Fishscale [PA]

Performer: Ghostface Killah
Artist: Wu-Tang Clan; Keyshia Cole; Ne-Yo
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: FISHSCALE, the fifth solo album by Wu-Tang Clan's Ghostface Killah, is a brilliantly cryptic album drenched in complex ghetto slang that reinforces the MC's status as a master wordsmith. Ghostface doesn't disappoint with lines like, "Ay-yo I should just bark on you/burn your car on you/'cause I'm too much man to leave a mark on you." His voice is mellifluous even when he's shouting, and the infectious beats (provided by Pete Rock and MF Doom) and rare soul and funk samples (a staple of any Ghostface venture at this point) provide the perfect backdrop for the unveiling of Ghost's enigmatic persona. FISHSCALE, packed with gritty tales of the inner-city coke trade, occasionally meanders into tired Tony Montana-posturing, yet occasionally hitting par for the course can be forgiven when the game is being played by a proven champ like Ghostface. Whenever a veteran artist professes disinterest in modern music, a safe retreat into the past -- a tired attempt at recapturing the magic of classic material -- tends to follow. Since Ghostface Killah towed that line after the two least-thrilling albums of his career, Fishscale seemed destined to be just another part of his discography; if his fans were lucky, they'd get a couple flashes of his mad maverick genius and nothing as clumsily foul as "Tush." Fishscale is much more generous than that. It's evident that Ghost knows where he's at in his career, and it's directly acknowledged by the Mickey Goldmill-like boxing coach during "The Champ": "You ain't been hungry...since Supreme Clientele!" Ghost responds by pouring all that he has, both lyrically and vocally, into every track on the album. The scenarios he recounts are as detailed and off-the-wall as ever, elaborate screenplays laid out with a vocal style that's ceaselessly fluid and never abrasive. This is especially remarkable since each one of Ghost's lines, when transcribed, require one-to-five exclamation points, and every frantic scene's details -- from the onions on the steak, to the show on the television, to the socks sticking out of the "big Frankenstein hole" in a shoe worn by an accomplice -- are itemized without derailing the events. Since no active MC sounds better over obscure '70s soul samples, Ghost was wise to select productions that are best suited for him, no matter how bizarre or un-pop. Just Blaze, Lewis Parker, MoSS, Crack Val, Pete Rock, Doom, the late J Dilla, and several others supply Ghost with a tremendous round of productions. "Underwater" is the loopiest of all, even by Doom standards; its balmy Bobbi Humphrey flute and slippery beat, aided by burbling water effects, backs a hallucinatory journey in which Ghost swims with butterflies, casts his gaze on numerous riches (rubies, the Heart of the Ocean, "Gucci belts that they rocked for no reason from A Different World") and bumps into a Bentley-driving, Isley Brothers-listening, girlfriend-smacking SpongeBob Squarepants before hitting spiritual paydirt. "Back Like That," featuring Ne-Yo, is the lone apparent crossover attempt, and it hardly compromises Ghost's character the way "Tush" did in 2004 ("In the summertime, I broke his jaw -- had to do it to him quick, old fashion, in the back of the mall"). Another completely unique track is "Whip You with a Strap," where Ghost recalls the pain of being whipped by his mom with more than a hint of misty-eyed wistfulness. How many other MCs are capable of making you feel nostalgic about leaking welts you never had? More importantly, how many MCs entering their late-thirties have made an album as vital as any other in his or her career? ~ Andy Kellman

Rolling Stone (p.60) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Ghostface's emotionally charged stream-of-consciousness flow is off-the-wall and amazing as it's ever been." Rolling Stone (pp.102-103) - Ranked #5 in Rolling Stone's "The Top 50 Albums Of 2006" -- "[I]t's the beats that seal the deal." Spin (p.62) - Ranked #04 in Spin's "The 40 Best Albums of 2006" -- "[T]he album sounds like a man on his last legs, groggily spilling stream-of-consciousness rhymes all over a '70s jukebox." Q (p.115) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he input of so many producers doesn't dilute the plot and FISHSCALE rattles along like a novel....He remains rap's finest storyteller." Q (p.117) - Ranked #76 in Q Magazine's "100 Greatest Albums of 2006." Vibe (p.151) - 4 discs out of 5 -- "The sample-heavy results are cohesive yet diverse, a proper canvas for Ghost's finest effort since SUPREME CLIENTELE." XXL (Magazine) (p.140) - "Providing some of the year's most opulent music....An all-around cohesive album." Mojo (Publisher) (p.104) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]his fifth solo album from the Wu-Tang Clan member certainly delivers a top-grade high."

With more successful releases under his belt--including IRONMAN and the SUPREME CLIENTELE--than any other member of the venerable Wu-Tang Clan, Ghostface Killah is arguably the Wu's biggest star. While other members of the rap collective have broadened their artistic palettes over the years to include film and TV work, Ghostface has remained dedicated to releasing stellar records marked by expansive soul-based samples and a dizzyingly complex ghetto-slang vocabulary. In 2006, he collaborated with underground star MF Doom for FISHSCALES.

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