Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
The easy-flowing Things Fall Apart made the Roots one of the most popular artists of alternative rap's second wave. Anticipated nearly as much as it was delayed, the proper studio follow-up, Phrenology, finally appeared in late 2002, after much perfectionist tinkering by the band -- so much that the liner notes include recording dates (covering a span of two years) and, sometimes, histories for the individual tracks. Coffeehouse music programmers beware: Phrenology is not Things Fall Apart redux; it's a challenging, hugely ambitious opus that's by turns brilliant and bewildering, as it strains to push the very sound of hip-hop into the future. Despite a few gentler tracks (like the Nelly Furtado and Jill Scott guest spots), Phrenology is the hardest-hitting Roots album to date, partly because it's their most successful attempt to re-create their concert punch in the studio. ?uestlove's drums positively boom out of the speakers on the Talib Kweli duet "Rolling With Heat"; the fantastic, lean guitar groover "The Seed (2.0)" (with neo-soul auteur Cody ChesnuTT); and the opening section of "Water." The ten-minute "Water" is the album's centerpiece, a powerful look at former Roots MC Malik B.'s drug problems that morphs into a downright avant-garde sound collage. Similarly, lead single "Break You Off," a neo-soul duet with Musiq, winds up in a melange of drum'n'bass programming and live strings. If moves like those, or the speed-blur Bad Brains punk of "!!!!!!!," or the drum'n'bass backdrop of poet Amiri Baraka's "Something in the Way of Things (In Town)" can seem self-consciously eclectic, it's also true that Phrenology is one of those albums where the indulgences and far-out experiments make it that much more fascinating, whether they work or not. Plus, slamming grooves like "Rock You," "Thought @ Work," and the aforementioned "The Seed (2.0)" keep things exciting and vital. If this really is the future of hip-hop, then the sky is the limit. [The two hidden bonus tracks are "Rhymes and Ammo," the Talib Kweli collaboration that appeared on Soundbombing, Vol. 3, and "Something to See," another techno-inflected jam.]
© Steve Huey /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From kr133,33/month
Chris Gehringer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Tom Coyne, Mixer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Shinobu Mitsuoka, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, ComposerLyricist - Ahmir Thompson, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Ursula Rucker, FeaturedArtist, ComposerLyricist - ?uestlove, Producer - Omar Edwards, Harp, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - The Roots, MainArtist - Steve Mandel, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Michelle Golder, Cello, AssociatedPerformer - Ken Golder, Cello, AssociatedPerformer - Nuah Vi, Cello, AssociatedPerformer - Sarah Chun, Cello, AssociatedPerformer - Omar The Scholar, Producer
℗ 2002 UMG Recordings, Inc.
George Spivey, ComposerLyricist - Chris Gehringer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Richard Nichols, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Tom Coyne, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ray Wilson, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Tariq Trotter, ComposerLyricist - Vince Dilorenzo, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Russell "The Dragon" Elevado, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ahmir Thompson, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - The Roots, MainArtist - Steve Mandel, Assistant Mixer, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Robert "LB" Dorsey, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Caliph Gamble, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - D.J. Scratch, Producer - The Grand Wizzards, Producer, Co-Producer - Jon Smelts, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Charles McCory, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2002 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Leonard Hubbard, ComposerLyricist - Ben Kenney, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Chris Gehringer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Tom Coyne, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jeff Chestek, Mixer, Engineer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ray Wilson, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Carlos Martinez, Engineer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jesse Peretz, Video Director, FilmDirector - Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, ComposerLyricist - Ahmir Thompson, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - The Roots, MainArtist - Benjamin Kenney, ComposerLyricist - Caliph Gamble, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - The Grand Wizzards, Producer - Lynn Pateman, Video Producer, FilmProducer
℗ 2002 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Leonard Hubbard, ComposerLyricist - Bob Power, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Kamal Gray, Producer, Co-Producer - Chris Gehringer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Tom Coyne, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Nelly Furtado, FeaturedArtist - Jeff Chestek, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Storm, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Tariq Trotter, ComposerLyricist - Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, ComposerLyricist - The Roots, MainArtist - James Gray, ComposerLyricist - Robert "LB" Dorsey, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Andy Brooks, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Jon Smelts, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Gordon Gass, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Kamiah Gray, Producer, Piano, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2002 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Chris Gehringer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Richard Nichols, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Karl Jenkins, ComposerLyricist - Tom Coyne, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Pablo Arraya, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Jason Goldstein, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Talib Kweli, Artist, Rap Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Tariq Trotter, ComposerLyricist - Jon Smeltz, Engineer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Vince Dilorenzo, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, ComposerLyricist - Ahmir Thompson, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - The Roots, MainArtist - Kyle Jones, ComposerLyricist - James Gray, ComposerLyricist - Dice Raw, Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Knuckles, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - The Grand Wizzards, Producer - Gordon Glass, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2002 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Leonard Hubbard, ComposerLyricist - Chris Gehringer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Tom Coyne, Mixer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jeff Chestek, Engineer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, ComposerLyricist - Ahmir Thompson, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Ursula Rucker, Artist, Spoken Word, AssociatedPerformer - The Roots, MainArtist - James Gray, ComposerLyricist - Knuckles, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Caliph Gamble, Assistant Mixer, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - The Grand Wizzards, Producer
℗ 2002 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Leonard Hubbard, ComposerLyricist - Chris Gehringer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Tom Coyne, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Steef van de Gevel, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ray Wilson, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Vince Dilorenzo, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Russell "The Dragon" Elevado, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, ComposerLyricist - Ahmir Thompson, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jon Adler, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - ?uestlove, Producer - The Roots, MainArtist - Benjamin Kenney, ComposerLyricist - James Gray, ComposerLyricist - Steve Mandel, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jon Smelts, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Gordon Gass, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2002 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Chris Gehringer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Tom Coyne, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Steef van de Gevel, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Ray Wilson, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Tariq Trotter, ComposerLyricist - Carlos Martinez, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Russell "The Dragon" Elevado, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ahmir Thompson, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - ?uestlove, Producer - Jesse Shatkin, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - The Roots, MainArtist - Cody Chesnutt, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Cody Chestnutt, FeaturedArtist - Steve Mandel, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Kurt Nepogoda, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jon Smelts, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2002 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Leonard Hubbard, ComposerLyricist - Bob Power, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Kamal Gray, Producer - Chris Gehringer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Richard Nichols, Producer, Mixer, Executive Producer, StudioPersonnel - Tom Coyne, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Pablo Arraya, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Jason Goldstein, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Jeff Chestek, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ray Wilson, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James Poyser, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Jon Smeltz, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jim Bottari, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Carlos Martinez, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jill Scott, ComposerLyricist - Vince Dilorenzo, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, ComposerLyricist - Ahmir Thompson, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Musiq, Producer, Additional Producer, Vocal Arranger, FeaturedArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Omar Edwards, Harp, Synthesizer, AssociatedPerformer - The Roots, Producer, MainArtist - Taalib Johnson, ComposerLyricist - Benjamin Kenney, ComposerLyricist - Kyle Jones, ComposerLyricist - James Gray, ComposerLyricist - Knuckles, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Andy Brooks, Assistant Mixer, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Caliph Gamble, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Andre Dandridge, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Gordon Gass, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Michelle Golder, Cello, AssociatedPerformer - Ken Golder, Cello, AssociatedPerformer - Nuah Vi, Cello, AssociatedPerformer - Sarah Chun, Cello, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2002 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Leonard Hubbard, ComposerLyricist - Chris Gehringer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Tom Coyne, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Tariq Trotter, ComposerLyricist - Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, ComposerLyricist - The Roots, MainArtist - Benjamin Kenney, ComposerLyricist - Kyle Jones, ComposerLyricist - Tahir Williams, ComposerLyricist - James Gray, ComposerLyricist - Kelo Saunders, Producer, Co-Producer - Tahir of Hedrush Inc, Producer
℗ 2002 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Karriem Riggins, ComposerLyricist - Chris Gehringer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Richard Nichols, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Tom Coyne, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Tariq Trotter, ComposerLyricist - Jon Smeltz, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jim Bottari, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Vince Dilorenzo, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Russell "The Dragon" Elevado, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Ahmir Thompson, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - James McCrone, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - The Roots, MainArtist - Tracey Moore, Artist, Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Knuckles, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Robert "LB" Dorsey, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Gordon Gass, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Kareem da bawl, Producer
℗ 2002 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Bob Power, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Chris Gehringer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Scott Storch, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Tom Coyne, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Tariq Trotter, ComposerLyricist - Russell "The Dragon" Elevado, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - The Roots, MainArtist - Steve Mandel, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Tracey Moore, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Robert "LB" Dorsey, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Shawn Taylor, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Adam Brooks, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Scott Whiting, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2002 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Leonard Hubbard, ComposerLyricist - Bob Power, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Chris Gehringer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Richard Nichols, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Tom Coyne, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jeff Chestek, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Tariq Trotter, ComposerLyricist - Carlos Martinez, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jill Scott, FeaturedArtist, ComposerLyricist - Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, ComposerLyricist - Ahmir Thompson, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Omar Edwards, Harp, Synthesizer, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - The Roots, MainArtist - James Gray, ComposerLyricist - Knuckles, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Gordon Gass, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2002 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Chris Gehringer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Tom Coyne, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Steef van de Gevel, Assistant Mixer, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Amiri Baraka, ComposerLyricist - Russell "The Dragon" Elevado, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, ComposerLyricist - Ahmir Thompson, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - ?uestlove, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - The Roots, MainArtist - Benjamin Kenney, ComposerLyricist - Steve Mandel, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - The Grand Wizzards, Producer
℗ 2002 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Leonard Hubbard, ComposerLyricist - Chris Gehringer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Tom Coyne, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Talib Kweli, ComposerLyricist - Tariq Trotter, ComposerLyricist - Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, ComposerLyricist - The Roots, MainArtist - Benjamin Kenney, ComposerLyricist - James Gray, ComposerLyricist - The Grand Wizzards, Producer
℗ 2002 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Chris Gehringer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Tom Coyne, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ahmir Thompson, ComposerLyricist - The Roots, MainArtist - The Grand Wizzards, Producer
℗ 2002 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Album review
The easy-flowing Things Fall Apart made the Roots one of the most popular artists of alternative rap's second wave. Anticipated nearly as much as it was delayed, the proper studio follow-up, Phrenology, finally appeared in late 2002, after much perfectionist tinkering by the band -- so much that the liner notes include recording dates (covering a span of two years) and, sometimes, histories for the individual tracks. Coffeehouse music programmers beware: Phrenology is not Things Fall Apart redux; it's a challenging, hugely ambitious opus that's by turns brilliant and bewildering, as it strains to push the very sound of hip-hop into the future. Despite a few gentler tracks (like the Nelly Furtado and Jill Scott guest spots), Phrenology is the hardest-hitting Roots album to date, partly because it's their most successful attempt to re-create their concert punch in the studio. ?uestlove's drums positively boom out of the speakers on the Talib Kweli duet "Rolling With Heat"; the fantastic, lean guitar groover "The Seed (2.0)" (with neo-soul auteur Cody ChesnuTT); and the opening section of "Water." The ten-minute "Water" is the album's centerpiece, a powerful look at former Roots MC Malik B.'s drug problems that morphs into a downright avant-garde sound collage. Similarly, lead single "Break You Off," a neo-soul duet with Musiq, winds up in a melange of drum'n'bass programming and live strings. If moves like those, or the speed-blur Bad Brains punk of "!!!!!!!," or the drum'n'bass backdrop of poet Amiri Baraka's "Something in the Way of Things (In Town)" can seem self-consciously eclectic, it's also true that Phrenology is one of those albums where the indulgences and far-out experiments make it that much more fascinating, whether they work or not. Plus, slamming grooves like "Rock You," "Thought @ Work," and the aforementioned "The Seed (2.0)" keep things exciting and vital. If this really is the future of hip-hop, then the sky is the limit. [The two hidden bonus tracks are "Rhymes and Ammo," the Talib Kweli collaboration that appeared on Soundbombing, Vol. 3, and "Something to See," another techno-inflected jam.]
© Steve Huey /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 16 track(s)
- Total length: 01:07:27
- Main artists: The Roots
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Geffen
- Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap
© 2011 UMG Recordings, Inc. ℗ 2011 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Improve album informationWhy buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.