The Single Finest Hip Hop Album I own
Gorilla | Boston/Vienna | 09/19/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Until I heard "Nosebleed Section" at a party a few weeks back, I'd never even heard of Hilltop Hoods. I was impressed with their stuff - the vocal skill, writing, and creative production was among the best I've heard in the last couple of years.
Taking a chance, I got "The Hard Road (restrung)" and popped it into my drive. Rarely have I been so surprised, impressed, and simply rocked by an album. It's genius! A great idea, fantastic production, and overall...a fresh breath of air in a genre where most of what's easily available is subpar garbage with value only for die-hard fans of rims, hard talk about losing friends to violence, and generally insecure posturing.
This is simply great music. Totally different from what you expect, and it (surprisingly?) works. No fillers. All meat. A quick summary:
Beats/Arrangements: 10/10
Production Value: 9/10
Theme/Flow: 9/10
Interesting Lyrics 9/10
Vocal Skill 9/10
Overall Value 10
I've been able to play this for people who generally HATE hip hop. I've played it at a party and in someone's car - both with awesome results (several people actually came up to me and asked what I was playing, then wrote it into their phones). I play it when I'm working out (it's fantastically motivating/driving stuff!). I play it when I'm relaxing.
Standout tracks seem to be The Hard Road, Breathe, The Captured Vibe, and Recapturing the Vibe. Just the way the first track drops in had me grinning. Powerful stuff. Not to be missed if you like fantastically produced, innovative music. Worth it."
Seriously good album ... but 40 BUCKS?!?
Thomas R. Boward | St Davids, PA United States | 11/14/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I D/L'd this album from alternative sources and love it. I've been listening for a week now and will move this to the keepers archive. The lyrics are top notch, the mixing is superb, and listening to the baseline without moving any part of your body is like trying to stifle a sneeze. You just can't.
My rule is that anything I keep, I buy. So, I logged in today to purchase this and found it was [...]. I'm not sure how on Earth this can be. The CD is very very good, but it's not [...] good. I'm actually not sure I can name a single CD that's [...] good. Hell, I'd be hard pressed to name a [...] good CD.
My conclusion
If price is not an issue for you, get this. You'll love it. If you can't stomach spending that kind of green on a single music CD, then buy it used, or acquire it in another manner and figure out some other way to support the group. They earned some compensation for this - it's art."
Track Listings (13) - Disc #1