On 1995's Do You Want More?, the first widely available album by the
Roots, there was a track called "Essaywhuman?!!??!" that was essentially an
excuse for the group to jam, to show off that they were a rap band,
with a guitarist, a bassist, a keyboardist and a drummer. At the time it was
impressive as hell; now it sounds sort of quaint. But it also seems now like
an important mark of what was to come, as in recent years the Roots have
been ensuring that the band side of their music continues to evolve, that
their brand of hip-hop continues to have a distinctly group-oriented musical
sound.
Their landmark 2000 album Things Fall Apart was where The Roots began
to really push themselves in unique musical directions while showcasing a
strong hip-hop sensibility at the same time. The rhymes were sharp and the
music was just as much so. Since then they've strengthened their sound
immensely, using their abilities as a band in a seamless way, as evidenced
through remarkable live performances, including an MTV Unplugged
stint backing Jay-Z.
Phrenology builds from that base, with The Roots both filling their
sound out and pushing it in a variety of directions. For the bulk of the
album, The Roots play the form of tight soul/funk that it seemed like they
had perfected on Things Fall Apart, but here it sounds even more
exact, funkier and edgier. They've got their style down to near-perfection,
and they've nicely augmented it with a batch of modern-day soul vocalists,
including Musiq, Jill Scott, and promising newcomer Cody ChesnuTT.
What's especially significant about Phrenology, though, is that the
Roots have not just honed what their fans are used to but pushed themselves
in new directions at the same time. This album will no doubt be a treat for
all Roots fans near and far. The first pressing even comes with a DVD of
rare videos and live performance footage that is like an unexpected
Christmas gift for fans. But The Roots aren't resting on their fan base.
They're moving right along, updating what they do.
In general, they're letting rock sounds and attitudes seep into their sound,
showing (like their compatriot Common does to an even further extent on his
new album Electric Circus) that hip-hop musicians are aware of the
grand legacy of black rock musicians like Jimi Hendrix, Funkadelic and Bad
Brains. The most notable track on Phrenology where these influences
come out is not the brief, somewhat inconsequential stab at hardcore called
"!!!!!!", but "Water", a startlingly honest song about dealing with a friend
who is losing himself to addiction. It's a blatantly personal song, about a
former member of The Roots, and has a sound that's both intimate and rough.
Halfway through "Water" the group go into space-rock mode, musically
envisioning what a troubled mind might be like.
Phrenology is rock in attitude more than sound. "Rock You" kicks off
the album as Black Thought's statement that the group's going to blow
listeners away, and the rest of the album keeps that tone up. Even when
they're playing a love ballad or a more dance-oriented uptempo number, the
Roots are out to impress you with what they can do.
The show-stopping approach is taken with the rhymes as much as the music.
Black Thought comes off as both more rugged and even more precise than
usual. His words and his phrasing simply knock you over, especially on a
track like "Thought @ Work," a mindblowing remake of Kool G Rap and Polo's
classic "Men at Work", or the two blazing jams ("Rolling With Heat" and an
unlisted bonus track) that pair Thought up with Talib Kweli, putting two of
today's best MCs side by side to show off their skills.
Though Phrenology slows down a bit near the end, with a track that
tries hard to make a statement about society but feels fairly empty ("Pussy
Galore") and a love ballad that bears a sort of awkward-sounding chorus from
Jill Scott ("Complexity"). but on the whole Phrenology is an
impressive, ambitious work. The Roots have made the smart move of
continually pushing themselves in new directions without taking any
miscalculated jumps off of cliffs. Phenology is stunning, ranking
right up there with the best hip-hop music of today.
— 9 January 2003
