Don't up your bids yet, web shoppers-- your wallet can breathe a huge sigh of relief. At last, the sounds of Clear Blue Skies can again grace the ears of the common man, an album only A-Rod or B-Gates could have picked up recently. The availability of the Juggaknots' one vinyl-only full-length had been relegated to the Net over the past few years, fetching upwards of sixty dollars each time it was posted on eBay. Rumors of another pressing floated for some time-- in large part because the only other Fondle 'Em LP of the era (Kool Keith and Godfather Dox92s The Cenobites) got another go-'round in 2000-- but this year Clear Blue Skies is finally getting the King Ralph Royal Meal Deal expanded treatment, available for the first time on either CD or double vinyl, with eleven bonus tracks, in a store near you.
Up until this point, Breezly Brewin and Buddy Slim havex92t exactly been household names, but the Bronx duo has risen to cult status through some exceptional guest appearances. Many may remember the Brewix92s contribution to \x93Fire in Which You Burx94, on Company Flow's Funcrusher Plus. If you have a reasonable excuse for missing his opening verse (though, you dox92t), perhaps he's more recognizable as the lead role of Tariq in Prince Paul's cinemaudio opus A Prince Among Thieves. With an added third member (Queen Heroine), the Juggaknots also helped fill in the RZA-esque bleeps and Pterodactyl-screams of Mr. Lex92s \x93This Morning\x94, the standout track on the Matador-released Pity the Fool. If all of this slipped under your late 90s rap-o-meter, hopefully last year's terrific comeback 12\x94 \x93WKRP in NYC\x94 jogs your memory.
I'd high-five you if these releases were all a part of your music library, but in case they arex92t, consider Re: Release your salvation. All nine tracks from the original album are collected here, albeit in incorrect order. Call it nitpicking, but the sequencing of this LP is essential: from \x93The Hunt is Ox94 to \x93I'm Gonna Kill You\x94, each song pounded into the next, creating a thick swamp of street wisdom and relentless battle raps. Breaking up the flow with bonus tracks (read: session outtakes) that rarely last two full minutes was a mistake. Still, the masterwork remains.
\x93Trouble Max94 is the proper Clear Blue Skies kickoff, with a distantly fading piano and a bassline that seemingly jumps the gun before the start of each measure. Buddy Slim, vocally reminiscent of Parrish Smith, clobbers the track. Complete with sampled explosions (dox92t front) Slim gets to work: \x93You become a sittix92 duck, but fuck it I aix92t givix92 in/ I'm livix92 trifle, the pen and pad becomes a 12-gauge rifle.\x94 This is pure, unadulterated, urban angst, twisted through the mind of a grizzled war veteran.
Easily the album's highlight, the title track is curiously found as an unlisted bonus cut. This song should not go unnoticed, and the following statement is not made lightly: \x93Clear Blue Skies\x94 is one of the greatest hip-hop songs of the past decade. Breezly Brewin, through some knob tweaking, portrays both a white father and his son, quarreling over the sox92s interracial relationship. Superbly articulate and critical, the Brewin tastefully deals with race in a domestic context that is rarely explored so patiently in hip-hop. This song alone is justification for any eBay price inflation.
Aside from the aforementioned sequencing problems, it's impossible to complain for the simplest of reasons: this superb, out of print record is back, and widely available. The bonus tracks are a nice touch in and of themselves, and have some worth considering the limited output of anything wholly Juggaknots, period. The group shouldx92t have to worry about wallowing in obscurity anymore, as a new batch of fans can discover a Fondle 'Em gem without breaking the bank. Sit back, program tracks 1, 2, 3, 11, 5, 9, 7, 20, and 16 into your player, and revel in the Clear Blue Skies.
