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This album was released on November 15th in 1994. This is the first solo album to be released by a member of the Wu-Tang Clan after the group’s formation. Apparently “tical” is slang for a laced blunt. You don’t really hear a lot of people talking about this project, but it’s apparently considered a classic album by a lot of people. I guess it must’ve been pretty huge until it eventually got overshadowed by Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… & Liquid Swords. I’m really looking forward to finally hearing a good solo Wu-Tang album. This is an important album. This is the album that proved that Wu-Tang was special, even when the entire group isn’t together. I’m expecting this to be really dope. Method Man’s solo track was one of the best songs on 36 Chambers. Every song is produced by RZA.

Track 1: Tical

The beat from Guillotine by Raekwon is playing in the intro. Okay, now the song is starting. Oh yes, man. FUCK. I fucking love Wu-Tang, man. This is awesome. This beat is cold as hell. This might be kind of a weird comparison, but the hook kinda reminds me of ScHoolboy Q a little bit. His vocal tone just makes makes me think of the hook from There He Go by ScHoolboy Q. Apparently, Method Man was dusted when he recorded this song. That’s cool. Meth’s goin’ in now. This beat sounds really dark & almost druggy. I feel like I’m locked in an abandoned house surrounded by people smoking weed, and there’s so much smoke that I can’t see anything. It’s awesome. The beat, I mean. The beat is awesome. The first verse was dope af. The second verse was great too. I’m not in love with the hook tho… Hmmm… Should I give this a 4 or a 5? I really like it, but the hook isn’t that great. Fuck it. The hook isn’t really that big of a problem. This shit is dope af. 5/5

Track 2: Biscuits

The way the previous track segued into this one was dope. My stomach hurts. This beat is fucking awesome. Man, RZA… I know people already consider him a legend, but I still feel like he’s under appreciated. Meth killed the first verse. The second verse was dope af. Oh. The song just ended. It’s really short, but I enjoyed this song even more than the previous one. There’s not a single thing that I don’t like about this one. The beat was awesome, and Method Man was rappin’ his ass off. This is dope af. 5/5

Track 3: Bring The Pain

This was the lead single for this album. The beat’s dope. Meth did his thing on the first verse. The hook’s cool. His flow on the second verse was dope af. The song just ended. I don’t really have anything else to say. I really enjoyed the song, but it doesn’t really stand out that much from the other tracks. It’s pretty much just more of the same. That’s not really a bad thing tho. I still think it’s a very good song. I fuck with it. It’s dope. The production has been getting progressively less dark; I hope that changes soon. 4/5

Track 4: All I Need

This beat is cool. Huh. This is a love song? It seems kinda weird to have a love song over such a murky beat. “Shorty I’m there for you anytime you need me / For real, girl; it’s me in your world / Believe me.” I usually hate love songs, but this is actually kinda dope. It seems like Meth actually cares about this chick. “I’m realizing that you didn’t have to fuck with me, but you did / Now I’m going all out, kid / And I got mad love to give; you my nigga.” I always like it when rapper’s refer to their wives or girlfriends as their actual friends. It makes it seem like they actually care about them just as much as any of their other friends. It’s not any of that dumb ass “bros before hoes” shit. Biggie did it way better on Me & My Bitch tho. I fucking love that song. Anyway, the hook is nothing special. I don’t really like the subject matter that much, but I think Meth is doing it well. I don’t like this that much personally, but I think it’s a good song. I just doubt that I’d ever wanna hear it again. It’s alright tho. 3/5

Track 5: What The Blood Clot

This beat is dope. The song just ended. I honestly have pretty much nothing to say. I enjoyed it, but there’s not much to discuss here. It has an incredibly simple structure. It’s pretty much just one long verse. The verse actually wasn’t even that long. It was dope tho. This is lyrically the most aggressive track on the album so far. I like it. It definitely doesn’t stand out as one of the best tracks so far tho. But it’s dope. I fuck with this. I could’ve done without the F bomb tho… 4/5

Track 6: Meth Vs. Chef Feat. Raekwon

As you may already know, RZA would have members of the Wu-Tang Clan battle each other to decide who got to rap over certain beats. I guess this time they thankfully decided to record it. I’ve always wanted to hear what these battles would’ve sounded like. It’s starting now. Method Man’s goin’ in first. His verse was great. I think I had the wrong idea of what this song was gonna be. I thought they were actually gonna be insulting each other like they were on fuckin’ King Of The Dot. I mean, they kinda were, but I thought it was gonna be on the level of an actual beef for some reason. I don’t know why. This kinda just sounds like a slightly more aggressive version of any other Wu-Tang song. I still love it; it’s just not what I thought it was gonna be. Meth’s verse was dope. Rae’s verse was dope too. In terms of lyricism, Rae had the better verse by far. I even think I prefer his more aggressive delivery too. However, Method Man’s flow was miles ahead of Raekwon’s flow. Raekwon’s flow felt kinda clunky compared to Meth’s. Lyrically, Raekwon wins. Sonically, Method Man wins. I really… I guess I’d go with Raekwon The Chef if I had to choose. Meth’s verse was really dope too tho. I definitely fuck with the song. It’s not exactly what I thought it was gonna be, but I still enjoyed it. This is dope to me. 4/5

Track 7: Sub Crazy (Co-Prod. 4th Disciple)

This beat is dope af. I’m not really feelin’ this hook like that… It’s not bad enough to ruin the song tho. The first verse was dope. “Check the wicked flows I D-Lie-Vuh / Oops, I mean delivers like the Hudson River.” Ugh… I think I’ve mentioned this before a couple of times; I really hate it when rappers intentionally mispronounce words just to stretch a rhyme. It always sounds fake ’cause you know it’s on purpose. That’s just a pet peeve of mine tho. I like the song, even if some of the lines are a little… Uh… “I be that sneaky ass nigga bustin’ nuts in yo wife.” Anyway, this song is dope to me. I fuck with this one. 4/5

Track 8: Release Yo’ Delf Feat. Blue Raspberry

I’ve been meaning to bring this up; he keeps using the word “delf” instead of “self.” Will somebody please tell me what the fuck that means? I mean, I know that delf just means self, but… Why? Why can’t he just say self? Are there two rival gangs whose names start with D & S? Is it like the Blood shit where they put Bs in front of everything? Someone please explain this to me. Anyway, the song is starting now. Hmmm… I don’t know how I feel about this hook from Blue Raspberry. She’s singing really fucking hard. It’s kinda awkward to listen to, especially since the first recital of the hook is completely a cappella. Once the beat actually comes on, it’s still not that entertaining of a hook. The melody itself just isn’t that good to me. I don’t even really even like this beat that much. Oh no… Method Man fucking killed that first verse. Why? Why do the best verses always have to be on songs with my least favorite hooks & beats? “Blazing the stuff that ignites stimulation / Inside ya ’cause I be that hell sure provider / Providing the rhyme that be deep as the Poseidon Adventure.” His flow on that verse was dope af. The second verse was great too. It was cool hearing some familiar lines that were sampled in the title track from PRhyme’s debut album. FUUCK. I really WANT to like this song, but that hook just holds it back for me. It’s definitely a good song objectively. I just can’t really get into it sonically. It’s alright. 3/5

Track 9: P.L.O. Style Feat. Carlton Fisk (Co-Prod. Method Man)

This beat is pretty underwhelming. It’s not bad at all… It just sounds really simple. Maybe I was trippin’ when I said RZA was under appreciated… The first verse from Meth was cool. Carlton Fisk did his thing on this track. I really don’t have anything to say. This track is honestly really underwhelming. Nothing about it is bad at all… It’s just really average. I don’t think I’d ever have the desire to come back to this. It’s definitely not bad; it’s just nothing special. It’s average. 3/5

Track 10: I Get My Thang In Action

This beat is dope af. I love the percussion. Meth’s flow sounds great over it. This is another track with a really simple structure—just two verses with a short break in between—but everything is just done really well. Meth killed each verse. The production from the RZA is great. There’s not really much to complain about. This song is great. I definitely fuck with this track. It’s dope af. 5/5

Track 11: Mr. Sandman Feat. RZA, Inspectah Deck, Streetlife, Carlton Fisk & Blue Raspberry

Alright, here we go. I’m really excited for this track for obvious reasons. That Blue Raspberry feature has me a little nervous tho, since I didn’t really like her work on Release Yo’ Delf. It’s starting now. Oh HELL yes. This beat is fucking awesome. It has an interpolation of Mr. Sandman by The Chordettes, and it’s almost creepy sounding. I’m assuming that’s Blue Raspberry singing it. She did a great job. RZA did his thing on the first verse, but INS fuckin’ killed this shit. Meth’s verse was dope. Streetlife had a good verse too. Carlton Fisk’s verse was dope af. He actually told a quick story of some kinda heist he performed that didn’t exactly end well. This track is dope af. Inspectah Deck definitely had the best verse in my opinion, but they all did a good job. I even think Blue Raspberry did a great job with the backing vocals. This is dope af. 5/5

Track 12: Stimulation

Why isn’t Blue Raspberry credited on this song? She does more here than she did on the previous track. I wasn’t feelin’ her intro, and I’m not feelin’ her hook either. The beat sounds like it has way too much goin’ on. It’s like a whirlpool of incompatible sounds. I guess the first verse from Meth was alright, but it was really hard to focus on what he was saying with this jumbled mess of a beat in the background. This is easily the worst RZA beat I’ve ever heard. This hook from Blue Raspberry is just terrible. The second verse from Meth was dope, but… I really can’t fuck with this shit. I actually think that this was a bad song. Honestly, this was a REALLY bad song to me. Aside from Meth’s verses, everything about this song was wack. It’s not like the verses from Meth were any better than any of his other shit on this album. I really dislike this song. I’d rather listen to nothing than listen to this song. This is wack af to me. 1/5

Track 13: Method Man (Remix)

At first I thought that this was just gonna be the original Method Man with an altered beat, but he actually spit some new verses too. The new beat is very underwhelming. I’m pretty sure it’s only percussion. It just sounds like a more stripped down, skeletal version of the original beat. The first verse was cool, but… This whole song just… Nah. There’s absolutely no reason for me to listen to this. The original song blows this one out of the water. It’s not terrible. It’s relatively basic tho. I’d never listen to it again, but I didn’t really mind it that much. It’s alright. 3/5

Final Thoughts:

This album is good. Not great. Not amazing. Just good. The production from RZA was pretty solid for the most part, but a few of the beats left something to be desired. The rhymes from Method Man were all pretty good too. He’s never really struck me as the greatest lyricist. His main strengths are his flow and his charisma. There’s not really anything extraordinary in terms of content. He usually tends to rap about smoking weed & just being a cool ass person, who should remain unfucked with. I don’t think it’s a great album, but I enjoyed it. Either the album just didn’t hit me like it should have, or it hasn’t aged that well. From what I can tell, people really loved this album when it came out. Some guy named Robert Dimery listed it in his book, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Chill, Rob. The shit wasn’t that damn good. Well… I guess 1001 is a pretty large amount of albums, but still. It’s not one of them albums that I’d be like “GASP You haven’t heard THIS album???” It’s good tho. It must’ve been really dope for it’s time. I like the album. I just don’t think I enjoy it as much as everyone else seems to. I still think it’s worth listening to tho. It’s dope.

Favorite Song: I Get My Thang In Action

Least Favorite Song: Stimulation

Verdict:

75%

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