Uni5: The Prequel (Blue Foil Collector's Edition)

iTunes Review

Uni5: The World’s Enemy, the long-awaited reunion album from the original five-man Bone lineup gestated for almost three years before it was finally released in May of 2010. As a means of tiding over hungry fans, the group put out Uni5: The Prequel in 2009. The fact that none of these 18 songs made the album’s final cut is testament to Bone’s creativity. Even though this was intended only as a stopgap release, it contains a wealth of quality material. “Toast 2 That” is a full-bodied party anthem, “Summer Luv” is a sublime tune for summer cruising, and “Break Up” is seamless gangsta blues. The songs with Kanye West, Mariah Carey and Timabaland demonstrate how adaptable the Bone recipe is to different settings, while also showing how much respect the group commands in the music industry. The album’s most striking track might be “Look What We’ve Done.” Recorded with Michael Jackson and released in the wake of his passing, the song shows the two artists in perfect synergy, exploring the darkest, most vulnerable aspects of their art.