Wu-Tang Clan – 8 Diagrams

A six-year break, the death of a founding member, the irreplaceable Ol' Dirty, who had been away from the Clan for a long time and was doing his own thing instead anyway, creative back and forth behind the scenes, a veritable flood of Wu... all that didn't sound particularly inviting to me. RZA has announced by now that this was actually supposed to be the last Clan-album. Well, who knows what's going on with that info. Anyhow, after letting it sit on the shelves back then, I now bought a copy. It´s well looked after by now and pretty expensive, at least significantly more expensive than it was in the store back then, as there has been only one issue on vinyl, the german one. Well, that's how it works sometimes. In any case, a Wu record that is definitely worth listening to imho, with a few real gems that definitely rank high in the rich Wu catalog, such as "Rushing Elephants" or "Wolves" with the great George Clinton for the chorus. But even before that I like the bass-heavy "Get Them Out Ya Way Pa" and "Take It Back", which once again uses a good portion of Bob James' "Nautilus". I also like the somewhat bulky, but energetic "Unpredictable" (they really liked that word on this album) and the following, superbly arranged " The Heart Gently Weeps" is fantastic, Beatles forever, just like Wu. After this track, the whole album slows down a bit, becomes quieter, more thoughtful. It's also the album that makes me realize once again how much flavour U-God actually brings, but overall the dynamics of the MCs are still absolutely great in places, even if it was already clumbling behind the curtains and of course, a certain O.D.B. is missing. Only the clan can pull off a dry thing like “Starter”, I guess. Well, and then there's "Windmill." I mean this avalanche is so brilliantly constructed, with this rolling bassline, this merciless energy without chorus, but delicate strings and vocal samples on top. The mic is ed around and it goes on an on, the name says it all. Overall, it doesn't achieve everything for me, but I still can't understand the mixed reviews at the time.

Looks to me time is right for a vinyl reissue for the indie market, it's not even on spotify

Is 16th Chamber/O.D.B. Special (Bonus track on the European versions of the album) an old recording or was it produced just for the album (Obviously it would have been recorded at least 3 years before the release due to ODB's death)?