Reviews:

Wasn't Wu-Tang Clan supposed to be finished? Then why is it that Ghostface has one of the year's best albums and the long, long delayed Masta Killa debut is pretty good, too? Oh wait "finished" is just newfangled next-thing-now talk for "not as central/vital/overpowering as it used to be," isn't it? A little like calling a purse-snatcher a bank robber, but it's partly understandable-let's face it, Killa's about a decade late for his coming out to turn heads en masse. In fact, make that 11 years, the amount of time it's been since an incarcerated Killa contributed a verse to "Da Mystery of Chessboxin'," on Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).

The aptly titled No Said Date acts as if no time at all has passed between then and now. Which isn't to say it sounds like 1993 all over again-more like a solid, slightly anonymous amalgam of the usual kung-fu flick soundbites ("Born Chamber"), warm electro ("Digi Warfare"), off-center piano loops ("Secret Rivals"), soul-diva hooks ("Queen"), and guest appearances from damn near everyone in Wu-Tang. The agile Killa dominates, though, and his mood is as variable as the music. He's at his most gripping when crime comes up; "Just looking out of the window/ Watching the gunshots blow/ Thinking how we was all turning out," he says at the top of "Silverbacks." Maybe it's just like 1993 after all.

"Wasn't Wu-Tang Clan supposed to be finished? Then why is it that Ghostface has one of the year's best albums and the long, long delayed Masta Killa debut is pretty good, too? Oh wait ""finished"" is just newfangled next-thing-now talk for ""not as central/vital/overpowering as it used to be,"" isn't it? A little like calling a purse-snatcher a bank robber, but it's partly understandable-let's face it, Killa's about a decade late for his coming out to turn heads en masse. In fact, make that 11 years, the amount of time it's been since an incarcerated Killa contributed a verse to ""Da Mystery of Chessboxin',"" on Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).

The aptly titled No Said Date acts as if no time at all has passed between then and now. Which isn't to say it sounds like 1993 all over again-more like a solid, slightly anonymous amalgam of the usual kung-fu flick soundbites (""Born Chamber""), warm electro (""Digi Warfare""), off-center piano loops (""Secret Rivals""), soul-diva hooks (""Queen""), and guest appearances from damn near everyone in Wu-Tang. The agile Killa dominates, though, and his mood is as variable as the music. He's at his most gripping when crime comes up; ""Just looking out of the window/ Watching the gunshots blow/ Thinking how we was all turning out,"" he says at the top of ""Silverbacks."" Maybe it's just like 1993 after all.

"