Disciples Of The 36 Chambers: Chapter 1

"They all showed up." That one line alone in the notes of the Wu-Tang Clan live album Disciples of the 36 Chambers might convince a legion of hip-hop fans to buy the record, if only to (for once) get what they paid for with a Wu-Tang live show. (Truth to tell, so so many unfulfilled promises have been made to fans that they'd be forgiven for suspecting that ODB's photo would slip off the cover on the way out of the store.) Never mind how they were all rounded up, all nine members of the mighty Wu--yes, the RZA, Genius aka the GZA, Method Man, Ghostface Killah, ODB aka Dirt McGirt, Raekwon, U-God, Masta Killa, and Inspectah Deck, plus a few family members like Cappadonna--were assembled in one place (San Bernardino) at one time (the evening of July 17, 2004) for a show. Commemorated with a combination CD/DVD release in September 2004, the show will survive as a potent but nearly overwhelming display of East Coast firepower, 27 tracks (34 on the DVD) of Wu-Tang Clan group and solo hits packed into an hour with little time to come up for air. The sound quality is very punchy but very muddy, while the tracks feature an occasional lack of transition that would make any DJ blush. And several rounds of crowd singalongs organized around rallying calls like "Wu-Tang Clan ain't nuthin' ta f' wit" or "Cash rules everything around me, dolla dolla bill y'all" aren't nearly as exciting on record. But no collective of rappers could fill a show with so many hip-hop perennials, whether group hits ("C.R.E.A.M.," "Shame on a Nigga," "Bring da Ruckus," "Method Man," "Gravel Pit") or solo shots ("Incarcerated Scarfaces," "Liquid Swords," "Shimmy Shimmy Ya"). [Although the DVD contains many exclusives, this CD edition has two bonus tracks: videos for RZA's "Chi Kung" and Cappadonna's "The Grits."] --John Bush, All Music Guide