is about how to treat a lady right, you know by giving her a nice little backrub with some of 'that body shop shit'. The music is plodding, asexual and funkless and anyone who happened to be convinced by U-God's jaundice scented sex appeal will undoubtedly still get put off when Method Man pops up in the last few seconds to offer the sage like advice of "When you're around boo, Come and chop this mother fucking beat...you stank ass trick".

Can you blame me for taking the scythe to Forever?