A freewheeling Ghostface

This is Ghost's third album released in the past 21 months.

By Jordan Sargent, Assistant Editor
Dec. 4, 2007

The Wu-Tang Clan's most mystifying and dizzying rapper has, to the surprise of many, led arguably the most prosperous post-Wu solo career. Though Ghostface Killah only moves as many units as Morningwood, The Big Doe Rehab, his seventh studio album, is the third Ghost album released by Def Jam in the past 21 months.

And we're better for it. The Big Doe Rehab is nothing short of stunning, especially coming from a guy whose solo career has been dogged by claims of inconsistency. The album feels lived-in, with Ghost mostly ditching the dissonant and low-key or wildly triumphant production on Fishscale to settle in amongst The Pretty Toney Album-era's dusty soul beats. In this increasingly troublesome era of major-label rap where artists trend-jump to stay relevant or just get their albums' release dates delayed two or three years, it's comforting that this relatively un-hyped, on-time album from a perennial top-five MC flourishes in his comfort zone.

The timing of the whole thing eerily echoes that of Ghost's boss Jay-Z, who's American Gangster was, like Big Doe, announced only weeks before its release date. Coincidentally (or maybe not), the Hitmen production team that headed up a majority of the tracks on American Gangster do five for The Big Doe Rehab, including the album's fantastic final proper three songs.

Those final three songs (before an interlude and two excellent bonus tracks) — "I'll Die For You," the astounding posse cut "Paisley Darts" and "Shakey Dog Starring Lolita" — tie up a back half that cements The Big Doe Rehab as, if not sneakily the best album of Ghost's career, then sneakily the best rap album of 2007.

The album's first half, while still basically very good, encounters a few of the pitfalls that plagued some of Fishscale's worst songs. The Beanie Sigel collaboration "Toney Sigel aka The Barrel Brothers" is on a really aggressive, throwback tip, but both Ghost's and Beans' exceptional verses get let down by the beat's awful humming synth.

Likewise, first single "We Celebrate" ruins a really nice stuttering drum pattern and A-plus ad-libs ("Like we just won the Powerball money!") with another truly ugly and abrasive synth line.

The rest of the album, though, goes down smoother than a milkshake in June. The best songs here ooze that comfort-zone vibe that evokes Ghost (and friends) relaxing back in the projects on Staten Island telling fish stories while listening to their favorite soul records on vinyl. Tracks like "Rec-Room Therapy," which sizzles among vinyl cracks and whimsical flutes; "Walk Around" and the beautiful, funk-indebted "Supa GFK" effortlessly emanate warmth like a slow-burning fire.

Detractors will lament the fact that The Big Doe Rehab isn't as lyrically focused as Fishscale — an album that was nearly novel-like in its details of the coke trade — but this looser, more freewheeling Ghost seems to fit both this point in his life and his career.

The Big Doe Rehab, presumably recorded during the same time as The Wu's 8 Diagrams, probably served as a reprieve and creative outlet for Ghost, who has been open about his displeasure with the recording and outcome of The Wu's comeback album. At some points on the album, you can envision him channeling his frustration.

If that's true, then The Big Doe Rehab is possibly Ghost's most triumphant album, not a zeitgeist, but a distillation of what makes him both great and unique. If it's just another Ghost album, then it's just another Ghost album: exceptional, even if you didn't know that you needed it.

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A freewheeling Ghostface

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