The Auditorium Vol. 1

CommonとPete Rock、初のコラボレーション作品

ヒップホップ界で最も刺激的なMCの一人であるコモンと、最も高く評価されているプロデューサーの一人、ピート・ロックの完璧な組み合わせによって制作された本作。

The Auditorium, Vol. 1 marks the first time Common -- whose discography is chock-full of LPs made either exclusively or mostly in tandem with beatmakers like No I.D., Kanye West, J Dilla, and Karriem Riggins -- has shared top billing. Just a few months before the MC debuted in 1992 with the promising Can I Borrow a Dollar?, producer Pete Rock and partner CL Smooth unloaded their instant-classic first album as a duo, Mecca and the Soul Brother. Common and Pete first linked four years later for "The Bitch in Yoo," a scathing broadside that, earlier in 2024, was brought back to light by diss-track listicles written in response to the feud between Kendrick Lamar and Drake. Com and Pete keep it positive here with an hour of largely feel-good material that is kicked back and rousing. The Auditorium, Vol. 1 is incontrovertible testament to the mens crucial roles in the culture across three decades. They achieve studio symbiosis with an uplifting collaboration that is nostalgic yet never sentimental, speaks to the present, and feeds the soul as much as it does the body and mind. Commons voice has a glow to it that seems a shade or two brighter than usual. His writing is in reference-loaded top form with wordplay that (to borrow one of his devices) is with rare exception "wise common man" rather than "cmon, man." His verses proffering wisdom, spiritual fulfillment, and all-around positivity are very much in sync with Pete, a master synthesist operating at full power. The producer weaves samples -- often in a hospitable Chicago state of mind -- like he has an unlimited imagination and carte blanche, subtly manipulating familiar sources and unearthing rare truffles spanning soul, jazz-funk, salsa, MPB, and consequently hip-hop. He reflects the cultural melting pot in which he grew up, and now personifies, with an uncanny ability to make it all sound fresh and connected. Take the creative way the optimistic "When the Sun Shines Again" brings together foundational Roy Ayers and James Brown, Wu-Tang Clan, and a circa-2001 Hi-Tek track that features Common, and still allows room for lyrical Common, an exacting guest verse from Posdnous, and an enlivening hook from Bilal. Also involving contributions from PJ, Jennifer Hudson, J Rocc, and Tuamie, the album is an inspired extension of hip-hops 50th anniversary celebrations. ~ Andy Kellman

ありそうでなかった夢のコラボ・アルバム。アレサ・フランクリン使いの太くソウルフルなビートに、J・ディラからオバマまで粋なネームドロップ満載のリリックが載る冒頭の"Dreamin'"からいきなり両者の〈らしさ〉が出まくり、ベストな相性を魅せる。サンプリング主体によるトラックは90年代に出ていたとしても古典化していたであろう古式ゆかしいヴァイブだが、コモンのクリアなフロウは不思議とモダンな響きを伴っている。あの時期を知っている/いないにかかわらず、この黄金のコンビネーションに何かを感じずにはいられないだろう。〈Keep On〉と連呼してVol.2を期待させるアウトロまで、完璧な一作だ。
bounce (C)池谷瑛子