Third Hand

I COULDN'T WAIT for this album to come out. I mean, I stake my musical reputation on "Deadringer" and "Since We Last Spoke." Customers saw me giggling like a little girl as I dashed out of the music store to my car, frantically tearing at the shrinkwrap on the album (which was surprisingly easy to get off, I might add). I slid the disc in and took off on some errands.

However, instead of ripping through traffic headbanging to jams like "Exotic Talk," I ended up ripping through traffic angrily bashing my radio with my fist, wondering why my disc changer decided to play one of my girlfriend's whiny-voice pop CDs instead of my beloved RJ.

Then it hit me. I recalled the transition: the sweet, sweet Deadringer to the kickass SWLS. But wait - I had forgotten the oft-skipped tracks on the latter, with the mediocre lyrics and toned-down instrumentals. I had also pushed out of my mind RJ's departure from Def Jux, suggesting a more mainstream, poppy musical path.

What was once progressive hip-hop's best has turned into poor man's Beck. It would be as if Buckethead suddenly fancied himself a lyricist, took off his mask, and started crooning on stage. Don't get me wrong, the music is OK, and flows pretty well, and I know some will argue that it demonstrates progression and maturity of an artist, but I was hoping to ride the dream for at least one more album. I DIDN'T SIGN UP FOR SOMETHING LIKE THIS!

Well, I feel bad about recommending this one to the kid at Best Buy who asked about it when I checked out.

Sitting at home, reading the ads on a Sunday afternoon, and saw a little blurb about this disc. Available now! Once I got over the "hey, rjd2 is getting some recognition from the big retailers!" thought, I realized I had to buy it immediately, and going strictly on what I knew and loved from his past work, didn't even bother to read any reviews or visit good old amazon.

If only I'd known what awaited.

Now, I'll start by saying that it isn't absolutely terrible. There are those moments on this disk that are decent, and point towards something good. The problem I have is this; it doesn't sound at all like anything I was hoping to hear. I'm basically running to my car, excited to blast down the road thumping and nodding my head through traffic on a surprisingly nice March day, and instead I've got some strange vocals, nothing hitting the foot-tapping region of my brain... I'm stumped.

I skip the track. Same thing. Skip again--and the same again. Take out the disk. Matches the case. Check the case; you can see where this was going.

Shaking my head in disbelief, I put Atmosphere back in and continue on my way, dissapointed with my purchase and one of my favorite artists.

Long story short, I should have learned from Shadow latest release; check the reviews, hear it once, and don't always assume that just because you love the artist that they won't let you down with the... direction, shall we say, they choose to take their music in. I can't recommend this disc to fans of the man's beats, and now I'm probably not going to make as much of a point to see his show when he comes to town this May since he's probably going to be supporting this disc and playing the songs off of it. A shame.

I didnt read one single review or hear anybody comment on this album before buying it. I simply saw the amazing video for Work it Out and went straight to the record store. What can I say? This album gets better and better after every listen. Simply put, its a remarkable achievement. I discovered RJD2 on dead ringer which I thought was a good album. I checked for Since We Last Spoke but wasnt feeling it at all. Tried many times but it fell flat for me. Its really nice to see an artist come back and put such a brilliant piece of work together. Im not quite sure why so many are having a hard time with this album. Its a pretty easy listen and I would think most people could find something in this. I guess the anticipation for something different must be preventing people for taking this for what it is, independantly of who it is by.

I was wondering who was singing on this... Had no idea that was RJD2. Knowing this doesnt make the music better but it does make the album such a better artistic accomplishment.