Wu-Tang clan is one of the craziest groups ever assembled: by now, no secret. Every aspect of their music is filthy, raw and downright treacherous. So naturally, when hearing that a live band is going to cover many of the Wu’s classic songs, one can only help but feel a combination of extreme excitement and skeptic worry. Well, either way is correct. Enter the 37th Chamber starts out really strongly. ‘Duel of the Iron Mics’ and the all too well known ‘C.R.E.A.M.’ actually sound really good given’ the El Michels horn-bap treatment. Of course, the original versions of these songs (any of them for that matter) will never be replaced, but hearing such familiar piano segments accompanied by live drums, lazy guitar licks and horn blasts on such a timeless anthem just gives it a great feeling.
As a whole though, the album may make a different impression depending on the listener’s fondness of the catalog. If that ‘raw’ sound RZA is so good at was your favorite aspect of their music, it will be missed here. Some of the songs covered are very compatible with the transition, while others resist it greatly. ‘Uzi (Pinky Ring)’ was made to sound this good: begging for the lush guitar and trumpets it got here. Yet while ‘Cherchez La Ghost’ has bass and drums that are very on point, it has an intro and interlude (due mostly to the out-of-place keys) that is cringe-worthy. As bad as we might want it to succeed here, ‘Bring Da Ruckus’ suffers too: while the strings sound fabulous, they seem to replace the brute force of the original. When all is said and done, El Michels Affair must be applauded for being able to transform Wu-bangers into live music but the essence of some of these classics get a little too lost in translation.

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