Live At The Fillmore

Given that most rap shows depend on the DAT, you'd think there'd be about as much demand for live hip hop albums as for second hand condoms. However, the Hill come to this party mob handed, augmenting the backing tracks with body odour (most markedly Eric Bobo on the trap-kit and percussion). Plus, as the sleevenotes assure us, the tapes have not been treated with overdubs or studio fakiry.

Big swinging mickeys. All that means is you get Cypress's greatest hits with extra fills, rawer vocals and diminished bass. Which is not so bad come to think of it; in fact, you'd have to be dead from the breastbone down not to start twitching at the 'How I Could Just Kill A Man'/'Insane In The Brain' segue, with B Real quacking to the back rows like a toke-filled platypus. Likewise the decidedly non LAPD-friendly 'Pigs' ("Say fock da pig/Say screw da pig!"), with a slight variation on the theme for 'Looking Through The Eyes Of A Pig'.

Last year's Skull & Bones was the cause of some consternation among Hill heads given its wholesale appropriation of hardcore heavy-hop on tunes like 'Cock The Hammer' or '(Rock) Superstar'. I liked it just fine, but you have to concede that the combo are more interesting when deep-fried in the stoned Spanglish spaghetti of 'I Wanna Get High' or 'Hits From the Bong', which have as much in common with Lee Perry or Doctor John as the bozo brethren in the barrios.

On that note, where in the hell else would Cypress Hill make a live record except The Fillmore - blem central, where even the woodworm are baked? The magic is in the vapour trails: you take a deep draught, hold your breath, wait for the eyes to water, cough a little, and then the bottom end becomes elongated, the rhymes get funny as fuck, and those quirky little details on the peripheries of the mix start to make complete nonsense. Finger lickin' good.

So, no argument with the content, but fully paid up members of the hemp hordes might want to tape a buddy's copy or download a chunk before investing. Part time prospectors however, should find it serves well as a sampler.