I've been revisiting/listening to what I've missed from Run-D.M.C.'s discography and this is one I'd listened to and rated too low. I was probably influenced by the rep this has. Like most Run albums do (after the lackluster intro, 'Sucker D.J.'s'), this starts really well. The sampling on the first two full songs is exceptional with 'The Ave.' being cited as having eleven samples on Whosampled.com and 'What's It All About' having nine samples, with the most notable one being the brilliant 'Fools Gold' by The Stone Roses. Some of the bars on the anti-racism 'Faces' reminds me of the rap in MJ's 'Black or White'. Along with 'Faces', 'Pause' and 'Not Just Another Groove' fall into the new jack swing genre seeing Run chasing the trends of the era. From a group who stayed fairly true to themselves for four albums, it's odd hearing those songs. They aren't too bad though. We also hear more cursing and perhaps a higher percentage of songs about social topics compared to Run's previous projects. 'Pause' is an anti-drug song which is hypocritical given what some of the members of this group were up to. Elsewhere, 'Don't Stop' is one of Run's best songs. The hook and bridge are so damn catchy. I've loved it since I heard it many years back on a video game soundtrack. 'P Upon a Tree' is a short reggae song/comedy interlude about needing to urinate... 'Naughty' has some more enjoyable production with the horns working well to break up the chorus and verses. That's probably where the album should've finished. As with Run's previous albums before this, the tail isn't a strength with three party tracks finishing the album. From someone who has never been enamoured with early hip hop instrumentation, compared to their earlier albums, I think this is another step up in that department. A lot of the sampling works well and as I found with 'Tougher Than Leather', there are just a lot more elements to the instrumentation than you get with Run's earlier music. It's overhated. Beats: ★★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★☆ Hooks: ★★★☆ Best Tracks: The Ave, What's It All About, Don't Stop 1. Sucker D.J.'s 30 2. The Ave. 80 3. What's It All About 85 4. Bob Your Head 72 5. Faces 64 6. Kick the Frama Lama Lama 60 7. Pause 54 8. Word Is Born 76 9. Back from Hell 79 10. Don't Stop 100 11. Groove to the Sound 70 12. P Upon a Tree - 13. Naughty 76 14. Livin' in the City 60 15. Not Just Another Groove 50 16. Party Time 52

Looking at their albums from a modern point of view, without worrying about impact and whatnot, this is a big step up for consistency of production with so many more elements to a lot of the songs compared to what came before on albums like 'Raising Hell'. The way 'Beats to the Rhyme' blends in with 'Radio Station' is supreme. Again though, like the aforementioned album, it's front-loaded, and it's not a cohesive album from front to back with 'Miss Elaine' sounding more like a Beastie Boys song, which isn't a good thing. It's not terrible, but it's the weakest thing here with 'Ragtime that sounds they are impersonating Slick Rick, but he didn't drop until late '88 which has me asking questions. The worst are better than the worst stuff on their previous albums, and while the best aren't as great, the consistency is to a higher standard. Beats: ★★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★★ Hooks: ★★★☆ Best Tracks: Run's House, Mary Mary, Beats to the Rhyme

The first two tracks work well. I don't get the fuss with the inadvertent advertisement that is 'My Adidas'. 'Walk This Way' apparently caused Run to lose some of their core fan-base as it was seen as selling out, but it bangs and is one of the best songs they were involved in. While the first number of songs sound like they were moving the sound ahead of the earlier albums, 'Is It Live', and 'Perfection' to a greater extent, don't offer anything new on the boards, and the remainder of the album doesn't either being a lot of drums and nothing else. Overall, I'd take 'King of Rock' over this. Beats: ★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★☆ Hooks: ★★☆ Best Track: Peter Piper, It's Tricky, Walk This Way

I just checked out the documentary series, 'Kings from Queens: The Run DMC Story', and I realised I hadn't listened to all of Run's discography. As expected for an '85 rap album, this one is a mixed bag. 'Can You Rock It Like This' bangs as does the title track to a lesser degree, with the final electro influenced 'Darryl and Joe (Krush-Groove 3)' being worthy or replays too. However, the opener just feels like an introduction and not a complete song, 'Jam-Master Jammin'' is average, as is the reggae flavoured 'Roots, Rap, Reggae'. 'It's Not Funny' sounds like a sequel to 'It's Like That' only it isn't as good. There is more variety here though which isn't a feature of their debut. Run and D.M.C aren't writing Rakim level raps yet, but they are extremely commanding MCs which was their strength out the gate. I feel like with these early rap albums you have to be a bit kind and imagine yourself in that era when this dropped. I can see it being something fresh back then, and to be fair, some of it has aged better that lots of rap released later into the '80s. Beats: ★★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★★☆ Hooks: ★★★☆ Best Tracks: King of Rock, Can You Rock It Like This, Darryl and Joe (Krush-Groove 3)

The guitar in 'Rock Box' is something else. Without those riffs though, most of the production is too primitive for me to enjoy enough of the songs. 'Hard Times' and 'Wake Up' almost sound like the same song. '30 Days' sounds like it has similar drums too. There isn't a lot of variety on this one. This was an important album (to say the least), but I can't say much will have me going back to it. Beats: ★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★★ Hooks: ★★ Best Tracks: Rock Box, It's Like That