This is the second album review I've ever written, and it's long... I've been somewhat unsatisfied with the few reviews of _A Book of Human Language_ that I've read, so I thought I'd write my own... basically, my complaint with the reviews that I've read is that they didn't really address the purpose and aim of the album, and consequently failed to properly assess its successes and failures. That's unfortunate because so much of the album doesn't make sense without an understanding of what Aceyalone is trying to do with it, and reviewers therefore tend to interpret its moves as curiousities and indulgences rather than (successful and unsuccessful) attempts to build a coherent whole. _Human Language_ is an ambitious project, ambitious enough that I feel no contradiction in calling it a worthwhile failure... not that Aceyalone isn't one of the most talented and imaginative motherfuckers in hip hop. Nor is it that there's anything wrong with Mumbles' production. Still, it seems that on this album Aceyalone's reach exceeds even his considerable grasp. Of course, at a time when artists such as Rakim and Organized Konfusion self-consciously court the lowest common denominator, and even De La Soul gives up their trademark obscurity in order to be understood, there is a lot to be said for an album which pushes boundaries and demands the attention of the listener. Still, the price of risk-taking is the possibility of failure and disappointment, and I think there are two central flaws to this album: First of all, as the title and cover artwork suggest, _A Book Of Human Language_ is a concept album, conceived of as a book which records a totality of human experience, from birth and life to death. But in a single-driven medium such as hip-hop, the concept album has repeatedly failed to live up to its promise. I would argue that, with the proud exception of _De La Soul Is Dead_, the classic hip-hop albums have been collections of classic songs rather than artistic wholes. Think of classic albums such as _Criminal Minded_ and _Paid In Full_, which were in reality little more than collections of previously-released singles. Aceyalone's classic and underrated solo debut, _All Balls Don't Bounce_, with its tag team of producers and guest appearances, was similarly a collection of songs of diverse musical moods and topics. Yet on _Human Language_, Acey attempts to present the album as a unified work--musically, by keeping Mumbles as the sole producer, and thematically by presenting each song as only a chapter of the larger book. Yet this unity often comes at the expense of individual tracks; for instance, in the time and energy Aceyalone expends in unifying the songs ("Contents", "The Reason", "The Vision", "The Hunt Prelude", "The Catch") rather than cutting back the framework and letting the stronger tracks speak for themselves. Second, and probably more disappointing for fans of _All Balls_, in reaching for universality and poetic depth, Aceyalone often neglects his own most unique gifts. As a rhymer, Aceyalone has a rare ability to unlock and unfold language: at moments his playful rhymes and cadences appear to reveal hidden meanings, as though the English language were a personal toy that mere mortals like ourselves might borrow but never fully exploit. See, for instance, "Headaches and Woes" and "I Think." _All Balls_ also showcased a rhythmic imagination, revealing a world of possibilities that a universe of 4/4-bound MC's never dared to venture into: consider the quirky stutter-step of "Arhythmaticulas" and the ground-breaking 6/8 flow on "The Greatest Show On Earth." Yet on _Human Language_, in his quest for lyrical seriousness, Acey's flashes of linguistic and rhythmic playfulness are fewer and further between. Having said all of that, here's a track-by-track sort of breakdown, for those of you who like that sort of thing. The introductory "forward" (get it, "foreword"?) presents some moody jazz instruments over an even moodier track, featuring what must be Mumbles' favorite sample in the world (it's the sample he used for "Makeba," on _All Balls_, and the beat reappears in the "afterward" [read, "afterword"]). Next comes "The Guidelines," which apparently was intended for _All Balls_, but instead appears here as a kind of preface to Acey's new book and features what are perhaps the album's most playful lyrics over Mumbles' subdued and moody beats. Next is "Contents," essentially a table of contents for the "book" being presented. No beat here, just Aceyalone reciting the names of the tracks to come (you can read along on the album cover, if you like...). For the rest of side A the album slumps quite a bit. Next is "The Balance," which goes on for five minutes but never really expands its subject beyond it's opening line: "The second somebody dies, somebody else is born/ People are celebratin', while other people mourn." Filling out Side A are "The Energy," which is obscure without much of a lyrical or musical payoff, and "The Hurt," which is probably the most rhythmically unconventional song on the album. Still, it's difficult to say what the point of the song is, and the delivery and the beat don't seem to get along happily. Side B gets better, beginning with "The Hold," which presents an interesting drum pattern that interacts much better with Aceyalone's voice than any of the previous beats. Lyrically it's still obscure, but fun to listen to. Next, "The Walls And Windows" starts somewhat slowly and repetitively, but picks up as a playful meditation on ears and eyes and (what else) walls and windows. "The Jabberwocky" is indicative of all-too-much of this album: ambitious, interesting, different, but not necessarily enjoyable to listen to. Aceyalone recites the Jabberwocky from Alice In Wonderland, except with his voice distorted somewhat distractingly... honestly, I got tired of it about halfway through and flipped it to 45rpm, which came much closer to the natural sound of Acey's voice. The first disc ends with the nice "Grandfather Clock," which presents Aceyalone's skill in familiar glory: playful, rhythmically curious, and with a storytelling bent for the absurd. Unfortunately, the beat on this song is distracting: it mimics a grandfather clock's pendulum by sounding the same tone on every beat, which is conceptually interesting but once again not much fun to listen to. Disc Two opens with "The Reason," a funky and soulful loop wasted upon a reiteration of the table of contents. Next comes "The March," which is a lot of fun to listen to... lyrically, musically, and conceptually. Really, this to me is one of the tracks on the album which lives up to the ambitions of the entire enterprise. Things slow down for "The Vision," which is really little more than a prelude to "The Faces," which was released as a single and is classic Aceyalone. "The Faces" by itself boasts more personality and charisma than the entire first disc, perhaps because Acey loses some of his universal, view-from-nowhere tone and returns to the first person. The next four tracks come together and naturally lead into one another: "The Hunt Prelude", "The Hunt", "The Catch", and "The Thief In the Night". Honestly, I didn't care much for this mini-series... the tracks are dark and slow and somewhat predictable, and the subject matter is a bit too obvious for Acey to get very far with. (For instance, on Thief In the Night: "today's subject is... death.") This procession saves, I think, the best for last. The conclusion of the album, entitled "Human Language," ties together all of the ambitions of the album and is in my opinion nearly perfect: the drum pattern set up by Mumbles provides a perfect backdrop for Acey's freewheeling lyrics, while the bridge is set off by a subtle bass and a horn solo that fits in wonderfully. This high point is followed up by a stage freestyle and the album concludes with Mumbles' "afterward," nearly indistinguishable from the "forward" but nice all the same. So, let's cut to the chase. Should you buy this album? As always, it depends. If you're looking for a collection of dope songs with ill lyrics, you could do better with the same amount of money by picking up three singles: "Faces"/"The Guidelines"/"Fortitude", which has the first two songs plus "Fortitude," a track whose mellow, whispery vibe I've really been getting into; "Me And My Main," a cool collaboration with Abstract Rude over one of Kool DJ EQ's more interesting beats (though it's mixed sort of poorly and it's hard to make out some of Acey's lyrics... if you're dedicated you can take the acapella and instro and work it out yourself); and the Haiku De Tat single, which has Acey with Ab Rude and Mikah Nine over a live band and is hella, hella nice. However, if you're sick of talented hip-hop acts selling themselves short and you want to hear a gifted artist reach and stretch himself to his limits (and yes, at times beyond them), then you really can't find a more adventurous album than this one. It's by no means a perfect album, but in contrast to the complacency of most contemporary hip-hop it never fails to envision something greater. That's more than enough for me, though it's not something that everyone can or should be able to get into. ... and of course, you should do everything you can to get your hands on a copy of _All Balls Don't Bounce_, which at least every aspiring MC should listen to and study... it depresses me that right now DJ's and producers are creating and imagining completely new directions for hip-hop, but for the most part MC's have failed to imagine anything beyond the flow and topics that Rakim was doing a full decade ago. Of course, I've said this before, but it's also depressing that people on this newsgroup consider it blasphemy to even suggest that a future MC could elevate the artform beyond Rakim, as though hip-hop were frozen in time back in '87. Especially given Rakim's rather obvious limitations, not to mention the unlimited possibilities of rhythm and language...