Ghostface’s Recipe Book

Greatest hits compilations are like your grandmother’s recipe book – full of timeless tasty dishes that you can savor over and over again. The only problem is that you never seem to match the sheer skill and art of your grandmother’s cooking. As a member of the quintessential kung-fu-meets-hip-hop outfit The Wu-Tang Clan, Ghostface Killah has demonstrated his flair for lightening fast, lyrical flow with his Wu brethren and on his solo efforts. Shaolin’s Finest is Ghost’s recipe book which is full of his own tasty dishes that showcases his intense flowetry. The only problem with this album is that it doesn’t include what really makes Ghost’s skills shine – his collaborations with the other Wu members.Oh yeah, there are some tasty dishes here, but anyone who is clueless to who Ghostface is will surely be lost. “Malcolm” and “All I Got Is You” (which features the vocal stylings of Takitha), are the standout tasty bits in this recipe book which demonstrates Ghost’s trademark (or should I say patented?) style of urban storytelling. Although Ghost has been in the game far longer than many, it’s still a little early to be putting together a limited recipe book like this because what this album lacks is the machine-gun lyrical assault he so eloquently demonstrated on the first two Wu albums.