Selling Live Water is a solo studio album by American hip hop artist Sole. It was released on Anticon in 2003. It peaked at number 126 on the CMJ Radio 200 chart,[1] as well as number 7 on CMJ's Hip-Hop chart.[2]
| Selling Live Water | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | January 13, 2003 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 54:53 | |||
| Label | Anticon | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Sole chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Selling Live Water | ||||
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Production edit
Selling Live Water was produced by Telephone Jim Jesus, Alias, Odd Nosdam, and Jel.[3] The album draws influence from Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn.[4] In an interview with Westword, Sole said, "Selling Live Water is an attempt at sizing up the world as I see it in a more complete manner than making vague self-absorbed rants like my last record, Bottle of Humans."[4]
Critical reception edit
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 77/100[5] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [6] |
| Billboard | favorable[7] |
| Christgau's Consumer Guide | B[8] |
| Dusted Magazine | favorable[3] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B[9] |
| Exclaim! | favorable[10] |
| Pitchfork | 7.3/10[11] |
| RapReviews.com | 6.5/10[12] |
| Stylus Magazine | B−[13] |
At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 77, based on 9 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[5]
Chris Dahlen of Pitchfork gave the album a 7.3 out of 10, saying: "Whether you dig it all or prefer him in small doses, Sole has never sounded more keyed up, heady and on target than he does on Selling Live Water, and its wrap-up is almost anthemic."[11] Ed Howard of Stylus Magazine gave the album a grade of B−, saying: "Fun, diverse, and complex, this record is yet another great addition to the increasingly varied Anticon aesthetic."[13] He added: "Encompassing personal introspection, socio-political commentary, naked explorations of relationships, and obtuse poetry, Selling Live Water also represents a massive step forward in Sole's lyrical evolution."[13]
Track listing edit
All tracks are written by Sole, except "Slow, Cold Drops" by Pedestrian
| No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Da Baddest Poet" | Telephone Jim Jesus | 4:23 |
| 2. | "Shoot the Messenger" | Alias | 3:23 |
| 3. | "Salt on Everything" | Odd Nosdam | 3:22 |
| 4. | "I Hope You Like My Stupid Painting" | 0:31 | |
| 5. | "Respect Pt. 3" | Jel | 4:13 |
| 6. | "Tokyo" | Alias | 3:49 |
| 7. | "Plutonium" | Alias | 4:54 |
| 8. | "Sebago" | Jel | 4:38 |
| 9. | "Slow, Cold Drops" | Alias | 4:03 |
| 10. | "Pawn in the Game Pt. 1" | Alias | 2:30 |
| 11. | "Pawn in the Game Pt. 2" | Alias | 3:17 |
| 12. | "The Priziest Horse" | Alias | 4:06 |
| 13. | "Teepee on a Highway Blues" | Alias | 4:02 |
| 14. | "Selling Live Water" | Odd Nosdam | 4:30 |
| 15. | "Ode to the War on Terrorism" | Telephone Jim Jesus | 3:12 |
| Total length: | 54:53 | ||
Personnel edit
Credits adapted from liner notes.
- Sole – vocals, entaludes
- Telephone Jim Jesus – production (1, 15)
- Alex Oropexa – mixing (1, 2, 4–13, 15), extra keyboards (7, 9)
- Xopher D – mixing (1, 2, 4–13, 15), mastering
- Alias – production (2, 6, 7, 9–13)
- Why? – keyboards (3, 14), vocal harmonies (14)
- Odd Nosdam – production (3, 14), mixing (3, 14)
- Jel – production (5, 8), cuts
References edit
- ^ "CMJ Radio 200 (Period Ending 2/18/2003)". CMJ New Music Report: 14. March 3, 2003.
- ^ "Hip-Hop (Period Ending 2/4/2003)". CMJ New Music Report: 17. February 17, 2003.
- ^ a b Thomas-Glass, Daniel (March 6, 2003). "Sole - Selling Live Water". Dusted Magazine. Archived from the original on September 10, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
- ^ a b Mayo, James (May 8, 2003). "Heavy Soul". Westword. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
- ^ a b "Selling Live Water by Sole". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
- ^ Pytlik, Mark. "Selling Live Water - Sole". AllMusic. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
- ^ Palmer, Tamara (January 25, 2003). "Reviews & Previews". Billboard. p. 44.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "Sole". Christgau's Consumer Guide. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
- ^ Hermes, Will (February 7, 2003). "Selling Live Water". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
- ^ Quinlan, Thomas (March 1, 2003). "Sole - Selling Live Water". Exclaim!. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
- ^ a b Dahlen, Chris (March 26, 2003). "Sole: Selling Live Water". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
- ^ Jost, Matt (February 11, 2003). "Sole :: Selling Live Water :: Anticon". RapReviews.com. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
- ^ a b c Howard, Ed (September 1, 2003). "Sole - Selling Live Water". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on March 31, 2014. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
External links edit
- Selling Live Water at Discogs (list of releases)