Bonus Post #2

I feel that previous post was written in a more meandering manner than I would have liked, running through multiple historical facts that you two have already known for years in an effort to bulk up the word count. I'm fully aware, you guys. Sometimes that's how these things go. But I'm going to try to counteract that by being much more lean here.

And as for those "historical facts" - here's something I'd be honestly surprised if either of you ever knew existed in the first place.

My Gut Reaction: Psycho Les - Psycho Therapy: The Remixes (November 2, 2010)

Psycho Lester’s debut solo album, Psycho Therapy: The Soundtrack didn’t exactly set the world on fire – in fact, many of you two may not have even been aware of its existence before my earlier post from today. But even with the lack of response, it’s clear that the project never truly left Lester’s mind, as a mere three to four years later (I’m being vague because release date information is beyond iffy), the man who makes up one-half of The Beatnuts quietly dropped Psycho Therapy: The Remixes, a re-imagining of the tracks that he may not have been entirely happy with on his debut.

Because life is never that simple, right, Psycho Therapy: The Remixes is not a straight-up remix album. Instead, it plays more as a compilation, one made up of alternate takes of the original project’s songs combined with some (what I think are) unreleased tracks. As Lester had produced the entirety of Psycho Therapy: The Soundtrack, he was in the perfect position to give the same material a new spin, and as far as I can tell, he exclusively handled the beats for the subject of this write-up. However, it seems that Pit Fight Records, Lester’s own label, was even more lax with the proofreading here than it was with his first album, as Psycho Therapy: The Remixes was released to the Interweb with hardly any information attached. For that reason, I couldn’t verify the production (even though Les handing all of the instrumentals is a safe bet), nor could I tell you who is guesting on any of the tracks, unless they make it very fucking clear within the songs themselves. (Or, you know, if their bars from the first album were reused.) There's a lot to be said for rappers shouting themselves out when appearing on songs, you know?

I wasn’t aware of Psycho Therapy: The Remixes until I began researching Psycho Les’ first album for my earlier write-up, and in the interest of writing comprehensive reviews, I sought this project out on YouTube, which may also help explain why I couldn’t locate any album credits. What I can say with full authority is Junkyard Juju doesn’t bother popping up on any of these songs, either, although it isn’t as though Psycho Lester truly needs the assistance. That earlier take on these songs proved that Les could be a successful solo artist if the fates deem it to be necessary, which is really all he was trying to prove in the first place, so all of the rest of the music stemming from those recording sessions are just cake.

So here’s today’s dessert. (Sorry, that was corny, sue me, free content.)

1. PSYCHO INTRO

No point in including this, really, although the underlying music was alright. (I was kind of hoping Lester would have left in the sound of the phone ringing as a part of the beat, as it fit the surroundings fairly well, but no dice.)

2. SMOKE MAD LA

While the original take was, apparently, “a fun sleeper hit that belongs on everyone’s Beatnuts playlists”, at least according to Max from earlier today, this newer take lands several miles away from the goalposts. It isn’t for lack of trying, though: Lester’s instrumental is decent enough, and his verse sounds okay over it. What destroys this remix to “Smoke Mad La” is the inclusion of an uncredited guest rapper I could not place, whose opening verse is lethargic and apathetic, which will cause listeners to do something more productive with their time that smoking weed, partying all night, and writing reviews of remixed hip hop albums that nobody even cares about.

3. VERBAL MASTERY (FEAT. GOBLIN)

Weirdly, “Verbal Mastery” doesn’t appear to be a remix to any track off of Psycho Therapy: The Soundtrack, but guest Goblin (I think, anyway – again, no credits to review here) is a holdover from those original sessions, and his verse propels this remix project in the right direction. “Verbal Mastery’ sounds like paint-by-numbers early 2000s New York street rap, but in this case that’s a good thing, as Lester’s instrumental is catchy and melodic. His own verse is something that exists, and he is easily destroyed by his guest, who doesn’t even seem to be trying all that hard here, but Psycho Lester isn’t known as a stellar wordsmith anyway, so he manages fine for himself. Surprisingly enjoyable.

4. THERAPEUTIC HIP HOP

One interesting aspect of our host’s production on Psycho Therapy: The Remixes (and, by proxy, Psycho Therapy: The Soundtrack) is that, some exceptions aside, the beats don’t really sound like Beatnuts leftovers, which means that Psycho Les has gone out of his way to create a different sound as a solo artist, one that shares enough of his group’s DNA to be recognizable, but still manages to mark its own territory within our chosen genre. This is a good thing, as “Therapeutic Hip Hop” bangs. Another track that isn’t a remix of any previously-released song (although clearly recorded during those studio sessions, at least according to the lyrics), “Therapeutic Hip Hop” is a duet between Lester and producer-slash-deejay-slash-rapper Tony Touch, a frequent collaborator of the Nuts. Toca’s verse is actually the weakest I’ve ever heard from the man, but Lester picks up the slack, saving the day once again. He lets the instrumental ride for more than a full minute toward the end, filling space with scratching and Toca’s ad-libs, and you can’t help but wish Juju would have popped up announced, even though you don't really need to hear him. Still, I enjoyed this shit.

5. FUNKY GRANDMA SANDWICHES

Clearly a redo of “Grandma’s Sandwiches”, albeit one that has been classified as more “funky”, although in this case Lester’s merely referring to the fuzzy guitar loop that he laid into this remake’s beat. Which is good, but I prefer the original a tiny bit more. Our host’s lyrics are otherwise the same, which is just fine by me, as he sounds effortlessly cocky with his boasts-n-bullshit, even with that Las Vegas bar that still doesn’t really make any sense. As this is the second time I’ve brought it up today, I urge you two to just go listen to the fucking song already, if only so you’ll know what I’m even talking about, Either version, it really doesn’t matter, they’re both enjoyable. Just go.

6. GHETTO MUSIC

Another original effort, but one that ultimately doesn’t come together, as its slower sound disrupts the flow the project has presented thus far. Lester’s attempts at street rap quickly revert back into boasts-n0bullshit more, although this time our host draws upon years of Beatnuts history for his random references, which was a nice touch, but has the detrimental effect of making the listener (read: me) want to give up on writing a review about Psycho Therapy: TheRemixes in order to listen to their (my) favorite songs from the Nuts instead. Which couldn’t have been Lester’s endgame.

7. OH MY! (FEAT. SICK JACKEN & SONNY SANDOVAL)

The instrumental on this revised version of Psycho Therapy: The Soundtrack’s “Oh My! Oh My!” (now with a much more streamlined title) is similar to what Lester seemed to be going for on “Ghetto Music”, but it fits in better with the performances from our host, Sick Jacken, and Sonny Sandoval, whose lyrics remain unchanged from the original (although they aren’t censored here, strangely). The new musical backing and the different spin on the hook give “Oh My!” new relevance, as the three artists’ odes to their respective hometowns are much more solid than they were prior. Sonny’s contribution, in particular, is so markedly improved by the new instrumental that it jostled my memory, forcing me to recall that, back in the day, I actually liked P.O.D.’s goofy radio hit“ Youth of the Nation”, or at least the guitar work on said song, and while it sounds pretty queso today, that music still kind of hits. So that was nice.

8. BOUNCE 4 ME

Plays just as well as the original version. Which is my way of saying not at all. There seems to have been a tiny bit more care put into the remix’s backing music, though.

9. MY MUSIC IS CRACK

This remix of Psycho Therapy: The Soundtrack’s “My Music Is Crack” removes the Triple Seis chorus and switches to a downright blues-y guitar loop for Lester’s statements, and I have to say, the changes don’t work in his favor, although it would be nice to hear the new instrumental repurposed by another artist. The replay value of the reworked “My Music Is Crack” is nonexistent, and Lester still sounds bored of his own writing, which is never a sign of quality work.

10. FEEL IT BABY (FEAT. K-SOLO & BLACK ATTACK)

A choice I didn’t fully understand, as this remix to the original “Feel It Baby” veers so far off course that it may as well not even be categorized as “music”. This remake is bad, folks. Which was disappointing, as the original was easily the best song on Psycho Therapy: The Soundtrack. The verses remain unchanged, but now both K-Solo and Psycho Lester come across as the amateurs (Les more so than Solo, to be clear), while Black Attack is the only dude on here whose performance significantly improves with the updated (shitty) instrumental. Why our host chose to go back to this particular well puzzles me: sometimes you have to just leave well enough alone.

11. SUPER SOUL

This is the same song that appears as one of the Stateside bonus tracks (as “Supa Soul”) on Psycho Therapy: The Soundtrack. I mean, it sounds fine, but it isn’t a remix, nor is it an original piece, so clearly this project was thrown together at the last minute, possibly without Psycho Lester’s input. Or at least that’s the rumor I’m going to float.

12. THROW U THREW A WALL (BEAT)

Psycho Therapy: The Remixes ends with a brief, pleasant instrumental punctuated with dialogue that (a) gives the track its title, and (b) sounds like one of J-Zone’s interludes, so I liked it enough. Kind of a weird way to end a project such as this, though.

THE LAST WORD: It’s fascinating to me that Psycho Les felt the need to revisit his solo debut, but Psycho Therapy: The Remixes sounds even less cohesive than its predecessor, with many of the remakes paling in comparison to the original takes on the material. There are some excellent beats on here, to be sure – three to four years had passed since his first effort hit store shelves, and it isn’t as though Lester ever stopped working at his craft. But this remix project seems to have been put together with even less care than the Stateside version of Psycho Therapy: The Soundtrack, which is to say, what does “care” even mean, anyway? There’s a decent album that could be made if one were to combine both versions and cull the shit out of it, but that seems like far too much work just to listen to songs that are entertaining enough, but would never take the place of any of the Beatnuts songs on your playlist. I’d give this one a quick listen if the “remix” concept piqued your curiosity, but otherwise there’s no need to go out of your way, you two.

-Max