The Roots — Rising Down

Something vital is missing from Rising Down, The Roots' eighth studio album. Here, the Philadelphia septet have dispensed with the seven-to-12-minute tracks that peppered their releases up to their last album, 2006's Game Theory. This disc clocks in at just 45 minutes, with no song over five minutes in length. This is significant, considering their previous releases could hit upwards of 70 to 80 minutes. Shorter songs aren't necessarily tighter songs. Although the title track about global warming and "Criminal," which tackles racial profiling, are The Roots at their political best, there's nothing nearly as awesome as Phrenology's "Rock You." Nor is there anything as shocking as the epic "The Return Of Innocence Lost" from Things Fall Apart. The synthesizers on "Get Busy" may also throw you off. While Black Thought's rhymes are still fast and hard-hitting, and Mos Def and Talib Kweli — who guest on separate tracks, — boost the record a tad, there's just something about this collection which doesn't do it.

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