Rating: 8 / 10

This is one of those very rare moments that - if you're a true hip hop junkie - you get very excited about.

Let's be real; more often than not, the word that describes listening to most hip hop albums - be it from returning megastars or indie troopers - is disapointment.  Expectations have often been raised by a red hot single or the previous album hitting the spot, only to have them dashed by loads of sub-par fillers, skits and talentless guests (read: the artist's "people" they promised to "put on" when they made it big).

One group who have, pretty much since Protect Ya Neck surfaced back in '92, had very mixed output - from a slew of essential group and solo albums (see our HIPHOP.COM Foundations List) to some very dubious affiliated offshoot album releases; is the mighty Wu. Which meant this new album, Wu-Tang Chamber Music, initially slipped out without much noise or even interest.

A glance at the tracklist may highlight the notable absence of both Method Man and Gza, but then (fans of '90s true school hip hop listen up!) you spot the stunning array of guests exec producer Rza has lined up instead: ranging from AZ, M.O.P., Kool G Rap, Masta Ace and Havoc to Sadat X - and the excitement really starts to build. Intrigue then peaks when you realise the music is all performed by a band called The Revelations.

Upon first play, the listener soon realises this is a beautiful work of art. As with all Wu offerings, the set is wrapped in Eastern martial art mysticism (in both visual and aural terms), however this short set of tracks all gel together arguably better than any group release since Wu-Tang Forever. It's a rare thing when the skits between songs are as musically elegant as the adjoining tracks, however this is one such scenario. It is clear that an awful lot of time and energy has been put into crafting the feel of this album, and it really does pay off.

Most importantly, we are treated to some awesome hip hop. Following the suitably uplifting introduction (with trademark kung-fu flick snippets), we're hit with an Inspectah Deck/U-God/Masta Ace tag team Kill Too Hard, which acts as a warm-up to the doper-than-dope Harbor Masters. On the cut, which sounds like The Roots band getting deep and twisted, we hear Ghostface Killah on stunning form, the smooth and slick tones of AZ, and Deck once again delivering the goods. Next up is the orchestral-laced moody vibes of Radiant Jewels, with Raekwon The Chef sounding ill on the mic, Cormega wripping his verse and Sean Price doing his thing in fine style.

On Evil Deeds we hear Mobb Deep's Havoc joining Rza and Ghost on a superb piano-led beat that wouldn't be out of place on a live Dr. Dre release. And there's more: Rza can be heard dropping some of the tightest rhymes of his career on the pounding NYC Crack, while the music takes a soulful turn on I Wish You Were Here (Tre Williams providing a truly heartfelt vocal performance with real passion), and more high class, atmospheric beats set the tone for the menacing G 
Rap, M.O.P. and Rae verses on Ill Figures. Also worthy of mention are the rousing horns that support a very welcome guest spot from Brand Nubian's Sadat X on the aptly titled Sound The Horns.

With not a dud track or annoying skit throughout, this is one of the most enjoyable start-to-finish listens of the year (arguably in recent memory), and an extremely well crafted album that we can't recommend highly enough. Granted it doesn't have a traditional radio hit, ladies' anthem or club monster amidst the set; however that obviously isn't what this piece of work is about.

This album restores your faith in hip hop, and more importantly the much maligned (particularly in recent times) hip hop album as a truly creative artform.