Dirty South Classics

Recensione album

Goodie Mob didn't release a lot of music during their day in the sun, and what they did release certainly varied in quality, but in the end, they stood as perhaps the definitive Dirty South group of the late '90s (and not just because they coined the term on their 1995 song of the same name). In total, the pioneering quartet from Atlanta released one seminal, classic album (Soul Food [1995]) and two lesser efforts (Still Standing [1998] and World Party [1999]), or at least they had done so by the time Arista compiled Dirty South Classics, a very welcome best-of collection that showcases precisely why Goodie Mob are held in such high regard despite their limited output and modest commercial success. The hourlong collection gathers every significant song Goodie Mob recorded (including standouts like "Cell Therapy," "Soul Food," "Black Ice," "They Don't Dance No Mo'," and "What It Ain't [Ghetto Enuff]"), along with some less significant but nonetheless excellent songs like "Free," "Beautiful Skin," and "Dirty South" that further showcase what made the group so revolutionary during its day (and if not for the related work of OutKast, peerless at that). As well-compiled as it is, Dirty South Classics isn't necessarily definitive. You're still going to want to pick up Soul Food at some point, perhaps even beforehand — it can't be stressed enough how remarkable that album was, and still is.