484 - Merle Haggard - Branded Man

It isn't a greatest hits collection, but the songs exemplify the Bakersfield Sound to such an extent that it is easy to think it is. The guitars and drums shuffle behind the vocals; which are front and center. The only time the guitars jump to the front are in small flourishes to the riff in pauses of the lyrics in much the same way as many blues greats have mini-solos between stanzas and verses. And talk about clean, the sound of the vocals and all of the instruments is pure and crisp.

But that clean production is in sharp contrast to the dusty bar/honky-tonk that immediately comes to mind when you hear about Merle's struggles with society and the law. It would be interesting to hear a lo-fi version of this album.

Songs I knew I liked: "Long Black Limousine"

Songs I didn't know but now like: "Branded Man," "Don't Get Married," "Some of Us Never Learn," and "I Made the Prison Band"

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: "I Threw Away the Rose"

483 - The Notorious B.I.G. - Life After Death

I got bored and distracted from rap when gangsta rap came along and didn't get back on board until Dirty South. My knowledge of Notorious B.I.G. comes from exposure via Puffy Combs (for better or worse).

The first disc very much sounds like what I expected a Puffy/Biggie album to sound like. There are pop and R&B flourishes on most of the tracks on the first disc. There are the two biggest hits ("Mo Money Mo Problems" and "Hypnotize"), several ballads, and plenty of crooning by guest singers. Thankfully there are only a few tracks throughout the album that the guests kinda cloud who the star of the song really is.

The second CD is rougher sounding and the samples seem more gritty. These songs don't have the same polish the first half had. Some tracks benefit from this switch in attitude, by gaining an "old school" feel to them. But someone should have talked Biggie out of singing. *shudder*

Biggie's style is laid back and blunt. At times, he delivers a constant stream of lyrics with the regularity of a drum machine. If you aren't a fan of those comic sketches or non-musical intervals between tracks, sorry, you still have them here, but they are mostly kept very short. Unfortunately, these intervals are usually placed at the beginning of tracks instead of the end; making it hard to skip over them. Overall, it is an interesting album that seems to be able to straddle the two worlds of street-cred rap and music stardom.

Songs I knew I liked: "Mo Money Mo Problems"

Songs I didn't know but now like: "Hypnotize," "F**k You Tonight," "B.I.G. (Interlude)," "Miss You," and "Sky's the Limit"

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: "What's Beef," "Going Back to Cali," "Playa Hater," "Nasty Boy," and "My Downfall"