EL-P "Fantastic Damage" Definitive Jux Recordings 2002 (70:18)
Fantastic Damage (3:22)
Squeegee Man Shooting (4:24)
Deep Space 9mm (3:47)
Tuned Mass Damper (4:05)
Dead Disnee (3:51)
Delorian (5:35)
Truancy (5:04)
The Nang (front, bush and shit) (5:37)
Accidents Don't Happen (4:50)
Stepfather Factory (4:11)
TOJ (4:32)
Dr. Hell No Vs. The Praying Mantis (4:39)
Lazerface (4:36)
Interlude (2:21)
Constellation Funk (4:58)
Blood (4:26)
EL-P is formerly one third of hip hop luminaries Company Flow and the production mastermind behind many on the roster of his Definitive Jux label. "Fantastic Damage" is his 16 track, 70 minute solo debut. The heavy handed approach is pretty relentless and might take some getting used to. Most everything is witty, gritty, chunky and funky with clever rhymes, thick backgrounds and explosive beat box beats. Problem is, only about four tracks speak to me with any real authority. EL-P and the additional MCs (unknown to me as the promo CD-R came with little info - plus it's peppered with an annoying copy protection sample) are at times a tad too thuggish for my taste and often have difficulty coalescing or competing with the music. This becomes all the more apparent when you get to track 12, "Dr. Hell No Vs. The Praying Mantis", which obviously features Vast Aire of Cannibal Ox. His voice, cadence and words are the natural counterpart to EL-P's jams and would benefit every track, just like on Cannibal Ox's "The Cold Vein". Yeah, it wouldn't be a solo album then, but it would be much stronger. That said, "Deep Space 9mm" and "Tuned Mass Damper" are very worthwhile and are available on either side of a 12". I'd probably be just as happy with it as I am the album. Upcoming projects for EL-P include co-producing albums for Zack de la Rocha and with Dan the Automator ...
Where did I get this cd? - promo