Even more positive reviews on 8 Diagrams
…and one negative, but very interesting to hear, as everyone’s entitled to their own views.
‘The Heart Gently Weeps,’ the album’s most discussed track, is a symphony of weird. Red Hot Chili Peppers’ guitarist John Frusciante drips acid – damaged licks over a dribbling keyboard approximating the melody of the Beatles’ ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps.’ And Badu sings the gauzy hook as if she’s just awakened from a nap.
(tuscaloosanews.com)
Yes, that was different…back to the regular ones.
The strangest track on this strange album is “The Heart Gently Weeps,” an interpretation of the Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” featuring a vocal chorus by Erykah Badu and guitars by Red Hot Chili Pepper John Frusciante and George Harrison’s son, Dhani. The song is built atop big drums and moody layers of guitar, haunting keyboards, and a wash of atmospheric sounds, like Phil Spector producing a Goth album. Over this psychedelic swirl, Raekwon, Ghostface, and Method Man spin a correspondingly nightmarish tale that begins with an argument-turned-gunfight at home (Raekwon), becomes a reminiscence of an attempted revenge killing at the grocery store (Ghostface), and concludes with Method Man calmly talking about getting back on top of the game. It is at once bizarre and bizarrely thrilling, Iceberg Slim by way of H.P. Lovecraft.
(NYsun.com)
Eight talented men collaborating on one disc, full of well thought-out rhymes and intelligent content (for once), makes 8 Diagrams a disc that fans of many genres can find something in. For old school hip-hop heads, it’s the same Wu-Tang that you have been bouncing to for fifteen years; for rockers, John Frusciante and Dhani Harrison (son of George Harrison)’s performances are reason enough; and for the rest of you…it’s f***ing Wu-Tang!
(EntertainmentToday.net)
The centerpiece is the epic “The Heart Gently Weeps,” based on a sample from George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” which is augmented by guitarwork from Harrison’s son, Dhani, and Red Hot Chili Pepper John Frusciante. Over the fuzzy-dream riffs and between pretty, female-driven hooks sung by Erykah Badu, Raekwon and Ghostface take turns telling a terrible tale of how staying in on a snowy night to watch “Raisin in the Sun” devolves into a murderous rampage and how revenge shootings play out in a Pathmark.
(Vindy.com)
Production assistance here comes from Nile Rodgers, George Clinton, Marley Marl, John Frusciante, Easy Mo Be and Dhani Harrison, among others, and their presence is deeply felt. On the first single, “Heart Gently Weeps,” an interpolation of Dhani Harrison’s father George’s guitar guides a down-and-dirty remake of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” (Erykah Badu’s vocals are no small presence, either.)
(Livedaily.com)
