JAY-Z - Vol.2... Hard Knock Life (2 LP, 2014 Reissue)
Vol.2... Hard Knock LifeCheapest atimusic.uk
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Average of 3 reviews
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This is... honestly a poor quality pressing. It tends to skip quite a bit during particular tracks and the audio quality can be quite lacking at points (like the heavy distortion on "A Week Ago," for instance). It's truly disappointing that record companies aren't taking more care when they re-release an artist's work on vinyl, since fans often already have the CD... and pressings like this one certainly don't enhance the vinyl format. I'd advise you to steer clear of this pressing.
This version of the album turned out to be a nice surprise. I thought all the tracks would have those backwards edits (which I really dislike), but thankfully, it didn't. The editing was done thoughtfully with clever sounds and some vocals removed where necessary. The only song with backwards edits was the final track "Money Ain't A Thang," which wasn't too shocking since it's not originally Jay-Z's song and was likely included to boost album sales because it was a huge hit back then. The two big surprises were Track 4 - Ride Or Die & Track 5 - N***a What, N***a Who. Ride or Die has a different vibe with a hype man shouting "Do You Wanna Ride?" at the start and end. This version of N***a What, N***a Who was edited before they released Jigga What, Jigga Who as a single, so it begins with the ending beats (like a DJ mix) and is edited throughout. What stands out is the chorus, which only has "Jay to the Z" & "recognize girl Jay to the Z" in the background, no other vocals, no Amil, just the instrumental. Some skits were cut out, which is fine because it keeps the focus on the music. Overall, this is a hidden treasure worth adding to your collection. Grab it if you come across it, you won't regret it.
Tough life journey. 45 King. Rest in peace. No fluff here. Hits every inch. Feels like a '98 summer.
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