As you can see, today is ’90s day at the Jukebox…
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Jonathan Bradley: The Wu work hard to make the title literal: RZA throws on an old O’Jays record; Ghost reminisces over Dirty, imitating him affectionately; Meth quotes Obama; Masta Killa plays Twister with the kids and serves up some lemonade. It might be something more than pleasant if we could share the burgers and fried fish instead of just hearing about them.
[6]
Patrick St. Michel: Less of a reunion and more of a victory lap. Wu-Tang have been popping up on each others albums for pretty much as long as members of the group stepped outside the Clan. “Family Reunion” isn’t an actual reunion — especially since it only brings together Masta Killa, Method Man and Ghostface over a RZA production — but when those O’Jays-powered sunbeams appear, it’s tough to really care where Inspectah Deck is. Wu-Tang steps out from the gravelly underworld they’ve called home for two decades for a neighborhood BBQ vibe (complete with closing toast to the “Wu-Tang family all over the globe”). Simple, but breezy. Extra point for Ghostface’s crooning.
[7]
Brad Shoup: A harbinger of their southern-soul phase, in which the gang will show up in varying permutations to grouse about girlfriends peeking at your texts and people always asking to borrow a dollar. The RZA layers on playground sounds, then embeds a smattering of battle dialogue (a Wu watermark, I suppose); it takes a while for the sense of impending doom to dissipate. The sample is unwound essentially as-is; were this a Kanye production, Eddie Levert would get a feature. As for the Wu, yeah, it’s kinda funny how only four men make a reunion, but Dirt’s absence hangs over everything, no matter the numbers. Hard to score this, but I’ll err on the right side of curmudgeonry.
[7]
Daisy Le Merrer: Part of Wu-Tang’s charm has always been the little boys club ambience. No girls allowed, because girls are gross, and we’re so badass, and so on. At least that’s the way I find 36 Chambers now. There’s a point in a boy’s life when he realises the potential homoeroticism in staying with the boys, which too often leads him to affirm his heterosexuality through gay bashing. Wu-Tang’s too old for that shit now, though, and so they decided to recast their boys club as a family. Using the O’Jays ode to traditional families for extra nostalgic points, this sounds like a bunch of dads indulging themselves. And it’s exactly what it is, I guess.
[7]
Alfred Soto: A family reunion at a Father’s Day pool party at which the guests try not to drink so hard because they can’t handle tomorrow’s hangover, reflected by RZA’s backwards-looking O’Jays sample, Ghostface opening his verses with mention of his dead grandmother and peaking with an ODB memory, and the RZA himself closing the festivities too soon. In short, more tentative than their history, more bathetic than the competition.
[5]
Daniel Montesinos-Donaghy: Aside from Ghostface warmly reminiscing on ODB’s wild life — possibly making up for his mysterious absence on the 2007 tribute “Life Changes,” this is a “Family Reunion” lacking in surprises. It’s a touch too self-referential, weaving in references to “Glaciers of Ice” (“my seeds marry his seeds”), “Triumph” and Wu-Tang being for the children without even bothering spinning something fresh from them. Bolstered by an incessant O’Jays sample, it still functions as aural comfort food, sparking up memories of the 2003’s off-kilter nostalgia trip “Grits.” But you hope RZA wants more than bringing out sonic footnotes, especially with the twenty-year birthday talk sprinkled throughout the verses. Remember 8 Diagrams? Remember how weird that was? Remember Ghost singing George Harrison riffs? Remember Meth using, y’know, a different flow? Remember Masta Killa? More of that, please. That’s a legacy.
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