Ol' Dirty Bastard Albums (6)
'Free to Be Dirty: Live!'
Release Date 8/23/2005
Tracks 22
Label Nutech Digital
See Album Tracklist and Review
'Osirus: The Official Mixtape'
Release Date 1/4/2005
Tracks 18
Label JS
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Listening to Osirus -- the posthumous "official mixtape" released with the blessings of the late ODB's manager and mother -- is as bittersweet an experience as you can get. Maybe it's not as hot as the slew of street-level mixtapes that have surfaced since ODB passed, but they've got the advantage of flying under the radar and grabbing whatever unlicensed classic, freestyle, or blend they want. What those bootlegs won't expose you to is how on fire Dirty was before it all came to a halt and how ready he was to take the hip-hop world over once again. Kicking off with the bouncy and Roc-A-Fella propping party tune "Pop Shots," Osirus causes a lot of excitement from the get go, and while the third and fourth quarter filler brings it down a bit, you can't help but note that the Bastard hasn't been this driven since Nigga Please. He wants it all back, bad. The great DJ Premier's helmed cut gives way to perfect party jam number two, "Dirty Dirty," overseen by producer Mark Ronson, who combines that good old jaunty piano ODB loves so much with a rock-solid beat and funky organ. The rapper delivers one classic line over the track, boasting and bragging, more on point than obtuse. "High in the Clouds" with Black Rob and "Dirty Run" with it's uncredited sample of Bowie's "Fame" round out the highlights and while they're all upfront, the lesser tracks towards the end trump anything on The Trials and Tribulations of Russell Jones. You can talk about Dirty's crazy past all you want, but Osirus is entirely pointed toward the future. Tragic the man won't get to see those Wu-heads bobbin' and digging his wicked return to form. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
'The Trials and Tribulations of Russell Jones'
Release Date 3/19/2002
Tracks 18
Label D3
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Hollywood may have Austin Powers, but hip-hop has it's own international man of mystery; his name is Ol' Dirty Bastard. ODB lives and suffers with the adage that any publicity is good publicity, since he hasn't spent the greater part of the last two years gaining widespread notoriety for the music he makes. Rather, he has spent a majority of that time turning up on local crime blotters from coast to coast, trying to raise bail money, recuperating from gunshot wounds, rescuing a kid who was struck by a car, and hijacking the 1998 Grammy awards. With that in mind, it should be obvious by now that personalities of ODB's magnitude come around once in a lifetime. And even though he is repetitiously contradictory with his neurotic ramblings, who cares? That's half of his appeal, as there is an irrefutable attraction to ODB's carefree and inebriated outlook on life. With rhymes frequently so garbled that they are barely decipherable, calling ODB a quintessential lyricist would surely insult the intelligence of any hip-hop purist. Yet the dirt dog is indubitably a distinguished emcee and a uniquely abrasive one at that, as he turns an array of voice cracking/bloodcurdling hooks into grisly masterpieces. Examples include the nonsensical crooning of his Rick James interpolations "Cold Blooded" and "You Don't Want to Fuck With Me," and the ridiculously addictive "Rollin Wit You." Despite that ODB's production chores are handled admirably by the Neptunes, Irv Gotti and RZA, the backing acoustics are hardly needed; ODB rarely stays on beat and there is little, or no structure to his rhyme sequences. Safely nestled away in his own little world, there is no containing ODB's free-spirited outlook on life. His is a world that is heavy on shock value, yet undeniably entertaining. ~ Matt Conaway, All Music Guide
'Return to the 36 Chambers'
Release Date 3/28/1995
Tracks 17
Label Elektra
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
As a member of the Wu-Tang Clan, Ol' Dirty Bastard's bizarre, free-form rants added both comic relief and a dangerous unpredictability to the group's chemistry. ODB's RZA-produced solo debut Return to the 36 Chambers stretches his schtick over a full album, which if anything makes him sound even more unbalanced. Long before the album ends, it's clear that ODB has emptied his bag of tricks -- loose, off-the-beat raps that sometimes don't even rhyme, unbelievably graphic vulgarity, gonzo off-key warbling (which sounds a little like Biz Markie as a mental patient), and general goofing off. Yet within that role as hardcore rap's clown prince of psychosis, ODB is pretty damned entertaining. His leaps in association are often as disturbing as they are funny, whether they're couched in scatological detail or not; they certainly don't make his widely publicized erratic behavior seem at all surprising. And, despite the unstructured feel dominating most of the album, there are a fair share of hooks, and two absolutely killer singles in "Shimmy Shimmy Ya" and "Brooklyn Zoo." Certainly, there's no reason for the album to be as long as it is, considering the dull filler toward the end. But, even though Return to the 36 Chambers might not be the most earth-shattering piece of the Wu-Tang puzzle, it's an infectious party record which proves that, despite his limitations, Ol' Dirty Bastard has the charisma to carry an album on his own. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
