PeteStrumentals

Album Review

PeteStrumentals follows Jay Dee's Welcome 2 Detroit as the second offering in BBE's producer spotlight Beat Generation series. If you approach Pete Rock's joint as a song-oriented pop album, you may feel disappointed. Only two tracks ("Cake" and "Nothin' Lesser [Jamie's Mix]") feature MCs, and the repetitive, consistently midtempo beats get somewhat monotonous by the end of most tracks. If you approach the album as a radical work of sonic architecture, you may also feel disappointed, since Rock's relatively old-school sensibility isn't likely to make you hear music in a completely new way. But if you approach PeteStrumentals on its own terms — as a laid-back collection of atmospheric beats ideal for late-night chilling or freestyling over — then you may enjoy Pete Rock's soulful funk-jazz grooves, which are first-rate for this type of recording. The deep bass and whispered "playback" vocal sample on "For the People," big-band sax on "Smooth Sailing," and layered horns and vibes on "Pete's Jazz" all fit together to form a first-rate instrumental joint. The MC tracks with Rock Marciano, Divine, Godfree, and Laku are located near the end of the album; this makes them seem almost like bonus tracks, or perhaps a late attempt to ensure that the listener hasn't nodded off, but they still fit fine in the overall flow of PeteStrumentals. [BBE also reissued the album in 2001 with various bonus tracks.]