Peanut Butter Wolf Albums (4)
'45 Live'
Release Date 5/15/2009
Tracks 18
Label Five Day Weekend/Traffic
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What The Critics Say
A labor of love that you can pop and lock to, 45 Live is Peanut Butter Wolf’s tribute to hip-hop’s golden age. Specifically, it focuses on that short sliver of time during the golden age when the 45 had not yet fallen to the mighty 12”, and while most of the tracks here weren’t on an actual 45, they do capture the 7” spirit. DJ/producer/label owner Wolf’s deep knowledge of this era has few equals, but his desire to communicate a love of this music comes first, making this history lesson one of the hippest party starters to come out of the underground. Past the ones you might know -- Fearless Four’s “Rockin’ It,” Biz Markie’s “Make the Music with Your Mouth, Biz,” Dimples D.’s “Sucka DJ” -- there’s a wealth of forgotten and undiscovered gems, including Tricky Tee’s disco-crazed theme song and Universal Two’s funky “Dancin’ Heart,” which breaks out the whistle along with the handclaps. Unless you have a time machine at the ready and an ancient flyer for a Kool Herc party, 45 Live is the throwback of choice. On the CD and digital download versions, Wolf creates a pleasing mix out of these tracks, but hardcore fans might also want to seek out Stones Throw’s limited-edition vinyl box set, which is unmixed and packages each of these cuts in the form of a Peanut Butter Wolf re-edit and on their own 7”. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
'Badmeaningood, Vol. 3'
Release Date 2/4/2003
Tracks 18
Label Ultimate Dilemma
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What The Critics Say
In similar fashion to the first two volumes, Peanut Butter Wolf plays his turntablism talents close to the vest here. His Badmeaningood mix is hardly a conservative release, though. Flaunting his selecter abilites, PBW flashes through old-school funk and hard rock into new wave, dub reggae, and '80s rap with nary a dull track or rough transition in sight: Joe Jackson into Cold Crush, Prince Far I rubbing shoulders with Jungle Brothers, the 45 King and Iron Butterfly -- it's all good in the world of Peanut Butter Wolf, making this one of the best "selected" mix albums available. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
'My Vinyl Weighs a Ton'
Release Date 1/1/1998
Tracks 24
Label Stones Throw
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What The Critics Say
Digger of crates, master of tracks, Peanut Butter Wolf has an influences list that stretches into the hundreds (nearly all of them are actually listed in the credits, broken down by year) and a working knowledge of beats and samples that must number in the thousands. There aren't quite that many on his first production album, but he winnowed it down to a cool 75 or 100 to create one of the grooviest, funkiest underground records of the '90s. Unlike fellow NoCal mixer/producer DJ Shadow, PBW has plenty of space for collaborations, with nearly a dozen different rappers stopping by, along with nearly every top turntablist of the era: Babu, Q-Bert, Rob Swift, Cut Chemist, Kid Koala, Z-Trip, Shortkut, and A-Trak (granted, quite a few of them all show up for one gigantic posse track, "Tale of Five Cities"). My Vinyl Weighs a Ton boasts deep beats and choice samples, all of them working brilliantly together, and enough great cutting to keep each track raw and full of energy. Obviously learning a few lessons about sequencing and pacing from classic mixtapes (of his and of others), PBW sprinkles the rappers throughout this record and only recruits the best. Vocal highlights come with Planet Asia's mid-tempo grind "In Your Area," Pablo's feature on "Rock Unorthodox," and a two-part soundclash for the excellent Lootpack crew on "Styles Crew Flows Beats." He name-checked Wild Man Fischer along with Erick & Parrish; got recommendations from rare-groove heroes like Reuben Wilson, Galt MacDermot, and Fred Wesley; and delivered an excellent record that offered just as much to fans of rare grooves, great rappers, and deft DJs. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
