Probably the best CD you've never heard of

Saul Williams is a strange character. You can't really just classify him as an actor, a rapper, or a singer; you have to just go with calling him an entertainer, or an artist, and Amethyst Rock Star is definately a work of art.

I actually downloaded this album about a year ago, when I first discovered soulseek. I downloaded a ton of random albums that sounded interesting, and to this day I have not listened to all of them. I was bored one day in late November, so I decided to give Saul a chance. I actually thought that he was J. Ivy from The College Dropout, or else I wouldn't have even bothered. I popped on "1987" and halfway through the track, I figured it was dope enough to warrant a full listen. It soon became my favorite album, which after 6 months I still listen to 3 or 4 times a week and have not gotten sick of any of the tracks yet.

Besides the vocals which we will get into later, this album features a live rock band to back up Saul. The instrumentation includes a guitar, an electric bass, drums, a viola, a keyboard, and a "griot" (I have never heard of this instrument before).

This album barely gets away with calling itself a hip-hop album. It is somewhere between that, a rock album, and a spoken word album. He actually manages to cover all of these styles very well. Now, let's talk about some songs.

The first outstanding moment is in the second track, "Penny for a Thought." Williams flows at a fast-paced tempo, almost rushing ahead of the beat. It does sound a little odd, but you must consider what he has to say. He basically raps about how hip-hop is all materialized. Some of the things he say include An MC tells a crowd of hundreds to put their hands in the air/ an armed robber steps into a bank and tells everybody to put their hands in the air/.... hands up if you're confused!

The third track, titled "Robeson" (a man who he mentions frequently throughout the album) is the first of two very odd songs, if you can even call them songs. Not that they aren't good, they're just very abstract. There is very little beat here. There is background music, but it has no distinct groove. Saul begins with I slept once - the dream has yet to end... He continues to tell about a very wacky adventure that could only happen in a dream world, only to be awakened by the fact that he has to pick up his 8-year old daughter from school. His little girl, Saturn, is clearly of great importance to him.

The 4th track isn't too odd, but it is very good. That's all I can say.

Track 5, "Fearless," is my favorite track to listen to. It features heavy guitar and drums in a very rock-styled song. He sings (and later raps) about an unnamed girl who he no longer loves. Damned indecision, and cursed pride/ I kept my love for her, locked deep inside

The next track, "Timely Meditations" is similar to Robeson, as it is odd and has no distinct groove. Robeson is a lot better though.

After this odd interlude, he comes back into the Fearless style of music with "Om nia Merican," while I assume is a play on words to mean "I'm the American." It features a guitar playing the national anthem in a minor key, while Williams shouts about, uh... how he's American. I don't really get this one, honestly.

One of the biggest highlights is in "1987," where he quotes some classic hip-hop lines and spins them together like a web of old-school quotables. Then she looks me in the face and her eyes get weak/ Pulse rate descends, hearts rate increase/ MCs look me in the face and their eyes get weak/ Pulse rate descends, hearts rate increase/ It's like beam me up Scottie, I control ya body/ I'm as deadly as AIDS when it's time to rock a party/ We all rock fades fresh faded in La Di Da Di/ and when we rock the mic, we rock the mic/ And when we rock the mic, we rock the mic/ So bless the feminine side, ignore the feminine side...

The next two tracks aren't exceptionally exciting, though they aren't bad. "Coded Language" is not a bad song by any means, it's just too long. It does have some dope lyricism though. The next one, "Our Father", is a good song, but it has one flaw - the song doesn't even start for about 5 minutes. If you like the sound of Preacher Saul Williams Senior talking about what it means to be a father, then you'll enjoy this track. When it finally does get good, however, it is GOOD. If you don't have a fast forward device, though, skip this one.

Now we get into the true masterpiece of the album, which is the final track, "Wine." It features Saul at his best, rapping and singing. The music starts out slowly, with the viola playing a repeated progression as the rest of the band layers itself in. Saul sings about the new wine which is dying on the vine, and etc. After the first statement of the chorus, the song really heats up. He spits I'm that atonement son, that's like a bible and gun, pre-cocked and ready aiming steady as a ray of the sun/ My ammunition, intuition, full eclipse of my lung/ son you could never guess what planet I'm from He continues from there, until the beat comes to an abrupt halt while he continues to yell Never question who I am, god knows, and I know god personally! In fact, she lets me call her me! In fact, she lets me call her me!!!

To most listeners this appears to be the end of the album. But no, after a 30 second silence, he softly starts to sing the chorus again. A second time through and the band comes back in. Then he starts to flow slowly and calmly, as if he has overcome whatever he had to confront in the previous verse. I don't understand the significance of this verse, but it sounds very victorious. He brags that the soil speaks highly of me/ but earth seeds root me, poet-tree

Then after this calm verse is over, he surprises us by singing the chorus an octave up. It's a fitting ending to a perfect song, maybe one of the best songs in the past few years.

Saul Williams is obviously not for all listeners, which is the biggest flaw in this near-flawless album. However, if it sounds interesting, don't hesitate to go buy it. Maybe it will become your favorite as well!