Take a Look Over Your Shoulder

Artist: Warren G
Label: Def Jam
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Enhanced
Media: Audio Cassette

UPC: 731453723443
EAN: 0731453723443
ASIN: B0000024N0

Release Date: 1997-03-25

Take a Look Over Your Shoulder

Related Categories:

General

| Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General

| R&B | Styles | Music

General

| Soul | R&B | Styles | Music

General

| Funk | R&B | Styles | Music

General

| Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music

West Coast

| Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Star Trek Intro
Annie Mae
Smokin' Me Out
Ricky in Church
Reality
Ricky & G-Child
Young Fun
What We Go Through
We Brings Heat
Transformers
Reel Tight Intro
Relax Ya Mind
To All D.J.'s
Back Up
Can You Feel It
I Shot the Sheriff
I Shot the Sheriff [EPMD Remix]

Similar Items:

Regulate...G Funk Era
I Want It All
The Return of the Regulator
In the Mid-Nite Hour
Greatest Hits

Amazon.com

Of all the L.A. postgangstas, Warren G's probably the most pop-oriented and least hip-hop-committed. As with his sharp, multiplatinum debut Regulate...G Funk Era, his follow-up, Take a Look over Your Shoulder, is hardly concerned with rapping at all. It's such an afterthought, in fact, that he's happy doling out verses to unknown rhymers like K-9, Malik, and Knee-Hi--or better yet, to R&B crooners like Nanci Fletcher or Nate Dogg (the voice behind his huge hit "Regulate")--even if it means sublimating his own voice in the process.

But like his brother, Dr. Dre, Warren is a rapper only by circumstance and a producer by passion. His personality comes through in ultraslick funk-enhanced rewrites of familiar, road-tested tunes: The Isley Brothers' "Cooling Me Out" becomes Warren's "Smoking Me Out," and Marley-by-way-of-Clapton's "I Shot the Sheriff" becomes Take a Look's terrific first single. It might make Warren and crew the world's richest cover band if only he weren't so good at rethinking grooves and repackaging oldies as pop gems for the '90s. If the entire album were as tight and tuneful as the standouts (those mentioned, plus Nate's showcase "Annie Mae"), Take a Look would be a masterpiece. As it stands, Warren's still a great pop singles artist. And with his new record going light on the gangsta tales, that's apparently all he's aiming for. --Roni Sarig

Customer Reviews:

Warren Gets The Little Brother Treatment {4.5 Stars}.......2007-01-25

I challenge you to name 10 producers from the west coast that were better than Warren G in the 90's. There's DJ Quik (yes, I put his name first...Dre is overrated), Dr. Dre, and...well..... While there are other notable producers that may have been just as good, like DJ Muggs, Daz, Battlecat, Sir Jinx, Bud'da, Soopafly, E-Swift (Alkaholiks), Shock G, and Johnny J (I know I've left out a ton of legendary westside beatsmiths, but I'm trying to make a point, not write a novel). I wouldn't necessarily say that any of them were BETTER than Warren Griffin III. As a matter of fact, the problem Warren G runs into most is the fact that he's so heavily slept on (his own brother, Dr. Dre, didn't take him seriously as a producer). Even the editorial reviewer of this album grabbed a pillow and took a snooze -- I noticed that Amazon has a knack for posting bogus editorial reviews, but that's another story. Anyway, I think what turned people off to Warren G is because he took 3 years off from his classic debut and a lot people expected the Regulate II LP. Instead of trying to duplicate that album, he went in a different direction (something that I actually respect people more for doing -- more "artists" should do it). The truth is, this album is off the charts. Despite being totally ignored by his label (Def Jam), this joint still had a few classics (We Brings Heat, Transformers, What We Go Through, I Shot The Sheriff (EPMD Remix), Back Up, & Smokin' Me Out) getting spins on the radio. The quality of the album kept it afloat because, trust me, there were NO promo dollars put behind it. And on top of all that, with the exception of one or two fillers, the rest of the tracks are strong.

There are a few tracks on the album that should've been left off the album. "Annie Mae" suffers from lazy production and the original version of "I Shot The Sheriff" is skip material in my book. As a matter of fact, a lot of the production is so laid back that I'd have to say that it's almost too smooth. Don't get me wrong though, the beats are still top notch. Some will tell you that Warren's rhymes aren't up to par, but the editorial review summed it up best when it said: "...like his brother, Dr. Dre, Warren is a rapper only by circumstance and a producer by passion..." With that being said, I don't really expect much from him on the lyrical tip (nor does he -- hence the abundance of guest rappers).

Take A Look Over Your Shoulder (Reality) is easily Warren G's second best album. The production is on point and the guests all do a great job of sharing the load. Warren G is a capable rapper, but the focus for me was on the beats. I recommend adding this one to the collection. Amazon is selling this for less than a buck. If that ain't a steal, I don't know what is.

Standout Tracks: Back Up Feat. K-9 & P-C, Relax Ya Mind Feat. Reel Tight, What We Go Through Feat. Mr. Malik, Perfec & Bada**, Reality, To All D.J.'s Feat. Mr. Malik, We Brings Heat Feat. The Twinz & Da Five Footaz (My Favorite), Smokin' Me Out Feat. Ron Isley, Transformers, and Young Fun Feat. Knee-Hi & Jayo Felony

Good...But It Can't Touch Regulate.......2006-07-17

3 years after LBC rapper Warren G released one of the best hip hop albums that the world had seen (or will ever see), Take a Look Over Your Shoulder hit the shelves. The g funk era was on its way down by this point, but since Warren G reinvented g funk in a way that no one else did back in '94, why not take a stab at it again? What could go wrong? A lot of things actually. The album feels rushed with odd hook choices, tired rhymes by Warren and some mediocre samples. However, the album sports one classic, 2 near classics and some solid songs all around. The album isn't bad. It just can't touch Regulate.

The first classic is Warren's 3rd best song (behind Regulate and This DJ) in my opinion, Transformers. A laid-back synth laden song with a silky smooth bassline, this song is amazing. Hooks are usually one of my favorite parts of a Warren G song, but here Warren opts to repeat a synthetic robot sound (hence Transformers) that isn't the greatest. That said, the hook is short enough and the final verse where Warren shouts out areas throughout the LBC is just too good. Unlike the perfect Regulate and This DJ, Transformers is flawed but not flawed enough.

We Brings Heat, a would-be classic, however, is. With one of g-funk's most unconventional beats, Warren had a big chance here. A fantastically eerie sound is created with a slow cool piano, very evident live drum usage and an odd raspy hook. Lyrically, Warren G is solid, but the real stars are Wayniac of the Twinz and female rapper Jah Skillz of 5 Footaz. So why not a classic? After the final verse, the hook is replayed one too many times. I would've much preferred just hearing the beat, one of the best Warren was created. Instead, the raspy sound distracts from the beat and becomes downright annoying. The 2nd near-classic is Relax Ya Mind with finally a perfectly implemented hook and a smooth beat all round. Straight g funk from beginning to end. The problem here, however, is the ridiculous opening verse. Warren assaults us with too many different topics, boldly stacking "this uptempo beat and this g funk rhyme," "it's all about the collard greens" and " it's a baller's society" all within the first verse. Without even a second thought, Warren shifts madly from one idea to the next. It's just silly.

Other songs worth mentioning are the overrated I Shot the Sheriff, which in my opinion is the most unoriginal song Warren has done. It's worth listening to, but Warren is much more creative than this. Its remix is decent. Smokin Me Out (also an unoriginal sample choice), Annie Mae and Can You Feel It round out the list of good/okay songs. They are either hurt by horrible opening raps from Warren or odd hook choices. I've been very critical in my review because Warren G is my favorite rapper, g funk my favorite kind of music. This album is definitely worth picking up if you're like me. But don't go in expecting something as flawless Regulate.

So underated..........2006-03-04

It boggles my mind to this day how this CD failed to garner anyones attention after the superb CD that was Regulate: The G Funk Era. Perhaps it was the delay between his last album and this album? Or perhaps people have no taste?

Warren G serves up another great CD with non-stop quality (well not exactly, the skits are not needed and once you hear them once you need not hear them again) and his beats are as equal to what he released on first cd.

The classics:
Annie Mae - Warren G tags with his life long buddy Nate Dogg and drops another hit. Nate Dogg's hook is amazingly smooth and Warren G is at ease. Warren and Nate talk about a trick they once knew.

Smokin' Me Out - One of the best beats on the CD, Ron Isley delivers the best hook on the CD, and Warren G calmly raps to another classic of his own. Warren talks about a girl smokin' him out.

Reality - Probably my favorite rap on the album. Warren talks about people talking junk about him.

To All D.J.'s and Can You Feel it: Love both these raps, don't know which is better but they are both very good and are just behind Reality in quality.

The rest of the raps are of four star quality, possibly higher.It's a shame that this CD is long forgotten, because It almost matchs Warren's original CD in quality (Although Regulate and This DJ are still his best efforts to this date). I highly recommend this item to anyone who is a fan of Warren G or still listens to Regulate to this day.

take a look back at g funk.......2006-02-17

I still bump this cd in my cadi but there are a few songs I skip thas why a gave it 4 stars. Regulate g funk era is a good album from start to finish. i loved the I shot the sheriff song when it came out, but no when I listen to it, it's kinda boring. But the whole album is straight g-funk that only the Warren to the G can give u so dont sleep. Westcoast LBC music always gonna be in my ride, I grew up in Cali so that g-funk is gonna be in my cadi till I die.

Great Album, 4.7 Stars.......2005-04-09

Warren G still has that G-Funk passion in his second album. He puts more songs on this album, thank God!! He still has that fun, easy listening, rhythmic flow that makes him fun to listen to. His standout track, "Transformers," has a faint, whistly keyboard synth, and a neat use of a talk-box, and a funky, bass-heavy beat. He refuses to become a gimmicky rapper, and for that I give him props. He sounds calm and collected in the nice chill-out track "Relax Ya Mind." He does step up the hard-core factor a little since his first album. Songs like "What We Go Through" and "Reality" get into more of a gangsta mentality, but he does not overdo it. So, he offers something for gangsta rap fans, and fans of more laid back rap.

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Louis Lince's Jelly Roll Kings ~ Louis Lince

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Essential Best ~ Artie Shaw

Music CD 09

Merengue en la Calle 8 2003 ~ Various Artists

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Pistas: Canta Como Tus Telenovelas Mas Famosas ~ Karaoke