0
Get On Down release Deluxe GZA Liquid Swords “CHESS BOX” reissue with 2-CD and Instrumentals-only Vinyl Sets, as part of its Masters Series.
The must-have for any discerning hip-hop head features the 2-CD deluxe re-issue including chess board printed directly onto the inner-lining of the box, working mini chess set, 20-page liner notes booklet (with input from GZA), plus never-before-available full album instrumentals.
Disc One is the full original 14-track Liquid Swords album (remastered from original source tapes) and Disc Two: original Liquid Swords album instrumentals (first time ever released, remastered from original source tapes).
The box-set includes a 20-page in-depth liner notes booklet, written by Chris Faraone, featuring input from GZA and artwork from original Liquid Swords album and promotional singles.
At the peak of his powers as a producer in the mid-‘90s, Wu-Tang mastermind RZA crafted a distinctive soundtrack at his basement studio in Staten Island. This haunting landscape of dusty samples, sharp snares and menacing urban gloom culled from the Japanese film “Shogun Assassin” as well as wide-ranging R&B and funk sources would soon become a pillar of hip-hop history.
These sounds were to become GZA’s 1995 sophomore classic Liquid Swords – considered by many to be the ultimate Wu-Tang Clan solo album. 17 years later, it’s impossible to debate or deny the album’s legendary status, still standing up to any release that has come out in the rap pantheon, before or since.
Cerebral and precise with his words like a shaolin swordsman, GZA crystallized a range of influences, from chess to Kung-Fu and mob films to Eastern philosophy. The album features appearances by the entire Wu-Tang Clan, including the memorable debut of Killah Priest on B.I.B.L.E.
As GZA explains in the “Chess Box” liner notes: “The music was solely [RZA’s] vision. I see him as an equal partner in this endeavor. RZA was sitting on a gold-mine of music that was just waiting for lyrics.”
After the success of its Ol’ Dirty Bastard Return to the 36 Chambers deluxe edition wallet / ID card reissue from 2011, Get On Down’s Masters Series is proud to unveil the latest in its painstakingly-crafted Wu-Tang Clan re-issue line. Housed in a sturdy, wrapped hard-board, two-piece box, this sumptuous edition of Liquid Swords spans across 2-CDs. Disc One contains the official album version while Disc Two contains the full album instrumentals, available for the first time ever. Both discs have been completely restored with remastered audio from the original source tapes.
As with all Get On Down Masters Series deluxe releases, this Liquid Swords Chess Box set is packaged with an array of extras, including: in-depth 20-page liner notes booklet with GZA, interview by Chris Faraone; inner jackets and dust sleeves with artwork from the original LP release and promotional singles; and, most impressively, a full mini chess set, which can be played on a chess board printed directly on the inner lining of the box cover.
To complement the 2-CD “chess box,” Get On Down is releasing the album instrumentals on vinyl in separate packaging as a double-LP set, with one black vinyl, one white vinyl, and silk-screened jackets by ANTI design.
There will also be a special, very limited edition silk-screened 24” x 24” black and white print (by ANTI design) available only for those purchasing CD *and* LP editions on the label’s soon-to-be-relaunched website.
Whether you are new to the majesty of GZA and Liquid Swords or a Wu disciple who purchased the cassette in 1995 and wore it out, you will find plenty to enjoy in this stunning and reverent deluxe edition.