WE'LL SHIP WHEN IT'S BACK IN STOCK

                            
It's obvious that Pasadena, CA, native XL Middleton wanted his third album, "Music 4 A Drunken Evening", to be as big and epic of a record as possible.  That's quite a tall order when you lack major-label backing.  But when you take an underground classic of a first single like "Feel So West Coast", pack it on there with two discs (thats right, two!!!) discs worth of other songs, and package it with hellishly dark, gothic, yet somehow humorous artwork, you may have to concede that XL is at least somewhere on the way to achieving his apparent goal.  The question is, once you rip past the classical sheet music on the front and back covers (complete with a picture of the artist himself with a caption below it that reads "Sir Middleton Hollawell"), will you find that this "Drunken Evening" is one worth indulging in?  Let me spoil it now by giving you an emphatic YES.

	The intro, which features a sonic smorgasbord of crashing glasses (of alcohol I presume?), thunder claps, and eerie classical music, clearly demonstrates that XL was trying to go somewhat beyond the album's artwork alone with his demented drunkery.  But we all have to remember that Middleton "feels so west coast" and that his bread his butter lies in his uniquely updated version of the jazzy R&B fusion sound perfected by Warren G. & DJ Quik in the mid-90's.  It's clear that his strength is mainly on the keys, and he doesn't hesitate to lay it on thick, whether it's the shimmering rhodes arrangements on "Long As We Maintain", the staccato piano stabs of "If You Let Me", or when it seems like he's just plain showing off on songs like "Relive It All".  Lay down rich analog basslines underneath and smooth synth melodies on top and you've got a recipe for classic West Coast hip hop.  The important thing to remember is that his style is something new - it's not "G-Funk" or anything of the sort, but the influence is clear.  In all fairness, you can hear the influence of more modern producers like Battlecat and Dr. Dre in the mix as well, lending itself to a sound that is far less outdated than critics of West Coast hip hop would care to imagine.  Nor does XL hesitate to come out of his comfort zone at times; the album's title track features a dark organ loop topped off with a distortion guitar solo at the end.  On the politically-charged "Are You High???", He takes his traditional keys-and-bass arrangement and flips it into a spooky backdrop while replaying the same "Diamonds Are Forever" sample that Kanye used on his "Diamonds From Sierra Leone" song.  Speaking of which, the Nas-esque "From My Eyes" has XL taking things in a whole other direction, pulling one of those sped-up vocal samples and looping it over a grill-shattering bassline.

	Now, let's not forget that XL Middleton is a recording artist as well as producer.  With the high caliber of production that he offers, it seems par for the course that his lyrical side be forgotten, but he doesn't slack in that department either.  While his voice and delivery can be a bit inconsistent at times, he delivers song after song with cynical, clever lyrical content that proves, while a bit rough around the edges, that XL has the complete package as an artist.  He brings his storytelling abilities to the table on the tragic love-lost tale of "All Three".  On the extra-funky, Sic Sense produced "Blow It That Way", XL simply airs out irritating people, from old high school acquaintances trying to sign with him all the way down to rude pedestrians: "When I'm drivin why you cross the street so slow?/ Fuck is he trying to prove that we don't know/ I might not hit the brakes if he don't go/ He'd show me respect if I was the PD though."  He demonstrates that he can take life's smaller quirks and put them into song form.  The high point of the album, "Shotgun" featuring Rev & Bo-Rocc of The Doveshack, carries this exact type of advanced incisiveness.  The concept is XL and his partner-in-rhyme, Rev, riding down the street and taking notice of all the different situations they pass.  XL: "I'm seeing every human through my scope/ The pigs put some dude in a choke/ Cause they thought he was moving dope/ Kids hitting the store for Now And Laters/ While dad's at home drunk, watching TV, shouting at The Lakers".  He ends his second verse with a beautifully orchestrated reference to the first verse that ties in the song's concept as a whole and makes it feel utterly complete.

	However, at the end of the day, "Music 4 A Drunken Evening" is a party record with a strong slant towards those who indulge in the type of beverages that are only served to people at least 21 years of age.  Tracks like "Drunken Hooligans" and "Last Call" give you a clear idea, even before you hear them, of what to expect.  XL and the Crown City family are still, after all, the self-proclaimed "hooligan slackers" who reside at "The Slacker Pad" and XL does a great job bringing that aspect to life.  "Drunken Evening" is truly a perfect soundtrack for a laidback Friday night, at the pad drinking with the homies.  But it's also great music for your supercharged backyard house party.  Or you may just want to live vicariously by listening to XL Middleton's "Drunken Evening" and desperately wishing you were there.
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you actually have your CD here!! I can't belive it! I'm not gonna buy it, but damn! You're the man!
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Dude this cd is straight booty!!! I want to hear a "Real Rapper" spit some real talk, not some internet rapper posing as a rapper. Sike! BUY THIS CD FOLKS IT'S A STRAIGHT BANGER FRONT TO BACK!!! KEEP IT WEST...
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