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Did you just click on the words ‘Dr Octagon’ thinking ‘what the fuck, a new Dr Octagon album?’ That was my first reaction. You just don’t fuck with classics – it’s bad news. It would be fair for masses of people to assume that should The Return of Dr. Octagon not live up to the status of the original 1996 project, is a travesty. Well, it probably doesn’t quite match – but who thought it would anyway.
The reasons for this are obvious. First up, I was always under the impression that Dan the Automator was the antagonist of sorts, and that Kool Keith had been drafted in for reasons of lyrical tomfoolery – wrong. Dan is not on production duties; rather a Berlin based crew of three by the name of One Watt Sun takes the honour. And seeing as you’re wondering, Q-Bert is not called up for the type of ill deck-antics that really let you know who he was ten years ago. Seeing as that album did so much for three hip hop legends (and that’s not really an overstatement, is it?), this album was always going to upset a small percentage of die-hards.
But you know Keith is in Octagon mode when that same cracked voice announces at the start that they’re thankful you called, but all the operators are masturbating right now, and your call has been placed in a bucket of stomach fluid. It sounds like he’s on hallucinogens again, but when doesn’t it, with little barks of randomness informing Keith/Dr Octagon has a new job driving a van with Elmer Fudd, while giving other songs choruses about how people look like ants, and how trees are dying. Whether Bob Brown picks up a copy remains to be seen.
All in all though, it is by no means a disaster, no It Was Written to Illmatic, no Forever to Enter The Wu Tang. The reason is of course, is that the production is totally removed from it’s forbear. One Watt Sun take inspiration from many angles, but electro type futurism is the go, with squeals and synths making a great backdrop for Keith’s type of fantasy rap. Presumably, there would have been all types of people keen to work on such a project, so we’ll presume Keith got the right men for the job. And for those wondering if it reaches the same levels of sexual depravity as the original – not quite, although a few of the skits are well worth a chuckle, even if they don’t involve gynecology.
evilchris2 says...
This is a real interesting one. Apparently what's happened is that Keith was trying to get out of a contractual obligation and had to surrender his studio recordings to indicate that 'his intention to finish the record was serious.' Audible Treats basically took the recordings that Keith gave them and turned them over to their in-house producers, who put together this 'faux Dr. Octagon 2' effort