There were mash-ups before The Grey Album. (They were called "hip-hop songs.") And there will be mash-ups in the future. But for the sake of sanity and closure, let's say that Tom Caruana's "Wu-Tang vs. the Beatles" project officially ends the tragic era that spawned in the wake of Danger Mouse's entertaining yet pedestrian Jay-Z-Fab-Four-gy.
Magical Mystery Chambers is the finest effort the subgenre has yielded in forever — a phenomenal note for mash-up culture to exit on. I'm not sure whether Caruana was trying to impress hardcore Clan geeks by plucking obscure cuts. But regardless of the inspiration, his mostly favoring eclectic Wu bangers over marquee tracks (and, in some cases, remakes of Beatles songs as opposed to originals) makes for sounds that succeed on more than just the merit of their classic components. Inspectah Deck's "Rec Room" has fresh wind blown toward its crotch via Franck Pourcel's rendition of "Girl."
Method Man's "Uh Huh" — once buried on the You Got Served soundtrack — enjoys a miraculous rebirth over "You Know My Name." Even Wu-Tang's Ringo, U-God, is well represented, and so is Cappadonna, whose "Slang Editorial" blend with Dionne Warwick's "A Hard Day's Night" is a definite highlight. Download this immediately and impress the fuck out of white people everywhere.
