Customer Rating:  
Summary: Not the Best Del
Comment: Based on the reviews I thought this CD would be more than what it was. Del really only hits the mark on 3-5 songs, the first 2 and Proto Kulture being the best. Otherwise he seems to be just off the beat and kind of sloppy. If I knew what I knew now I would have just picked up the mp3's for those 3-5 songs.
Customer Rating:
Summary: What are some of you people talking about? 5 stars without a doubt!
Comment: This album has great lyrics AND real nice beats. Some of the people who reviewed this CD talked about how this CD is lacking production. Maybe those people need to listen to the album again. Del does most of the production. Prince Paul, El-P, and A Plus, Domino, and Casual also add to the production of this CD. This Album is a Hiero Classic! Not to mention a West Coast Classic! I really can't compare it to other Del releases cause they are all great. I can say honestly that this album is like no other album you've herd before. I would like to see Del do a project with Doom, I think that would be sick.
Customer Rating:
Summary: HIERO CLASICK
Comment: If You Must is about hygeine!! Hows that for an alternatve topic? Beats are complex got you goin where is thast sample from? His homie Khaos Unique can hang with Hiero stylewise. The song Proto Culture is about import video games and systems. A lesson wrapped up in the sikkest track! The song about getting wasted drunk is so entertaining. A hip hop must. MCs need to get their stone aged thinking heads outta the gutter and create art with words not advocate violence. Del is 15 years deep in this and still a powerhouse creatively and vocally. Check Divine Forces Radio on 90.7 KPFK They ain't sleepin on Del!
Customer Rating:
Summary: (3+half) BOTH SIDES on show here......genius and flawed.
Comment: This is in my humble opinion the weakest of all DEL's 5 albums (including Deltron 3030). Del's lyricism has never and will NEVER be called into question, however his production here at times just isnt as sharp. Unlike what some may think Im NOT a casual listener to Del or the Hiero crews material as Ive all their solo's and group albums so I know what Im talking about. Although at times his beats are perfection next to his rhymes, at times on here it just doesnt hit its intended targets. Also his normally unreal lyrics are abit lacklustre on afew joints.(Just my opinion, dont hate on me). Tracks like "Time Is Too Expensive", "If You Must", "Style Police", "Signature Slogans", "Catch All This", "Proto Culture" and "Stay On Your Toes" suffer from either average beats or rhymes from an otherwise flawless hiphop genius. However the remaining 10 tracks are some of his finest work throughout his career. Standouts are all 10 but particularly "Jaw Gymnastics", "Press Rewind", "Fake As F**k", "Skull & Crossbones", "Soopa Feen" and "Disastrous". Excellent+must have addition to any Del/Hiero fans collection. Real lyricism at its pinnacle.
Customer Rating:
Summary: I can't believe people hate this album...what's going on?
Comment: Del's old stuff is just so dated. The production on No Need For Alarm is complex in it's creative manipulation of the sampler, and although that sound can still be relevant, you have to be a revivalist like Madlib to pull it off. Here on the other hand, Del seems to roll right off the hype he created among my friends with the track he did on the first Handsome Boy Modeling School album. I don't even think Deltron 3030 is as hot as Both Sides of the Brain, and among my friends that statement is a no-brainer and hardly debateable at all. Personally the only negative critique I would give Both Sides is that I wish Prince Paul and EL-P had produced the whole thing. Surely this is a point where I can see eye-to-eye with these other reviewers. Actually I have one other critique: I could do without the song "Supa Fiend" all together, and in fact I feel it brings this already lengthy album down a peg. If I could make it perfect I would next remove "Time Is Too Expensive," "Style Police,"Disasterous," & BM's.
Ultimatly though, me and my nerdy friends say this is Del's highest peak of creativity. I mean, come on people...peep game:
"My mainframe gumption is brain bustin'
I like lumpin' up dumb cuts with abundance
Rhyme reservoirs that glitter like a gun bust"
Nobody even cares about rapping lines like that anymore except Def Jux, Heiro, and maybe MF Doom or Stones Throw. They should all merge and form one label to compete better. Del rips like ten million lines that good across the course of this album.
Both Sides will be in my all-time top 20 for life! I'm saying this after listening to it since the day it came out. Don't beleive the naysayers. I also think Rubberoom's "Archetechnology" is another badly slept on gem, but whatever...you can listen to these other reviers and miss out if you insist on doing so.
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