Ol Dirty Bastard – Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version (25th Anniversary Remaster) (1995/2020) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Ol Dirty Bastard – Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version (25th Anniversary Remaster) (1995/2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 02:51:32 minutes | 1,84 GB | Genre: Hip-Hop, Rap
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Rhino – Elektra

Ol’ Dirty Bastard made his solo debut 25 years ago with the Grammy®-nominated album, Return To The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version. An instant hip-hop classic, it peaked at #2 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and crossed over to reach #7 on the Billboard 200. The album quickly earned gold-certification and would introduce fans to two of ODB’s biggest hits: “Brooklyn Zoo” and “Shimmy Shimmy Ya.”

This 43-track reissue features a newly remastered version of the original album along with music from the era that has never been available digitally, including EP tracks, rare instrumentals and promo-only releases. Among the highlights are the digital debuts of “Ol’ Dirty’s Back,” “Don’t You Know, Part II,” and the “Brooklyn Zoo” b-side, “Give It To Ya Raw” (SD50 Remix).

The 25TH ANNIVERSARY DIGITAL DELUXE EDITION also features the debut of two previously unreleased tracks: “Brooklyn Zoo (Stripped Version)” and “Shimmy Shimmy Ya (Stripped Version).” Both songs have been stripped back to their essentials musically, which puts the focus on the lyrics and highlight how great a storyteller ODB was.

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

Tracklist:
1-01. Ol Dirty Bastard – Intro (2020 Remaster) (04:47)
1-02. Ol Dirty Bastard – Shimmy Shimmy Ya (2020 Remaster) (02:41)
1-03. Ol Dirty Bastard – Baby C’Mon (2020 Remaster) (03:26)
1-04. Ol Dirty Bastard – Brooklyn Zoo (2020 Remaster) (03:37)
1-05. Ol Dirty Bastard – Hippa To Da Hoppa (2020 Remaster) (03:01)
1-06. Ol Dirty Bastard – Raw Hide (2020 Remaster) (04:02)
1-07. Ol Dirty Bastard – Damage (2020 Remaster) (02:47)
1-08. Ol Dirty Bastard – Don’t U Know (2020 Remaster) (04:26)
1-09. Ol Dirty Bastard – The Stomp (2020 Remaster) (02:22)
1-10. Ol Dirty Bastard – Goin’ Down (2020 Remaster) (04:19)
1-11. Ol Dirty Bastard – Drunk Game (Sweet Sugar Pie) (2020 Remaster) (04:20)
1-12. Ol Dirty Bastard – Snakes (2020 Remaster) (05:26)
1-13. Ol Dirty Bastard – Brooklyn Zoo II (Tiger Crane) (2020 Remaster) (07:20)
1-14. Ol Dirty Bastard – Proteck Ya Neck II The Zoo (2020 Remaster) (04:00)
1-15. Ol Dirty Bastard – Cuttin’ Headz (2020 Remaster) (02:28)
1-16. Ol Dirty Bastard – Dirty Dancin’ (2020 Remaster) (02:42)
1-17. Ol Dirty Bastard – Harlem World (2020 Remaster) (06:16)
1-18. Ol Dirty Bastard – Ol’ Dirty’s Back (2020 Remaster) (04:12)
1-19. Ol Dirty Bastard – Shimmy Shimmy Ya (Extended Version) (2020 Remaster) (03:49)
1-20. Ol Dirty Bastard – Don’t U Know, Pt. II (2020 Remaster) (05:08)
1-21. Ol Dirty Bastard – Give It To Ya Raw (SD50 Remix) (2020 Remaster) (04:08)
1-22. Ol Dirty Bastard – Brooklyn Zoo (Stripped Version) (2020 Remaster) (03:09)
1-23. Ol Dirty Bastard – Shimmy Shimmy Ya (Stripped Version) (2020 Remaster) (03:03)
1-24. Ol Dirty Bastard – Shimmy Shimmy Ya (Instrumental) (2020 Remaster) (02:46)
1-25. Ol Dirty Bastard – Baby C’mon (Instrumental) (2020 Remaster) (03:38)
1-26. Ol Dirty Bastard – Brooklyn Zoo (Instrumental) (2020 Remaster) (03:51)
1-27. Ol Dirty Bastard – Hippa To Da Hoppa (Instrumental) (2020 Remaster) (02:47)
1-28. Ol Dirty Bastard – Raw Hide (Instrumental) (2020 Remaster) (04:10)
1-29. Ol Dirty Bastard – Damage (Instrumental) (2020 Remaster) (02:51)
1-30. Ol Dirty Bastard – Don’t U Know (Instrumental) (2020 Remaster) (04:39)
1-31. Ol Dirty Bastard – The Stomp (Instrumental) (2020 Remaster) (03:48)
1-32. Ol Dirty Bastard – Goin’ Down (Instrumental) (2020 Remaster) (03:48)
1-33. Ol Dirty Bastard – Drunk Game (Sweet Sugar Pie) [Instrumental] (2020 Remaster) (04:10)
1-34. Ol Dirty Bastard – Snakes (Instrumental) (2020 Remaster) (05:16)
1-35. Ol Dirty Bastard – Brooklyn Zoo II (Tiger Crane) [Instrumental] (2020 Remaster) (04:58)
1-36. Ol Dirty Bastard – Proteck Ya Neck II The Zoo (Instrumental) (2020 Remaster) (03:59)
1-37. Ol Dirty Bastard – Dirty Dancin’ (Instrumental) (2020 Remaster) (02:46)
1-38. Ol Dirty Bastard – Harlem World (Instrumental) (2020 Remaster) (06:22)
1-39. Ol Dirty Bastard – Shimmy Shimmy Ya (Extended Version) [Instrumental] (2020 Remaster) (03:39)
1-40. Ol Dirty Bastard – Shimmy Shimmy Ya (Studio Ton Remix) [Instrumental] (2020 Remaster) (04:39)
1-41. Ol Dirty Bastard – Brooklyn Zoo (Lord Digga Remix) [Instrumental] (2020 Remaster) (04:00)
1-42. Ol Dirty Bastard – Brooklyn Zoo (Lord Digga Remix) (2020 Remaster) (04:06)
1-43. Ol Dirty Bastard – Shimmy Shimmy Ya (Extended Mix) [Acapella] (2020 Remaster) (03:27)