• Artist: Cypress Hill
• Rating:
• Styles: Rap-Rock, West Coast Rap, Hardcore Rap
• Track Picks: "(Rap) Superstar," "Another Victory," "Can't Get the Best of Me"

Review

Despite the best efforts of DJ Muggs, Cypress Hill ran out of gas fairly quickly, entering a tailspin as soon as their third album. Back at full strength with the return of Sen Dog, Cypress Hill devised a full-scale comeback with their fifth album, Skull & Bones. The idea behind the album was to divide it into two -- a hip-hop disc ("Skull") and a rock disc ("Bones"). This would guarantee some publicity, at the very least, and, hopefully, it would win over the new generation of adolescents who flipped for rap-metal acts like Kid Rock and Limp Bizkit. On paper, it's a sound theory, but there was a slight flaw -- the group is kind of lame when they rock. Their band is competent enough, and B Real's voice does sound good with overdriven guitars, but their rock songs utterly fall apart, since they have no hooks, no catchy riffs, and no character. If rap-metal was all there was to Skull & Bones, it would be a bit of an embarrassment. Fortunately, the "Skulls" disc is their finest effort since Black Sunday. Muggs is in prime form, creating funky, ominous, evocative soundscapes, which B Real makes the most of with fluid rhymes. At times, B Real does descend into tastelessness ("Stank Ass Hoe"), and neither he nor Sen Dog really find any new lyrical ground, but sonically, "Skulls" is a blast; B Real's whine and Sen Dog's gruff, blunt style are the perfect match for Muggs' darkly cinematic soundscapes, and, on a purely sonic level, it's quite intoxicating. At their best, Cypress Hill are a hip-hop experience unlike any other, and, ignoring the "Bones" disc, this is the best they've been in a long, long time. [Skull & Bones was also issued in a "clean" version, containing no vulgarities or explicit lyrics.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Tracks

CD 1

Track Title	iTunes	Composers	Performers	Time
Intro		Lawrence Muggerud	Cypress Hill	(1:52)
Another Victory		Lawrence Muggerud, Louis Freese	Cypress Hill	(3:21)
(Rap) Superstar		Lawrence Muggerud, Louis Freese	Cypress Hill	(4:51)
Cuban Necktie		Lawrence Muggerud, Louis Freese	Cypress Hill	(4:12)
What U Want from Me		Lawrence Muggerud, Louis Freese	Cypress Hill	(3:49)
Stank A** H**		Lawrence Muggerud, Louis Freese	Cypress Hill	(5:10)
Highlife		Lawrence Muggerud, Louis Freese, Senen Reyes	Cypress Hill	(3:53)
Certified Bomb		Lawrence Muggerud, Louis Freese, Senen Reyes	Cypress Hill	(4:02)
Can I Get a Hit		Lawrence Muggerud, Louis Freese	Cypress Hill	(2:48)
We Live This S***		Lawrence Muggerud, Louis Freese, Senen Reyes	Cypress Hill	(4:15)
Worldwide		Muggs, Louis Freese, Senen Reyes	Cypress Hill	(2:44)

CD 2

Track Title	iTunes	Composers	Performers	Time
Valley of Chrome		Lawrence Muggerud, Louis Freese, Senen Reyes	Cypress Hill	(4:04)
Get Out of My Head		Lawrence Muggerud, Louis Freese	Cypress Hill	(3:30)
Can't Get the Best of Me		Lawrence Muggerud, Louis Freese, Senen Reyes	Cypress Hill	(4:16)
A Man	...	Lawrence Muggerud, Louis Freese, Senen Reyes	Cypress Hill	(3:10)
Dust		Cypress Hill, George Fleming, Louis Freese	Cypress Hill	(5:45)
(Rock) Superstar		Lawrence Muggerud, Louis Freese, Senen Reyes	Cypress Hill	(6:45)

Credits

Cypress Hill (Main Performer), Cartoon (Design), Cartoon (Illustrations), Michael Barbiero (Mixing), Eric Bobo (Bass), Eric Bobo (Drums), Dino Cazares (Guitar), Brian Gardner (Mastering), Muggs (Arranger), Muggs (Producer), Muggs (Mixing), Reggie Stewart (Bass), Reggie Stewart (Guitar), Brad Wilk (Drums), Rogelio Lozano (Guitar Overdubs), Stretch Armstrong (Editing), Christian Olde Wolbers (Bass), Andy Zambrano (Guitar), Gerard Babitts (A&R), Jeremy Fleener (Guitar), Sonny Gerasimowicz (Design)