As a member of {|the Wu-Tang Clan|}, {|Ol' Dirty Bastard|}'s bizarre, free-form rants added both comic relief and a dangerous unpredictability to the group's chemistry. {|ODB|}'s {|RZA|}-produced solo debut {|Return to the 36 Chambers|} stretches his... Read more

As a member of {|the Wu-Tang Clan|}, {|Ol' Dirty Bastard|}'s bizarre, free-form rants added both comic relief and a dangerous unpredictability to the group's chemistry. {|ODB|}'s {|RZA|}-produced solo debut {|Return to the 36 Chambers|} stretches his schtick over a full album, which if anything makes him sound even more unbalanced. Long before the album ends, it's clear that {|ODB|} has emptied his bag of tricks -- loose, off-the-beat raps that sometimes don't even rhyme, unbelievably graphic vulgarity, gonzo off-key warbling (which sounds a little like {|Biz Markie|} as a mental patient), and general goofing off. Yet within that role as hardcore rap's clown prince of psychosis, {|ODB|} is pretty damned entertaining. His leaps in association are often as disturbing as they are funny, whether they're couched in scatological detail or not; they certainly don't make his widely publicized erratic behavior seem at all surprising. And, despite the unstructured feel dominating most of the album, there are a fair share of hooks, and two absolutely killer singles in {|Shimmy Shimmy Ya|} and {|Brooklyn Zoo.|} Certainly, there's no reason for the album to be as long as it is, considering the dull filler toward the end. But, even though {|Return to the 36 Chambers|} might not be the most earth-shattering piece of {|the Wu-Tang|} puzzle, it's an infectious party record which proves that, despite his limitations, {|Ol' Dirty Bastard|} has the charisma to carry an album on his own. ~ Steve Huey Less