The Great British Public
Published by: Shut Up And Dance Music
Release Date: 22 October 2007
- Lowest New Price: £6.99
Customer Reviews
10 October 2009
"In response to other reviews- it's not *that* bad"
J Bizzle's review is pretty much there, but just to add... "Great British Public" disc one is a quality nu-skool breaks album that could've done with a few more 'big tunes' on it but it's a real foot tapper. The vocals don't bother me nearly so much as they have other reviewers. I agree disc 2 is a waste of time. It's basically the tracks from disc 3 very roughly mixed together with an MC bridging the gaps. All the music on discs 2 and 3 would have fit onto one CD as well, so pitching this as a 3CD box set is overselling it a bit. However some great tracks on disc 1, including "Dracula" and "Tripping Out", and some good remixes on disc 3 from Nick Thayer and Wookie among others, make it worth a listen.
01 February 2008
"I like it"
I think your man J Bizzle is being a little harsh! I agree that PJ's vocals are an acquired taste, but as he's one half of Shut up & Dance they are what you should expect to hear when you listen to a SUAD album! Personally i think they are OK but work better in the mix and/or if you ever see them live. I think the second CD is awesome but agree it's too short, but what you do get is good. I also agree that the fading out is a bit naff...not sure why they do that. But on the strength of the tunes i give it 4 stars overall.
05 December 2007
"Just plain "Shut Up" would've been more fitting :("
I bought this CD after hearing "Sensation", a rough & tough Breaks/Speed Garage hybrid. I was hopeful the CD would offer more of the same, & while the album isn't horrible to say the album is a let down would be an understatement. You get 3 discs so you kinda feel like you get your moneys worth (though there's no way in hell I'd pay the $50 (on the American site anyway) Amazon is asking for a brand new copy of this). The 1st disc is the actual album, & here's where my main problem lies. The vocalist that's featured on 5 (though, seems like more, I think he just must not be credited on some of 'em) of the 14 tracks is absolutely horrendous!!! Granted some tracks are a little more bearable than others, but by no means does it ever get past just that; bearable. I've never heard such horrible rapping in all my life. This "PJ" sounds like a wannabe, cheap-o "Gerardo" (remember Rico Suave :P) who's got a mouthful of doggy doo ( believe me if I could get away with it on Amazon I would've chosen some stronger words.) This guy is definately a lyrical assasin, but not in a good way, your brain literally feels like it's melting while listening to this guys rap. You just wanna reach through the speaker & just PUNCH THE GUY!! Horrible, who gave this guy the go ahead to get anywhere near a microphone, much less have it recorded for mass market. Lay off the drugs guys, I think it's effecting your judgement. I think if it were possible for the human body to defecate orally it would probably sound alot like PJ rapping. Anyway, that's enough ranting about "PJ", the other problem with the album is that all tracks fade out after between 3-5 minutes, meaning you don't get any full length tracks here. Seeings as though the album is only 65 minutes long, it seems like we might've been entitled to a little more (though I don't know that I could've standed anymore PJ.) The music itself isn't bad, but nothing you've never heard before either, other than "Sensation" the track I'd mentioned earlier. All around I was hoping for more, & what I got was just kind of a straight forward, by the numbers, genericly average, poppy breaks CD. I think the best way to sum up "Shut Up & Dance" would be to call them a poor man's wannabe "Freestylerz". Maybe I'm being to hard, but I just couldn't get into it. CD 2 is the "In The Mix" album mixing tracks from both the 1st & 3rd discs. Unfortunately the mix only lasts for 30 minutes which begs the question "why bother?". If I'm gonna pop in a mix from someone, it's because I want a long continuous mix of great tracks to keep me busy for a while, not just to have to pop in something new after just 30 minutes. The other problem is that again this PJ guy is rapping over top of the entire 30 minutes, making it excruciating even to get through only a half hour's worth of music. The CD is kind of an insult really. Anyone else brave enough to purchase this album I'd suggest completely skipping this 2nd disc all together, just pretend it isn't there. Lastly the 3rd & final disc is a collection of remix's that others have done with SU&D's music. This is really the only redeeming quality about this entire package. You can at least tell yourself "well at least I got one descent disc with my money". You get remix's by Wookie, Nick Thayer, & The Hackney Soldiers (nice to hear something out of them again) just to name a few. The other nice thing about the disc is that all the tracks are full length running from between 5 & 7 minutes usually. Something funny, PJ's vocals are only featured on 1 of the 8 remix's (hmmmm, maybe it's not just me). Bottom line the vocals on this album just completely kill anything good about this album. I admit maybe I am being a little over critical, but once I'm turned off to an album, I just keep looking for more reasons not to like it I guess. I would suggest DLing "Sensation" that truely is a great track that deserves to blow up worldwide, the remix's are worth a listen too. However, I cannot recommend this album to anyone (even a hip hop fan - I think this guy would get boo'd & laughed off a stage if he ever came stateside). As a whole, stay far, faaaar away from this album & seriously, you'll feel better giving away $50 to a stranger than paying that same amount on this CD. Consider yourself warned:(
