Blowout Comb, the sophomore effort from Digable Planets, is an album that I have had for over the last several years, thanks to a friend of mines. The reoccuring issue though, is that I have always ignored it for some odd reason. Then when it came time around to finally listen to it, it just did NOT have the impact that I would have wished for it to have. Perhaps at the time, and me still being so close-minded in regards to what I listen to, it was just too mellow for my liking. Then just recently, over the last two days, I decided to give this another listen and this time listen to the songs more thoroughly.
For the last few years that I have had this album, I have always wondered to myself as to whether or not there has always been some sort of subliminal message in Blowout Comb, because this is Afro-centric to the core. Also, you can take into account, that I have never listened to the Reachin' album as well.
A couple of days listening to this album, I have realized that this is just plain smoothed the fuck OUT!!! The experimentation of the live instruments (see A Tribe Called Quest, The Roots, Jazzmatazz) provides grooves that simply calms the soul and the vocals of Ladybug Mecca and Butterfly are more lush and subdued, instead of the loud and confrontational deliveries that more hardcore hip-hop provides. Even if you are lost in the overall message of these songs, the bottom line is, everything just comes together, allowing a more comforting and laid-back listening. I feel that for this album, I spent way too much of my time overanalyzing it and trying to dumb it down, where I feel I should have done the entire time is just letting it be what it be. For it being the time it is, as I am writing this review, with temperatures high, people out and about, this is the perfect album for that relaxation I yearn for in this stressful world I reside in.
Favorites: The May 4th Movement, Black Ego, Dog It, Jettin', The Art of Easing, 9th Wonder, For Corners
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