In 2008, Ghostface Killah blessed fans with another compilation of his ultra-popular tracks, including a couple of remixes. Production included RZA, Carlos Bess, Acid Caputo, Shorty of 140 Productions, Allah Mathematics, MoSS, Just Blaze, LV & Sean C, G2J Band, Pete Rock, MF DOOM, Hassan, K-Def, Anthony Acid, Fantom of the Beats, and Xtreme. Guests included the entire Wu-Tang Clan, his son Sun God, Popa Wu, No Malice of Clipse, Beanie Sigel of State Property, Styles P & Jadakiss of The LOX, Ice Cube, Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Mary J. Blige, and Ne-Yo.
Same beat as the original, here only Moss is credited behind the keyboards: beautiful female sample from Jimmy Vann & Richard Hieronymus "I Weigh with Kilos", elegant funky bass line, dry drum sparse minimal midtempo. The joint focuses on the difficulties and merits of being among the big shots in the drug game, with a vision almost close to Taoism. Intro, chorus and verse by Ghostdeini who runs with a velvet slow on this brilliant soundscape. Hook, then Raekwon enters, slow, velvety, regular. Chorus, last stanza to Ghost. Bridge, refrain. To the original track is appropriately added a verse by No Malice of Clipse, he confuses the Persians with the Spartans in the famous battle of Thermopylae. Good remix anyway.
2. "The Champ (Remix)"
Same choice of "Fishscale", with the same beat of Just Blaze and verses by the main rapper without guests. Intro removed, shrill horns in loop, skeletal uptempo drum, robust bass, rich soundscape tu support five stanzas (two more than the original), the Stapleton artist spits for six minutes here.
3. "Tony Sigel a.k.a. Barrel Bros." (ft. Styles P & Beanie Sigel)
This is a remix of the cut of "The Big Doe Rehab". Same beat, one more performer. Honest boom bap, raw bass line, scarce downtempo drums, tight samples, first production from Sean C & LV on this CD. Ghostdeini drops an hardcore verse, short contribute from Styles P. Great entrance, rough, sharp, sensational verse from Beanie Sigel, who delivers with a dirty, hardcore style and kills the beat, in this remix his last line is completed, while in the original it's cut. Solomon Childs closes, this time credited, with his contribution that is moved to the end of the track instead of being in the middle. Joint with Wu-Tang, LOX, State Property and Theodore Unit.
4. "Slept on Tony"
One of the original tracks of this record. Soundscape provided by G2J Band, funky bass, dusty cymbals, dusty drum midtempo, shrill horns in loop, melodic female sample, splendid beat. Tony Starks flies over this production, dropping a couple of verses. The cut is then inserted in a scene of the movie "Iron Man" (2008).
5. "Run (Remix)" (ft. Raekwon, Jadakiss, Freeway, & Lil Wayne)
Same beat of the original in "The Pretty Toney Album", invented by The RZA. Haunting sample from Lex Baxter's "Hogin Machine", dusty dirty underground uptempo drum, bass line covered by the din of the cymbals and the shouted delivery of Ghostface, who enters hardcore and doesn't let go for anything in a tune in which the performers advise the drug dealers on how to escape the police. Chef Raekwon with the second stanza, smoothness, dope flow. Urgent chorus shouted by Starks. Interlude to introduce Jadakiss, the emcee enters with a more calm style, focused, punctual, silky. Freeway tears the cut with his hardcore verse. Hook, last stanza provided by Lil Wayne that completes this six-minute joint.
6. "Be Easy (Remix)" (ft. Ice Cube & Trife Diesel, the latter uncredited)
Amazing production of Pete Rock, the rhythm is the same as the original present in "Fishscale": dry, hard, midtempo, heavy drum, intense samples from The Sylvers' "Stay Away From Me", very short horn loop, thick bass line, hardcore delivery by Pretty Toney on this uptempo musical carpet. Second verse by Ice Cube, slow, thoughtful rapping style, Ghostface drops two verses in the midst of a short bridge by Trife, uncredited in this remix.
7. "Mighty Healthy"
Skit from "Shaolin Rescuers" (1979) leads the way with Ghostface's rousing rap, which sweeps the track away with a powerful, confident, inspired, magnificent delivery. The rhythm of Allah Mathematics is one of the best on the album, a melodic, clean and enveloping loop from the sample of "Wish That I Could Talk to You" by The Sylvers which contrasts wonderfully with a dirty and dusty, slow and tight, lively street drum, the rhythm is underground, with some sad and melancholic elements, piano keys.
8. "It's Over"
Intro from the lead rapper on a wobbly piano keys, midtempo drum, sample from David Porter's "I'm Afraid the Masquerade Is Over" that emerges, crisp piano, wobbly strings, phat bass line. K-Def is the beatmaker here. Hook from the sample, tight confident hardcore rapping from Pretty Toney who rips the track. Second verse from the Stapleton rapper, then at the end of the joint there's a skit between Ghost and Solomon Childs of Theodore Unit.
9. "Apollo Kids" (ft. Raekwon)
The musical carpet is entrusted to Haas G aka Phantom of the Beats: sample from Solomon Burke's "Cool Breeze" which gives the song a commanding feel, the organ gives it dark and obscure vibes for long stretches, hard drums, dirty, dusty, flawless, dope hardcore delivery by Ghostface. Raekwon delivers yet another impressive track on the record, spitting bars with a raw, hardcore, silky, great style.
10. "9 Milli Bros." (Wu-Tang Clan)
An almost obligatory cut in a Starks greatest album, as the boy manages to rally the entire Wu-Tang over an MF DOOM beat. There's no comparison. Over an already released Metal Fingers beat, "Fenugreek" from one of his instrumental records, the best swordsmen of Staten Island challenge each other with verses for a few minutes. Everyone in there, with the notable exception of RZA, Ghostface has to take a sample of his voice from a separate track to get him in the posse, and then only for the intro.
11. "Walk Around"
Female soul sample, sparse downtempo drum, fresh lively bassline, tight violin loops, the beatmaker Anthony Acid manages to create a sunny soundscape. Ghostdeini raps hardcore for a couple of minutes here.
12. "Street Opera" (ft. Sun God)
Sample from Michael Jackson's "Ain't No Sunshine", dusty dry hard drum, phat bass line, dope rhythm invented by Fantom of the Beat. Sun God delivers with a regular flow, the sample breathes at the height of the hook, elementary chorus by Tony Starks who then goes hardcore and destroys the cut with a powerful flow. Third verse in back n forth between Tony Starks and Sun God.
13. "All I Got Is You" (ft. RZA, Mary J. Blige & Popa Wu)
For the next choice, Ghostface Killah places his debut single. Heavenly sample from "Maybe Tomorrow" by Jackson 5, intro by Ghost in spoken word, soulful hook by Mary J. Blige over tearful strings. Ghostdeini's unique verse, touching, powerful, personal, dedicated to his mother and his childhood, performed with its best flow, hardcore, velvety, enveloping, dope. Mary J Blige chorus in the background is beautiful, light, distant, melodic, then her verse sung. Outro in spoken word by Popa Wu.
14. "Back Like That (Remix)" (ft. Kanye West & Ne-Yo)
Remix of Ghostface's hit "Back Like That" released a few years earlier on "Fishscale". Xtreme behind the keyboards, the beat doesn't change. Intro, hook by Ne-Yo, Kanye West spits the introductory stanza with a quiet, silky, flowing rapping and launches the remix. Chorus, Ghost Face Killer tears up the track with an hardcore second verse that contrasts with the sweetness of the beat, hook, final verse by Ne-Yo and his chorus with which he goes away. Good remix, not excellent.
15. "Cherchez LaGhost" (ft. U-God)
One of the last choices of this effort is the club hit with Wu-Tang Clan's homie Lucky Hands. Minimal rhythm by Carlos Bess, quiet percussion, sparse drums and lukewarm samples. Madame Majestic enters, uncredited, and pays homage to "Cherchez La Femme" by Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band, then Tony Starks and U-God deliver a few bars each, Golden Arms inflicts a stab to the beat, he's hardcore, aggressive, lucid, fluid.
16. "Ghostface X-mas" (ft. Shawn Wigs, uncredited)
Ghostface hasn't stopped pushing his band Theodore Unit, though this cut says more Othorized FAM than anything else. Some poor boom bap from Shorty of 140 Productions, the production team behind Othorized FAM: poor drums, obsessive loops. Starks delivers a couple of verses amidst a hook by Shawn Wigs, a member of Theodore Unit but also of the other Staten Island band, uncredited here.
Final Thoughts
Ghostface's fourth compilation, half of it is made up of remixes, the other part of songs, it should select some masterpieces from the author's vast discography, but it does so with mixed results. Each remix fails to touch the levels of the original, despite Starks bringing with him some of the most appreciated emcees of the circuit. The man doesn't forget his friends from Wu-Tang and the protégés of his group Theodore Unit, nevertheless the final result is a bit disappointing and ends up being a useless effort, released more to fulfill some contractual obligation and get some money than for any other purpose. Published by Def Jam, it enters hip-hop (#43) and rap charts (#14), and is welcomed by mixed reviews. Not recommended for fans, 6/10.
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