Public Enemy: Classic or Dud?

for reference :)

worst Public Enemy album title

Sweet Jesus, I forgot about "New Whirl Odor." That's as unfortunate as "Puke-a-hantas".

Next one'll be some nonsense political spoonerism like Allah, a Biden Sit is In

I remember there being lots of tension circa Muse Sick also, that Def Jam were pressurising PE to drop their tempos to fit with the west coast sound of the day. There was a Chuck D interview with Melody Maker the week before their Phoenix appearance that was all about that.

https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/public-enemy-the-greatest-rap-band-in-the-world-ever

Xxxxxp wouldn’t these lost disks have resurfaced/been bootlegged by now?

Either that or some fledgling producer released an amazing album of beats then mysteriously stopped recording

my mom stole them and recorded PBS's I Claudius over them

Anyone know which album sessions produced which outtake on that first side of"Greatest Misses"?

??? they're all new recordings

Tracks 1-6 were supposed to be "previously unreleased outtakes."

when?

on wikipedia

Why?

who?

...Stole the Soul? (Sir Jinx Stolen Souled Out Reparation Mixx)

on wikipedia

oldest version 22 June 2006

Categories: Public Emeny albums / Greatest hits albums

Revision on Revision as of 19:34, 17 October 2018 changed "It features new tracks (1-6)," to "It included previously unreleased outtakes (1-6)"

Washington Post, 1994:

PE's 1992 "Greatest Misses" echoed 1973's "Dylan," a collection of marginal outtakes and leftovers that belonged on a bonus disc, not a bona fide one.

not saying that's right or wrong, but that info clearly predates 2018

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1994/08/24/public-enemy-classic-rap/f6dae98c-97c2-4ba3-a9e3-3773fc8904a7/

LA Times, 1994:

Public Enemy first stumbled with its 1992 album of outtakes, “Greatest Misses.”

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-08-19-ca-29095-story.html

my recollection is that it was promoted as six new tracks, six (mostly new) remixes (plus the Word performance) but obv that is inadmissable as evidence

the printed credits on the 1992 release Greatest Misses, however, indicate that they can't be outtakes from anything older than 1991 release Apocalypse '91, so I refer the honorable member to my earlier ???

"Apocalypse '91" outtakes seems reasonable I guess?

but yeah, ???

FWIW, Erlewine's AllMusic review simply refers to them as "new songs" / "new material"...

Also, if it's a helpful piece of the puzzle, Discogs.com user "tiddlerz" remarks -- "this is being filed under a comp but its fucking banging and essential as any PE album in my opinion."

I'll say this for How Do You Sell Soul..., the single "Harder than you Think" is an essential PE jam for me

tie goes to the runner rules

“Harder Than You Think” is so good

There’s a lot of great stuff on There’s a Poison Going On too, which people miss because it’s like their fourth slept-on release in a row at that point

I love this beat

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=62nCe2a1zsc

There’s A Poison sounds like it was recorded on styrofoam

GREAT track, but I was surprised to find that "Harder Than You Think" hit #4 on the UK singles chart, which makes it PE's highest charting single there. (And it did it five years after it was released.)

^ when it was used as the theme to Paralympics coverage on UK television

Still going through late era PE. I would add 2012's "Most of My Heroes Still Don't Appear on No Stamp" as another keeper - Chuck's physically sounding a bit older, but he still has a commanding authority. 2002's "Revolverlution" is a mixed bag by design, but throw out the four fan remixes and the live cuts weighing it down and it's probably another keeper. I'm going to miss Flav's levity and absurdity on these records, and he's still an underrated multi-instrumentalist.

Turns out, Flavor Flav's firing was an elaborate hoax to promote a new album, LOUD IS NOT ENOUGH, that was dropping on April Fools' Day (today).

Posted yesterday on March 31: https://www.enemyradio.net/news/a-hoax-that-aint-no-joke

More here: https://pitchfork.com/news/chuck-d-says-flavor-flavs-public-enemy-firing-was-staged-to-promote-new-song-and-album/

🙄

um.

I had watched Orson Welles’ ‘War Of The Worlds’ from 1938 when he pulled the wool over the public’s eyes as they put 100% belief in the technology of radio. Most people followed like a Pavlovic dog just like they do now.

"I believed a fictional press release about people being unable to tell fiction from news, so I made up some fiction and pretended it was news, and then put out a press release about it, to prove that people are as stupid as me ermm, everyone else but me."

I’m not sayin’ it’s a hoax, I’m sayin’ that the original intention is to get your attention and not play attention, but get you to pay attention.”

idk Carlton man, this is a little too coherent. can I suggest How You Pay Attention To An Attentionless People Who Ain't Play Attention? Get Talkin' To Get 'Em Torqued Up With Intentional Tension

even viewed through the most charitable lens, this is phenomenally bad timing

Oh dear

sic lol

is chuck advising that we... don’t believe the hype

This is the funniest fucking thing, rivaled only by the title of one of the songs on the album being "STD (Slavery Transmitted Disease)"

Wait, all the reasons they gave for firing Flav were tru tho

I mean I'm glad tho

I feel like this album release could itself be an April Fool's prank inasmuch as it's a latter day Public Enemy album whose title somehow fails to read like it was whipped up by a gaggle of college freshmen getting super high in their dorm room.

Luau Dis Naughty 'Nuff, surely.

it's so sad to see this band that were just absolute titans reduced to this

it's a latter day Public Enemy album

It’s an “Enemy Radio” album, there’s a loophole there...

Also, not to fact-check Chuck D, but he may be off-bass* on the subject of public credulity around the War of the Worlds broadcast.

*my phone made this typo and I’m gonna keep it, seems appropriate here

idk Carlton man, this is a little too coherent. can I suggest How You Pay Attention To An Attentionless People Who Ain't Play Attention? Get Talkin' To Get 'Em Torqued Up With Intentional Tension

fuck lol

can we please just turn this into a thread of speculative future Public Enemy album titles

How Much Flav Would a Chuck D. Chuck If a Chuck D. Would Chuck Flav?

never mind