The Rising Tied Review

Release Date: Nov 22, 2005
Label: Warner Bros./WEA
Genres: Alternative Rap, Rap-Metal
Number Of Tracks: 16
The Rising Tied shines brightest in its earliest moments, where the beats and rhymes feel and sound freshest and where the positive message feels most sincere.

Sound:	9.7
Lyrics:	9
Impression:	9.3
Overall rating:	9.3
Users rating:	8
Comments:	9

Featured review by: unregistered, on january 30, 2006

Sound: This record came out towards the end of 2005 and it's still one of my favorites in Jan. 2006. It's a hip hop affair really, with Mike Shinoda (Linkin Park) leading the vocal onslaught as well as producing and mixing the tracks. Brad and Joe from Linkin Park also do their bit on the album, but don't be fooled, Fort Minor is an independant project that Mike's been working on since '04. As far as I can tell, the tracks are all synthesised, but that doesnt matter to me cos its all great music, the lyrics blending in with the diverse beats perfectly and each song having its own personal identity. Generaly speaking I'm not a fan of rap, but this album is different from any hip-hop I've ever heard. In fact, it's different from any music I've ever heard. // 10

Lyrics and Singing: This album contains some of the best lines I've ever heard. Weve all heard mike rapping for Linkin Park, and that rocked, but whatever he did for Linkin Park he does 10 times better for Fort Minor. The best lyrical songs in my opinion are 'Right Now', 'Slip Out The Back' and 'Cigarettes', which contain some amazing rhymes and really work with the beats. "Right now, someone wishes they were you and I, Instead of second guessing fatal thoughts of quiet suicide" - one of the best lines in any song I've heard. // 10

Impression: This album was a real shock. Id heard about it coming out but wasnt going to buy it as I'm not a fan of hip hop, but after hearing 'Remeber the name' I decided to get it just to add it to the linkin park collection. I was very pleasently supprised to find nearly every track on the album as good, if not better, than 'Remeber The Name'. My favorites are 'Believe Me', which has a really cool beat which you just have to move to, 'Right now' which has the best lyrics of the album, and 'Kenji' which tells a really sad story of a japanease family in america during world war 2. I love pretty much everything about this album, the only bad track in my opinion is 'Petrified' which contains some really simple beats which dont work for me. If I lost this album id definately buy it again, in my opinion its the best album of 2005. // 10

overall: 10

Reviewed by: boyan89, on july 13, 2006

Sound: The sound on this album is really, really good for a rap album since I don't listen to rap that much but this album kicks ass. I think the beats on this album just kickass especially in songs like Remember The Name, Petrified, The Battle, Believe Me, Out The Back, and Cigarretes. I love the piano in some songs like Where'd You Go and Right Now I think those are some good piano beats right there for you. So the sound on this album is awesome I recommend to any fan of rock, any fan of linkin park and just any fan of rap. // 10

Lyrics and Singing: The lyrics on this album are not your average rap lyrics where the lyrics talk about money, getting shot nine times and shit like that. The lyrics are like all about life and challenging it like Where'd You Go is about how you miss people and crap like that and you would understand what I mean when you see the video for it. I think the best lyrical songs on this CD are Right Now, Where'd You Go, Kenji, Feel Like Home, Back Home, and Cigarretes. // 10

Impression: This album cannot compare to any other albums because Fort Minor have their own sound of hip-hop. I don't have any favourites because all the songs kick complete ass. I love everything about it and I hate absolutely nothing about it. If it were stolen/lost I would defenitely buy it again because it is one of the best albums in the history of music. // 10

overall: 8

Reviewed by: whiteshadow15, on march 04, 2006

Sound: The sound is the element of this record that absolutely glows. Mike Shinoda and his friends did a spectacular job on the sound for this record. The thing that I love the most about this CD is how big and structured the overall sound is. "Remember the Name" uses violins in the backgorund to give the song a catchy, melodic kind of rhythm mixed with cool rap beats. Several songs such as "Right Now" and "Where'd You Go" incorporate the use of a piano to give the songs a dark, moody feel that works very well with Mike Shinoda's lyrics. However, the sound absolutely explodes during the closing track, "Slip Out The Back." The song starts out with the sounds just a bell ringing, then gradually escalates, including a piano in the 2nd verse, with violins entering during the 2nd chorus, until the song explodes with a backing choir coming in with all of the other instruments to make the song the single greatest closing track that I have ever heard on ANY album. No problems in the sound department whatsoever. // 9

Lyrics and Singing: The lyrics on this album are good for the most part. Mike and his friends do a great job making the songs catchy and fun to listen to overall. However, there are some moments on the album in which the lyrics do need work. The lyrics can get a little corny sometimes, and the moments where they did really stuck out to me while I was listening to the album. But there are times where the lyrics are very well-written. "Believe Me," for example, the lyrics are very clever and catchy. They combine with the music to make the song a highlight on the album. Yes, the songwriting is weak at times, but for the most part, Mike does a great job of making the lyrics flow with the songs and give each song it's specific style and feel. // 7

Impression: I will tell you right now that I was not looking forward to this album. I thought that it would be garbage because I personally cannot STAND rap music and I thought that the Jay-Z/Linkin Park Collision Course album was without a doubt one of the worst albums that I've heard in my life. This album is unlike any rap that I have ever heard before, and when you listen to the album you will understand what I'm talking about. This album is the kind of thing that will appeal to people who really don't listen to rap, and it will also appeal to people who are rap buffs as well. I think that the thing that really makes this album special is that the sounds are so expertly crafted. The Rising Tied flawlessly fuses deep, melodic sounds with catchy everyday rap beats to give a unique feel to the album that sets it apart from everything else. Another thing that sets it apart from everything else out there is the fact that Mike Shinoda wrote each song on this album to communicate a specific thing. "Kenji" is a song documenting the story of Mike's father during World War II, when the Japanese people that were within America were forced to leave their homes and go to certain camps because the United States was looking for Japanese spies after the Pearl Harbor bombings. This song has no chorus, but it is written that way to better convey the emotion that Mike is trying to get across to the listener. Also, "Where'd You Go" was written with the intention of conveying how people feel who have family members that are away from them due to their jobs. Overall, this is a great album that is worthy of your time and deserves to be appreciated for it's uniqueness and overall quality. Overall, this is an impressive album that is worthy of your time and deserves to be appreciated for it's uniqueness and overall quality. It's fun to listen to, it's got a lot of great songs (my favorites being Slip Out the Back, for it's fantastic sound quality, and Right Now, for it's array of heartfelt messages about unexpected life changing events, people taking things for granted, and how someone out there always has it worse than you), and it deserves to be seen as something more than just another cliche-filled hip-hop album, but more as a true work of art. Give it a shot. // 8

Comments

[Isiahs]

Musically, Mike Shinoda's solo project Fort Minor is more mellow than you might expect from Linkin Park's MC/singer. Essentially a mid-tempo hip-hop album (executive produced by Shawn Carter, aka Jay-Z), The Rising Tied is almost completely stripped of rock guitars and aggressive melodies, and it relies on a varied mixture of menacing and truly buoyant beats. Fans of Shinoda's band will hear a nice change of pace from the Linkin Park template, while others who dismiss that band's calculated aggression as a bit too dramatic may just hear a welcome diversion. Maybe.

The music isn't the problem here (at least, not the biggest problem) --it's the lyrics. Album center-point "In Stereo" is sonically menacing in a schlocky horror movie way, but the words are so incredibly cheesy that it's impossible to take seriously. With no discernable irony, Shinoda moves way into Fred Durst territory, begging for street credibility. The song's appeal to "virtual street" status by referencing GTA San Andreas doesn't nearly save it, and it's unfortunately emblematic of much of the album.

The Rising Tied features a couple decent cameos from Black Thought (The Roots), but what should have been an intriguing appearance by Common on "Back Home" just sounds uninspired. The album's saving grace (or maybe its Hail Mary) is the insightful "Cigarettes", where Shinoda cuts through the corny suburban-ghetto aesthetic of the album and delivers some memorable industry criticism. The song takes aim at the marketing of hip-hop's overpraised vices ("guns, drugs, and misogyny"), which Shinoda portrays as a stupid addiction that even fans can't really explain the use of ("just something that I do...I don't want the truth/I want to feel f*cking cool"). The song is easily the album's high point and unfortunately, not much else here measures up to it. - Cory O'Malley

[vodkaboy]

iv never heard them but my mate told me they had good backing beats but crap lyrics

[6string1der]

I'm also not a fan of hip-hop, but this album grabbed my attention and I listened to it all the way through. It's very good.

[dr00pa]

I just bought it... very good album

Petrified sux
Kenji rox!!!

[thesimo]

i got it too, its definitely a unique sound to shinoda, never heard anything like it personally.
Definitely worth a look in my opinon.

[LedZeppelin101]

They lyrics are kind of stupid. They seem extremely juvenile at some points, and immature considering what we've heard from him in Linkin Park. I was disappointed overall. It's worth a look, but not a second one.

[turnfoot]

like most of u guys, i'm not a fan of hip-hop too. but this album is TOTALLY different. i especially liked the variety of the instruments that mike used. and the fact that he played EVERY single instrument there. except drums.

[PUNISHER210]

this album is so awsome its got great lyrics and rhymes remember the name and kenji are so good just a great album

[PUNISHER210]

this is a awsome album the lyrics and rhymes are great my favorits are remember the name and kenji. a really great album