Wild Colonial

Well, it's been a while since I've had an urge to talk to myself, but I feel like doing so once again, this time in the form of another album review, this time it is Wild Colonial by Ozi Batla.

Firstly, the genre of this particular album is once again hip-hop. It actually ties in with my last review of an album, as Ozi Batla is actually a member of The Herd.Now, this time, I am going to go through the album track by track. This may backfire and leave me with nothing of substance in the review, but never mind.

1. Air Raid
I am honestly not sure if this is a nearly 4 minute long intro or a rather frantic, confused fully fledged track. Not really a good song by my definitions, it is a rather interesting track. The only thing I really have to say is that id does not set a good tone for the rest of the album. In my opinion, they should have shoved this tune somewhere in the middle.

2. Wild Colonial
Okay, so the title track of the album is not the best. By no means is it a bad song, but there are far better songs on the album. It samples some interesting tunes and has a decent beat, but if this was all I had heard from the album, I would not have even considered buying it.

3. Joyride
This song is also not among the best songs on the album, but I give it much better status than Wild Colonial, especially as it starts to touch on the strange mystery and serenity that I adore about Ozi Batla. Again, it samples some very interesting tracks, but it is a touch all over the place. Depending on what mood you're in, this can either be a good or bad thing. If I heard this song alone, I definitely would have looked a little more into who Ozi Batla is. A almost "slow" song from a hip-hop album.

4. Integrity
Although, this is not the best song of the album, it is among the best and is certainly the catchiest. The first time I heard the chorus, I could not get it out of my head for weeks. For ages I would just be walking down the street and suddenly:
"1,2,3
It's Ozi Batla, you know me"
would just pop into my head. The rest of the song is not bad but is easily forgettable, especially in comparison with the chorus. This also brings up one thing I don't really get with Ozi Batla songs. I don't know if its my fault for not really listening, but many of Ozi Batla's songs seem to be random lines thrown together, meaning nothing or very dull, pointless tales if there is a plot. I don't feel this detracts much from the songs themselves, especially as many groups in this genre do exactly the same thing, but one song on this album (which I'll get to) makes me feel like he could be doing much better tracks.

5. Have A Beer
I really like this interlude, which reflects on the great Australian pastime of drinking beers and just how strange someone who doesn't drink (like myself) seems to the majority of the population.

6. Mics, Peeps & Light
This track has some good rhyming, but is just as forgettable as several other songs on the album. Again, good samples and it fulfills the hip-hop cliché of having a song about starting out your career.


7. She's Gotta Have It
This song is what I had in mind when I claimed that many of the "plots" in Ozi Batla's songs are somewhat trivial. This is not to say that it's a bad song, but the cetral premise is Ozi Batla's relationships with several women who enjoy lots of..well, guess what "It" in the title of the track is. To his credit, I thought would just be about some demanding, shopaholic ex-girlfriend of Ozi Batla. Thank god I was wrong.

8. What A Place
A clever little interlude. Not much else to say.

9. Put It On Wax
The best known of Ozi Batla's solo tracks and one which explores the best aspects of his style. Perhaps the best use of samples I have ever heard and contains some great verses. Also, the premise of this song is the golden age of hip-hop, which is a fascinating set-up compared to several other Ozi Batla songs. The music video which accompanies this song is also very clever and as it is to date the only Ozi Batla music video (of one of his solo songs) I recommend to everyone not reading this blog to check it out.One of the best songs on the album.

10. 1000 Drummers
Another of the best tracks on the album. A fantastic song about love and loss, which is always a good way to inspire a good song. Using another array of great samples and great rapping, this song explores something I touched on in Joyride. It's hard to explain, but Ozi Batla seems to be able to create a kind of mysterious "aura" around some of his songs, especially when combined with the cover art (look it up, I'm not putting it here). This "aura" just makes it seem he is writing these songs in a dark, foggy, strange alternate dimension or something. I really can't explain it, but it demonstrates itself on another song (which I will get to). Another really good song.

11. Don't Wanna Wait
Another song which explores Ozi Batla's "aura". Decent use of sampling, but altogether a very forgettable track, although not bad. To demonstrate how forgettable this song is, before starting this review I completely forgot it was on here. In fact, it might just be an interlude. I honestly can't tell. That's sad.

12. Shoot The Breeze
Dear god. This song makes me sad. This is a techno mess. It has decent rapping and a half-decent chorus, but the music sounds like an alternate sound track to the faster levels of "Space Invaders" and not in a good way. This song takes Ozi Batla's "aura" and, while not getting rid of it, does not utilize it. This song really is so very far from Ozi Batla's best.

13. Doesn't Matter
This is another song which has a touch of Ozi Batla's "aura", but the verses are far from his best and I really don't have to question why they put this song second last. After saying this, I start to feel I'm too harsh on Wild Colonial. I honestly love this album and it is one of my all time favourites. It just doesn't seem to work when you analyze each song one at a time. Perhaps all together they create a better experience than all the songs individually. I just don't know. Anyway, this song isn't too bad but is again one of the most forgettable of his tracks.

14. Distant Shore
This song is incredible. Where Put It On Wax took what Ozi Batla does well and made it better, this track takes things I never thought Ozi Batla was very good at and perfects them. Beautiful samples, a great beat, well timed and perfectly paced rhyming and the lyrics...I can't get over how great the lyrics are. This song is where Ozi Batla's "aura" peaks. It makes me think that so many great things can be done with music that I never knew could be done. Magical. Just so magical. This song could kill someone who goes in unprepared. A brilliant way to conclude, almost making me forget about Shoot The Breeze. I just have to mention again the brilliant sampling done by this MC.

So, after listening again to this album, I feel that Ozi Batla deserves his place as my favourite solo MC, possibly just because of Distant Shore. I think this album was good, but could have been better if half the songs were replaced by Distant Shore again. I honestly think the Shoot The Breeze never needed to be created.

Also, one thing I must note is that this album continues a trend I have noticed where the best song is the last on an album. I don't mean as a hidden track, but just the last song. The best example of this is State Of The Art by the Hilltop Hoods, where the last song is Fifty In Five, to date one of my favourite songs. I wonder if this is to leave people with a good impression when the album concludes, or to reward people who have just listened to the entire album or as a way of ensuring these songs will only be appreciated by the hardcore fans. Whatever it is, I don't really mind, but it has made me curious. I'll have to review another album soon, and see if it does the same thing.