Pete Rock & CL Smooth - All Souled Out (June 25, 1991)

Peter Phillips and Corey Penn, better known in the filed as their gamer aliases Pete Rock & CL Smooth, are a duo from Mount Vernon, New York, who have earned praise from critics and hip hop heads alike for their jazz-influenced beats (Pete) and their ability to rhyme over said beats (CL). They were known for remixing existing hits for rap and R&B artists alike, until Elektra Records gave them a shot at earning their own audience share.

In a move that I completely agree with but most of the music industry refuses to acknowledge (at least when it comes to hip hop), Elektra Records only commissioned Pete and CL to record a six-song EP, as a way to introduce themselves to America. The sales of the final product, All Souled Out, would then have to justify the release of a full album. (Why, if only most of the rappers in the South were marketed with this blueprint, we may not be wondering why hip hop is as dead as disco.) Pete and CL ran with this opportunity, and the rest is history.

Obviously, All Souled Out found its niche, since if you're still reading this write-up you will have heard of Pete Rock & CL Smooth, from their rise to their eventual falling-out. The breakup of the duo wouldn't happen for several years yet, so there is no foreshadowing on All Souled Out, just the rhymes of a talented guy just happy to get a shot, and the early-but-still-ridiculously-professional beats from who would later become one of the best producers in hip hop, period.

So are the six songs on All Souled Out worth your time? I don't usually like to show my cards so early in the game, but yes.

1. GOOD LIFE

Aah, drums and horns. I like how CL Smooth praises his lady friend's intelligence by mentioning that "you use logic". The song itself has a timeless quality; it's as if Pete and CL could have recorded this song last week (that is, if they were still on speaking terms), and it would still sound exactly the same. This is a good thing.

2. MECCA & THE SOUL BROTHER

Ah, a title track for an album that hadn't even been announced at this point. In contrast, this song sounds clearly dated, but in a "it still rocks harder than anything released in the new millennium" kind of way. Beats like this probably would have saved Pete's solo sequel Soul Survivor II. Also, better collaborators. (Side note: So Vast Aire has a Cannibal Ox reunion track produced by Peter Rockefeller called "Mecca & The Ox"? What the fuck? Isn't Pete supposed to be the 'Soul Brother' of the title? Why else would everyone call him Soul Brother Number One?)

3. GO WITH THE FLOW

It's not a bad song by any means, but I'm not really feeling this one. I suppose it would serve as some great inspiration when I remove my pan flute from its holster and turn all Zamfir on my two readers, but that's it.

4. THE CREATOR

Pete Rock's solo rhyme showcase, on which he sounds like a speedier Erick Sermon, a comparison that you can't really make today. While he's never been the best rapper (indeed, he's usually outshined by any given rapper that appears on a track with him, but be fair to the man, he's a producer first), he holds his own admirably on this track. I believe "The Creator" was a minor hit back in the day, which is hilarious to me, since it's the one song that doesn't really feature CL Smooth.

5. ALL SOULED OUT

Not bad, but not great. Pete and CL would make much better songs later in their respective careers.

6. GOOD LIFE (GROUP HOME MIX)

The new beat sounds much darker, and yet, more optimistic, than the original, even though the lyrics are exactly the same. That said, I prefer this version to the original. I don't have a clue why it's called the "Group Home" mix, though I'm sure it has nothing to do with those two weed carriers who were lucky enough to score Primo beats from the local Goodwill.

FINAL THOUGHTS: All Souled Out sounds like the type of album you listen to while smoking cigarettes while sitting around in a black-and-white hue as the smoke circles you and your friends, while you write your musical dissertation on overt jazz influences on popular music out loud as your friends debate your every thought. Pete and CL easily prove that they are deserving of an album, and their full-length debut Mecca and the Soul Brother would see itself hit store shelves one year later.

BUY OR BURN? A six track EP with four great songs? There's a sixty-six percent chance that you'll love this disc. You can't pass up those odds. Legally. People have been locked up for less.

BEST TRACKS: "Good Life (Group Home Mix)"; "Good Life"; "Mecca & The Soul Brother"; "The Creator"

-Max

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Pete Rock - Soul Survivor

Pete Rock - Soul Survivor II