Method Man - Tical: The Alter Ego Remixes

One of the problems that comes with have an extensive iTunes collection is that you sometimes overlook or even forget you have entire albums and projects.  This collection of remixes is one such forgotten gem.  Back when Method Man first stepped out from under the Wu Tang Clan's shadow and dropped his solo effort he was very much in demand and all sorts of people were remixing his work.  Some of these were only released in Japan, were B sides on Wu Tang 12"s or on some obscure soundtrack.  This here collections collects up a lot but not all of the obscure tracks that were around at the time.

1. I'll Be There For You (Razor Sharp Mix) (Feat. Mary J. Blige) is the first track on this compilation.  Originally this was the on the All I need remix 12" that dropped in 1994.  The 12" also featured the Puff Daddy remix and the Soul inside remix.  This however was in my opinion the strongest of the remixes featuring a nice saxophone loop and some crisp snares.
2. Method Man Home-grown remix was originally on the B-Side of the Wu Tang Clan's self pressed first single Protect Ya Neck back in late 1993.  Its rough unpolished early version of the smash hit Method Man which was actually their second single.  The lyrics are slightly slightly altered and the piano just a bit more off key than the album version.  A nice take on a classic track.
3. Judgement Day (Tricky Remix) was released in 1998 on the Judgement Day remixes 12" along with the Roni Size remix also on this compilation.  This is remixed by the English, Bristol born and bred musician / producer Tricky.  Known for his dark and layered style he brings a dark electric style to this remix with lovely percussion.  Its a fast beat and it suites Meth's style perfectly.
4. Bring The Pain (Chemical Mix) (Feat. Booster) is brought to us by the legendary dance duo The Chemical Brothers.  They take the first single from Meth's solo debut and put a nice guitar sample and a faster drum break into it to create this remix.  This was on the double A Side 12" of Release Yo Delf Prodigy remix which also featured the Puff daddy All I need remix on the B Side.
5. Judgement Day (Super Jupiter Remix) is the fifth track on this compilation and was originally on the Judgement Day remixes 12"  This is moving to close to house music and maybe even techno, I'm not familiar with either to really tell.  A fast paced beat which is quite repetitive, not my type of track at all.
6. Judgement Day (Roni Size Remix) is another case completely.  A good seven minute Jungle/Drum N Bass epic as you would expect from the master Jungle producer that gave us Its a Jazz thing. Roni Size by this time had sampled Meth and a number of other Hip Hop emcees in his music for years and to finally be doing it officially gave the genre and the producer a stamp of approval it deserve.  Although not as fast as some of the Drum n Bass at that time it would clearly need to have the pitch sped up to fit into a Kool FM or Telepathy club night.
7. Break Ups 2 Make Ups (DJ Krush Remix) (Feat. D'Angelo) is the seventh track on this compilation.  Before this compilation the only place I had herd it before was on a collection of DJ Krush remixes but I think it was also on a promo of the original that was only available in the Far East.  The original was a mellow joint but this here version is just lovely and features a nice organ sample that works so well.
8. I'll Be There For You (Puff Daddy Mix) was one of the other tracks on the All I need remix 12" track and to be honest its not bad even though its Puffy.  the main reason its not that bad is because its very similar to the Rza Remix.
9. Release Yo' Delf (Prodigy Mix Instrumental) starts off with a piano and some horns and goes onto create a noisy multi layered joint that is surprisingly nice for a Prodigy track.  However this is just the instrumental.
10. Bring The Pain (Chemical Mix Instrumental) just like number four but without the lyrics.  So if you liked that you'll like this.
11. Judgement Day (Roni Size Dub Remix) is pretty much like track number 6 but with more bass and echo basically.  I prefer it to the other version a lot more but then I always like my Drum N Bass with a lot of bass.  What it doesn't have is as much lyrics as the other version.  However the heavy bassline makes this more of a proper Drum N Bass track, which works.
12. Release Yo' Delf (Prodigy Mix) is the same as track number 9 but with the lyrics or at least some of them.  Its not bad I'd prefer the original Release Yo Delf though.  The Lyrics do sound slightly out of sync with the beat at times.
13. Break Ups 2 Make Ups (DJ Krush Remix Instrumental) if you liked the beat used for track number 7 then this is 4:48 of that.  It is a lovely beat with a nice organ sample and it just works well.  A nice mellow instrumental for ya.
14. How High (Remix) (Feat. Redman) is produced by Erick Sermon and is a nice mellow expedition from the green eyed bandit.  This was on the B Side of the original How High 12" back in 1995.  It would have been better to include the How High Berry Clear Sprite remix which was only available as a clear vinyl promo from Sprite (see picture below). I have however included a copy of it in the download below with all the other tracks listed above.
    
    Get your dose of rare Ticallion Stallion remixes here.