Revolverlution

08/02/2002 11:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Dan Leroy

This odds-and-sods jumble--containing a few live cuts and even some old tunes remixed by fans via the Internet--looks more like a cash-in compilation than a legendary group's latest album. Yet while it's been a long time since Public Enemy's world-beating heyday, the grooves here prove Chuck D and Flavor Flav can bring the noise of old.

The Bomb Squad is long gone, but their trademark squeals and metallic crunch remain, animating grinding new tunes like the title track and "Son Of A Bush," as well as a respectably reworked quartet of classics. And Chuck D is still one of hip-hop's two or three most commanding MCs, even when the new songs--and his own paranoid musings--don't measure up to his mic presence. Fingering the Illuminati and Trilateral Commission on "Son Of A Bush," and pairing with fellow Bush-hater Paris on the remix of "Gotta Give The Peeps What They Need," he sounds more like longtime partner/professional conspiracy theorist Professor Griff. But Revolverlution's claims are only half the point; Public Enemy couldn't exist without a power to fight, and the sound of their struggle is as compelling as ever.