Tommy Boy Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Celebrating the 30th anniversary of House of Pain's Same As It Ever Was, released in June 1994, a record which defied expectations by abandoning the formula that skyrocketed them to fame in favour of a grittier, more confrontational sound. When House of Painicomposed of Everlast (Erik Schrody), Danny Boy (Daniel O'Connor), and DJ Lethal (Leor Dimant)ifirst exploded onto the scene in 1992, their boisterous anthem 'Jump Around' and debut album House of Pain (Fine Malt Lyrics) garnered Platinum success. The group was known for embracing their Irish heritage and for their rough-and-tumble persona, being part of the larger Soul Assassins crew alongside Cypress Hill and Funkdoobiest. But for their second album, they chose a more unorthodox path. Instead of recycling their previous success, Same As It Ever Was presented a darker, moodier sonic palette, which can be heard in tracks like 'Who's the Man?'ia brooding reflection on criminal life that belied its placement in the soundtrack of a lighthearted comedy film. The track showed DJ Lethal's hollow, eerie production and Everlast's grim lyrics about the harsh realities of street life. The album opener, 'Back From the Dead', produced by Muggs and The Baka Boyz, immediately set the tone with gritty, aggressive production that made it clear House of Pain wasn't interested in rehashing their past. Everlast took the lead on the album, with his gruff delivery driving most of the tracks, and Danny Boy contributing sparingly. While the debut album leaned into their Irish pride, Same As It Ever Was abandoned much of that theme in favor of more introspective and hard-hitting lyricism. The album's first single, 'On Point', came closest to recapturing the energy of 'Jump Around', with its call-and-response hooks and funky horn samples, though it didn't reach the same level of mainstream appeal. Instead, tracks like 'Word Is Bond', which featured production from Diamond D, or the Muggs-produced 'Keep It Comin'' demonstrated the group's commitment to artistic integrity over commercial viability. Musically, Same As It Ever Was shared a similar haunting, dusty aesthetic with Cypress Hill's Black Sunday, thanks to Muggs' consistently gritty production. Songs like 'Running Up On Ya' and 'Over There Shit' emphasised resonant basslines and tough, breakneck rhythms, perfectly complementing Everlast's raw lyrical style. While the album didn't replicate the multi-Platinum success of their debut, it still went Gold, and has since gained recognition as an artistic triumph, celebrated for its bold departure from mainstream expectations.

Review: Naughty By Nature's greatest hits compilations number in the many. In contrast to their two former collections of the same sort, Naughty's Nicest and Nature's Finest, this third Greatest Hits record doesn't sport a subtitle like the other two, yet continues to spread the legacy of this nefarious triad. Released with trueness on the group's breakout catalyst Queen Latifah's label Tommy Boy Records, we're once again met with the ingenious East Coast stylings of early hits like 'O.P.P.' and 'Everything's Gonna Be All Right'. A common theme is rags-to-riches and the achievement of glory through hardship, though the tracks' optimistic tone overall tends to jut through this originally bleak subject matter. Later hits like 'Feel Me Flow' and remixes from Crazy C and QD III also feature.

Review: Naughty By Nature's third album sees the pop-laced act dabbling in gangster rap/horrorcore imagery - one of its members is quite literally holding a chainsaw on the front cover - Naughty By Nature's 'Naughty III' was first released in 1993, in the fallout of their earliest breakout single 'O.P.P'. Now approaching its 30th Annversary, this reissue from Tommy Boy urges us to cast our minds back to early 1990s New Jersey, when Treach, Kay Gee and Vin Rock were at peak naughty, extorting Spike Lee into directing some of their music videos, not to mention laying down menacing, wicked and rousing verses on the likes of 'Uptown Anthem', '19 Naughty III' and 'Sleepin' On Jersey'.