MENTAL COMBAT

CD ONLY CLASSICS
The LEGION - Theme + Echo = Krill
One Love/Mercury. 20 tracks. 1994

It’s getting hard to not post up an album that someone else has already done on another blog. So I’m not even going to google a look, I’ll just post away oblivious to the fact that what I’m doing has probably already been covered.

These dudes from the Bronx were mates with Black Sheep & appeared on their 2nd LP, but really, they couldn't sound any more different in style. They were the first (& only) crew signed to the Sheep’s label One Love. Using the capabilities of the SP1200, Cee-Low, Chucky Smash & Molecules aka Cutmaster Marvy D created a definite individual style. At times it is so damn crusty & caked in grime that you can feel the coarse texture in your ears. The sampled records that they have sourced get the lo-fi treatment & many times the bit-rate is extreme, resulting in an almost distorted feel on a few tracks. It all adds to their style & at times feels pretty experimental & left of centre, but still with some very strong almost MOP styled vocals over the top. Musically it reminds me of what Antexx was doing a few years prior. Mister Lawnge & Dres produce 3 tracks amongst themselves, while the Legionaires take care of the majority. Lyrically there are some black conciousness ideas going on, but basically they just seem intent on getting rough with it, even a bit sloppy delivery wise. The tempo never crawls over the 90bpm range, which I always found unusual considering the era in which it was made. At 73 mins it would probably make an excellent 40 min album, but strangely enough 12 years later I’m kind of grateful for the remainder.

This album did come out when Showbiz & AG's first album, Runaway Slave appeared & that has been rinsed, whereas this has been hidden in a box since then & is a nice surprise of sorts. For it was a CD only release so I seldom go through the boxes of discs as much as I look through the shelves of vinyl. Speaking of Show & AG, they appear on this album & at times I wonder why they never became a part of D.I.T.C. Their big track was the 12” Jingle Jangle & they also came out later on their own label, named after themselves.

I just noticed that Oh Word have recently reviewed it & they have 2 other tracks to download. Damn! I thought I got in quick. Must dig deeper.


• MP3: THE LEGION - Who's It On Part 1 ft. Showbiz, AG & Ralo.
• MP3: THE LEGION - Who's It On Part 2 ft Chi Ali, Black Sheep, E-Dub, CME, Smiley & Droopy Dog