36 Seasons

It scores over its predecessor with a refreshing spontaneity and an illustrious guest cast. [Jan 2015, p.65]

It hits all the notes that you want from a Wu-Tang Clan affiliate, and is much a more satisfying project than "A Better Tomorrow."

Inspiration flows out of the man throughout the album, and this end-to-end concept is executed with little note-spinning or boring lyrics that just serve the story, and while Twelve Reasons took a big giallo risk and nailed it, this more expected, '70s-favored success still surprises with its vigorous sense of purpose.

While it's not the Clan in full, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better supporting cast. If Tomorrow is, in fact, the group's swan song, 36 Seasons proves that Wu's members can do just fine--and maybe even better--on their own.

36 Seasons continues his recent custom of spinning a thin concept into an engrossing narrative.

Without ever being outshone nor outright stealing the show, Ghostface does some of his best rapping in recent years and proves he's still got it.

36 Seasons is the result of consummate artistic process and taste--a complete album both lyrically and musically.

Despite some padding (an instrumental, unnecessary vocal cover) and ragged musical edges, the most prolific member of the Wu-Tang Clan continues to set the standard.

36 Seasons may not be Ghostface’s greatest project, but it is another notable addition to his extensive body of work. Rapping alongside Kool G Rap and AZ for the bulk of the album is certainly a treat, and the two have their own moments of glory. Production, on the other hand, simply does not hold on to the lyrical dynamism present between Ghost, Pharoahe Monch, AZ and G.

It's a small, controlled, uncommonly focused album, by an artist well into the kind of middle age that prizes refinement and brevity.