Customer Reviews

Bad Dreams

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

i was on my computer on msn and one of my friends was like there's a new swollen song on much. i'm like damn so i flip to it and sure enough fuel injection was playing. i had to have it. luckaly my sis bought it for me for xmas. i listend to it right away. though i find more songs than usual aren't up to my standards for swollen but most of the songs were damn good. this album is more rythmical than balance i think so its real good. if i were you i'd buy it.

While not every track on "Bad Dreams" flips my lid, overall I'm gonna say Swollen Members put out a very driven, dynamic album. In response to the reviewer who said that Mad Child sounds just like Evidence- wrong.. Evidence appears on the album, perhaps he mistook Evidence for Mad Child.
Vocally and lyrically, this album is top-notch. Prevail and Mad Child each have a distinctive voice and flow in my opinion, and their rhymes are well thought and clever. Though they don't have the golden throats of Jurassic Five, i.e. they don't "sing", their hard, aggressive voices harmonize well when they flow together.
Not every beat does it for me, which is why I said some of the album doesn't flip my lid, but their's enough fresh music here to keep me bobbin' my head through at least 75% of the album. Some of the tracks really stand out, and hopefully future S&M releases will display such a superb dynamic of beat and lyrics.
All in all, "Bad Dreams" is an excellent underground ditty (...) and Swollen Members prove they're a group to be reckoned with. Sample some tracks to verify and swoop on it.

When I first heard Swollen Members I had a Hip Hop orgasm! Balance is one of my all-time favourite Hip Hop albums. Bad Dreams is a sick album, but most tracks lack the adrenaline that we heard on Balance. It was great to hear Son Doobie kickin' it with Swollen again, and 'Burns and Scars' is one of the best tracks on the album. A few of the tracks are featured on the last Battle Axe Warriors compilation CD, so it ruined it a bit. The tracks 'Killing Spree', 'Fuel Injected', 'Dark Riders' and 'Anthrax Island are insane, bass-pumped tracks, where as there are songs like High Road which are good to chill out to. I was really dissapointed with some of the lyrics, especially on 'Snake Bite' which is (bad), however, the dopeness of the rest of the album made up for it. I strongly recommend that you buy this album, just don't expect another Balance. 4/5 stars.

Man, this CD would be much tighter if they didn't bite the hell out of Dilated Peoples. Madchild sounds EXACTLY like Evidence. If they just stopped admiring and started MCing, this record could have been ridiculous. All of the production is solid, and the turntable cuts are hot... but Prevail and Madchild just don't bring it enough. If every cut sounded as good as "Ventilate," this album would be crucial.

I believe Swollen has caught the sophmore jinx. After listening to Balance this albam was a let down for me. I don't know what happened to Mad Child on this one, he sounds wack on almost 50% of the album. His lyrics are too simple, everything just sounds wrong to me. Prev 1 on the other hand has surpassed Mad Child, I think he holds this album together along with Rob the Viking. Everyone who has the Balance album knows Mad Child is supposed to be the better of the 2 lyrically, on this album instead of his skills increasing they have decreased. If you guys (Swollen Members)read this, don't missunderstand me I still liked the album I just wish the old Mad Child was back, thats all. Due to the fact there is a good amount of bangin tracks like Full Contact, Dark Riders, and Killing Spree, I give a reasonable 3 stars, which is not bad.

I was first hooked up with Swollen Members through BlueTorch.tv On that TV show, they show skateboarding skiing, and BMXing while playing hot tracks. So, I do my searching, and sampling on Swollen Members, and I like just one of their songs "Out of Range" But this album,"Bad Dreams" is truly their ground breaking piece of work. On Bad Dreams, def check out track 4, "RPM". Can't wait for more of their stuff.

I love Balance. It is an awesome CD that I listen too all the time. You can totally tell Swollen Members grew with this CD. The music is incredible, the beats and the lyrics are all tight. They did a good job of mixing a lot of different styles, really none of the songs sound alike or like songs on their first CD. All very original sounding. Top picks: Full Contact, Camouflage, Ventilate, Burns and Scars, Fuel Injected.

When I heard Swollen Members had a new CD coming out I had to get it. It's not what I expected coming from one of the greatest rap groups in history, but it was pretty good. Balance , in my own view was a classic and will never be duplicated.

Bad Dreams Is a awesome Cd, but with some flaws. Deep End is a good song, but the message in it isn't. Little kids listen to the CD and I don't think they need to hear about suicide. Take It back is not what I expexted from the group. Instead of rapping they say their lyrics and that takes away from the tight beat and the rest of the cd.

The best song on the CD Has to be
Fuel Injected because of the way it flows, the tight beat, and the chorus by Moka Only. This CD won't be a classic like Balance was and is, but it is still a good CD.

Peace Out.

When i heard swollen members were coming out with a new cd i was real excited. I had heard them a few years ago in a snowboarding movie, and had to pick up their cd "balance". Balance is a pretty good cd, but the beats are all really similar, with the same tempo and lyrics. I wasnt too impressed with thier rhymes on balance, but they impressed me with thier flow and creativity. a few songs on "bad dreams" had already been released(deep end, camoflauge), but they are real tight!
this album has a completely differnt feel to it than "balance". The beats are wild ("take it back", "deep end", "ventilate") just to name a few. what i like the most about this cd is the fact that the songs sounds different for the most part. You have your hard hitting songs like "killing spree" and "Anthrax island", your dark sounding songs "deep end" "bad dreams", and even some funky laid back kinda stuff like "snake bite". I picked up the new dilated peoples cd few weeks ago, and i think that Swollen Members blow them away on this cd. Both madchild and prevail have improved as rappers, but you will still find them talking about wierd stuff and sometimes nothing at all. I like Mad Child's flow a lot better on this cd. "I'm not a vampire, but I'm walking on a fine line, over fire, tightrope, barefoot on barbwire" - "deep end" The standout tracks are "killing spree" "take it back" "camoflauge" "deep end" "anthrax island" "snake bite" "ventilate" and "fuel injected". This is a real tight cd, go pick it up!

this cd is dope. i am a hard core swollen members and battle axe fan and have been for like two years. and scince then underground has just blossmed for me. if you don't own their first cd balance, go get it. that is my all time favorite cd. bad dreams, as dope as it is will never hold the same meaning for me. while balance was a hard act to follow bad dreams is an outstanding second cd.(sorry i just couln't bring myself to give it 5 stars). the reason being that madchild despite being as ill as he is, and i mean ill when he comes with his usual agressive style, there are some rhymes of his that are more layed back and he just doesn't come across as well with it. but for the most part he is true to his nature and assaults the mic with firiousity. prevail has definitly affirmed himself as one of the dopest rhymers out there, and he shows it in full form on bad dreams. his words flow off his tounge effortlessly, and he has a voice of solid gold. i have to say that the choruses are hella weak, minus poker face and full contact. swollen members has grown a lot and matured on this album, they experiment with tons of different styles, and beats. as much as i love the continuity of balance, bad dreams has much more variety(whether thats good or bad is on you). beats on this album are dope!!! with prodction by veterins alchemist, evidence, and joey chavez it's hard to go wrong; as well as two new-commers rob the viking and nucleus show their skills which are tight, and they are definetly a welcome addition to the battle axe crew. what it comes down to is that if you are an underground head don't sleep on this one. tight beats, in your face rhymes, and cuts by dj's revolution and babu, make this album a winner. pick it up. peace.