Ghostface Killah (AKA Tony Starks) is the only Wu Tang Clan member who has retained consistent creative vibrancy in his hip-hop old age. All good things must come to an end, though, and Starks’ brave career path has now, paradoxically, begun to resemble a dead end. Most of the record is – sonically-speaking, rather than in terms of quality – classic Ghostface, but only a couple of these familiar tracks match the standard set on records like Supreme Clientele and Fishscale. ‘Walk Around’ is rich and luxurious, the soulful vocals dovetailing nicely with lush brass, while ‘Supa GFK’ has a smart piano rumble and a pleasing sense of forward momentum.
Ironically, the only other memorable tracks on The Big Doe Rehab are ones which bear a close sonic resemblance to old-school Wu-Tang Clan. ‘Yolanda’s House’ is a mixture of thick, layered female backing vocals and off-kilter electronic strings, which calls to mind the loverman tracks from RZA’s underrated Bobby Digital... album. ‘We Celebrate’ effectively combines quivering electronics with gospel singing, while ‘Yapp City’ is an intoxicating wave of spiralling keyboard scales and hard, gun-totin’ rhymes.