Anyone who listened to the Soul Survivor II instrumentals, know that beneath the surface of the talented, featured MCs and vocalists were gems so jazz and melodic they could have stood alone. For producers like Pete, consolidating their libraries of beats to 13 tracks for a full length is not easy. Too often producers are marginalized to the backdrop and their vast catalogs are rarely unearthed to the public. Taken from the Soul Survivor II sessions, The Surviving Elements a [Read More...]
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If you loved Petestrumentals, stop reading this right now and get this album. Pete Rock has done it again; somehow his “leftovers” have turned into another classic instrumental cd. As with Petestrumentals, these beats don’t even sound like they were meant for anyone to flow over. SSII fell short in a lot of ways for me, not because of the production (which at times was just mind-blowing) but because all too often the MC’s just can’t even come close to touching Pete’s track. Thankfully, like P-mentals that’s never a problem here.
There are two differences on Surviving Elements that don’t make it as complete as P-mentals. First, there are no interlude beats. You’ll know from before that almost every track concluded with a 10 sec snippet of another beat. Some were so sick they had you dying for the complete track. Needless to say it added a whole lot to the feel of the album. Secondly, no guests period. I don’t think anybody would be apposed to have CL, the U.N., and maybe one other MC rock over a beat. Don’t get it twisted, this should be almost all instrumentals. But, like with P-mentals, those three tracks with CL, UN, and Freddie Foxxx just took it to the next level.
But, no real complaints… those two factors only really come from comparing it to P-mentals. In a lot of ways, pound for pound the beats are better here. Just upon one listen tracks certain tracks will stick out. The Al Green “You Oughta Be With Me” sample on the opening “You Remind Me” is genius, “Glowing” drove me absolutely nuts becoming an instant Pete Beat classic, “Standard” is incredibly smooth, “U Are What U Are” just has a sick Wu-tang esq. thumping beat, “Intrigue” is amazing. Pretty much it’s fair to say that you could list every track as an album highlight. You really just can’t go into too much detail with these tracks without just experiencing them. Even with the ones that don’t jump out right away… the more you listen to them, the better they sound.
I can’t stress enough that if you love Pete Rock, instrumentals, 90’s hip-hop, or heavy sampling - you will love this album!
Pete Rock has somehow done it again and crafted some of the greatest and most intricate beats I’ve heard. In case you forgot, Surviving Elements reminds you that this guy is a genius.
Only Pete Rock would have the wherewithal to chop up my favorite Johnnie Taylor song into a rugged banger. There’s also some obvious uses of Herbie Hancock and Curtis Mayfield (among others ;), which might explain why this went out of print so quick. In fact, I’ve heard Pete discredit this release as done behind his back. But still, it is one of the dopest records of all-time, even better than the hallowed Petestruments (which you can’t even get with my favorite track, “what you waitin for” anymore). Tru headz who really understand beatsmithery need only apply. Get this before they really jack up the used prices, spark a spliff, and work on your turns or/and rhymes. Modern art.