King Of Rock

A great sophomore effort, though not as important as its predecessor or successor. The title track is a classic example of the group's imaginative fusion of roaring guitars and dance beats - next time someone tries to tell you Korn was original, or any good, point them to this record and tell them the rap-metal thing had been around long before Korn, and was actually good once. And there are more great songs than just that: the funny "You Talk Too Much," which also offers some sweet synths; "Jam-Master Jammin'" is a great showpiece for Jay; a fine reggae experiment ("Roots, Rap, Reggae," one of the first songs to make the connection between the two genres - Yellowman adds a great vocal), and a bunch of songs with great riffs and turntable work: "Can You Rock it Like This?," "Rock the House," "You're Blind." The group's tendency to base an entire song on an obnoxious novelty comes along to hurt the otherwise respectable "It's Not Funny" - in this case, it's a deep, vocodored voice reciting the title track - but there's great rapping throughout ("Darryl and Joe"). Really, there isn't a single bad song on this album.