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Saul Williams
The Inevitable Rise and Liberation Of Niggy Tardust (download, 2007)
Produced by Trent Reznor
Saul Williams: vocals, programming; Trent Reznor: programming, backing vocals; CX KIDTRONIK: backing vocals
In the six days between the time I first heard of this album's upcoming release and the actual release today I built up quite an expectation for this disc.
- I'm not previously familiar with Saul Williams. I am familiar with Trent Reznor, who produced and co-wrote most of the music.
- The disc is available as a download - free or for an optional donation of $5.
- There was a Saul Williams remix of Survivalism on his MySpace site.
- Monday there appeared an official "leak" of two album tracks.
Much like the buildup to the last Nine Inch Nails album, they utilized the internet and its various popular cultural windows (MySpace, direct download) to market and sell the collection. But how's the music?
Pretty damn good. This is very old-school rap by my estimation -- lots of looped samples providing layered, chaotic backdrops for the singing/rapping. Much of the music, as one might expect from Trent Reznor's involvement, is hard and loud slices of musical aggression though there are also a fair amount of the polar opposite: simple rhythms and sparse backing. There is a Native American flavor to much of the rhythm and sonic quality, though that might also be African (the universal quality of core rhythms and musics making them very similar to my ear.)
Highlights are the sense numbing assault of "Tr(n)igger", complete with Public Enemy samples from "Terrordome"; a lovely reworking of U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday"; the almost Peter Gabriel-esque tribal imperialism of "Skin of a Drum" (I say that with affection, not derision); and the quiet beauty of "No One Ever Does". I love the NIN samples in the various songs too -- they appear to be straight from the multi-tracks Reznor released over the last year for public download and use. Awesome.
This is easily one of the best releases this year. Powerful, musically and lyrically, and hooky in the manner of the best of The Bomb Squad's work, this is well worth the time to download and listen. Throw the $5 for the upgraded download -- not because the quality is better but because you support a musician giving excellent product to the consumer with no price tag.
Download is from the official Niggy Tardust site.
Posted 1 November 2007.
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