In Full Gear

In Full Gear
Studio album by Stetsasonic
Genre Hip hop
Length 63:31
Label Tommy Boy
Producer Ced Gee
Stetsasonic chronology

On Fire
(1986)		 In Full Gear
(1988)		 Blood, Sweat & No Tears
(1991)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic link
Robert Christgau (B+)[1]
Q link
Trouser Press (favorable) link

In Full Gear is the second studio album by American hip hop band Stetsasonic, released in 1988 by Tommy Boy Records.[2]

Music and lyrics

In Full Gear is a double album that draws on various influences in its hip hop style, including R&B, jazz, dancehall reggae, and rock influences. It also incorporates beat-boxing, sampling technology, and live band performance.[2] "Freedom or Death" and "Talkin' All That Jazz" discuss credos of revolution and sampling, respectively.[1] On "Float On", a remake of The Floaters' 1977 song of the same name, rapper Wise envisions "a woman with a realistic imagination, a woman who thinks for herself, whose thoughts are bold and free".[1]

Critical reception

In a contemporary review for The Village Voice, music critic Robert Christgau found the "well-meaning" band merely competent musically and said that their cover of "Float On" is "even ickier than the original". He was more enthusiastic about "Freedom or Death" and "Talking All That Jazz", and felt that In Full Gear succeeds on "a camaraderie that reaches deeper than the usual homeboy bonding".[1] In his own list for the Pazz & Jop critics poll, Christgau named "Talkin' All That Jazz" the seventeenth best single of 1988.[3]

Track listing

# Title Producer(s) Performer (s)
1 "In Full Gear" Prince Paul Daddy-O, Frukwan, Wise, Delite
2 "DBC Let The Music Play" DBC Daddy-O, Frukwan, Wise, Delite
3 "Freedom Or Death" Daddy-O Daddy-O
4 "Float On" Vincent F. Bell Daddy-O, Frukwan, Wise, Delite
5 "Stet Troop '88!" Wise Daddy-O, Frukwan
6 "Pen & Paper" Prince Paul Daddy-O, Frukwan, Delite
7 "Music For The Stetfully Insane" Prince Paul *Instrumental*
8 "We're The Band" Prince Paul, Daddy-O Daddy-O, Wise, Frukwan
9 "Rollin' Wit Rush" Prince Paul, Daddy-O *Interlude*
10 "This Is It, Y'all [Go Stetsa II]" Daddy-O Daddy-O, Frukwan, Wise
11 "Extensions" Daddy-O *Interlude*
12 "Sally" Prince Paul Daddy-O, Delite, Wise
13 "Talkin' All That Jazz" Prince Paul Daddy-O, Frukwan, Wise, Delite
14 "It's In My Song" DBC Daddy-O, Frukwan, Delite
15 "The Odad" Daddy-O Daddy-O
16 "Miami Bass" Prince Paul, Daddy-O Daddy-O, Frukwan, Delite
17 "Showtime" DBC Wise, Frukwan, Daddy-O, Delite
18 "Talkin' All That Jazz [Dominoes Vocal Remix]" Daddy-O Frukwan, Daddy-O, Delite
19 "Talkin' All That Jazz [Dominoes Instrumental Remix]" Daddy-O *Instrumental*
20 "Talkin' All That Jazz [Dim's Radio Edit Remix]" Dimitri Frukwan, Daddy-O, Delite

Charts

Chart (1988) Peak
position
Billboard Top R&B Albums 20

Singles

Year Song Chart positions
R&B Rap Dance Sales
1988 "Sally" 25 — —
1988 "Talkin' All That Jazz" 34 — 25
1989 "Float On" 56 24 —

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Christgau, Robert (September 27, 1988). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice (New York). Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Price, Emmett George (2006). Hip Hop Culture. ABC-CLIO. p. 295. ISBN 1851098674. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  3. ↑ Christgau, Robert (February 28, 1989). "Pazz & Jop 1988: Dean's List". The Village Voice (New York). Retrieved August 21, 2013.

External links