''Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version'' is the debut studio album by American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan member Ol' Dirty Bastard, released March 28, 1995, by

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

in the United States.

Background

It was the second solo album, after Method Man's '' Tical'', to be released from the nine-member Wu-Tang Clan following the release of their debut album. ''Return to the 36 Chambers'' was primarily produced by

RZA Robert Fitzgerald Diggs (born July 5, 1969), better known by his stage name the RZA ( ), is an American rapper, actor, filmmaker, and record producer. He is the ''de facto'' leader of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, having produced most albums ...

, with additional production from Ol' Dirty Bastard, and affiliates True Master and

4th Disciple Selwyn Bougard, now known as El-Divine Amir Bey (born May 23, 1974), better known by his stage name 4th Disciple, is a record producer and audio engineer who was one of the founding members of Killarmy and one of the best-known Wu-Tang-affiliat ...

. The album features guest appearances from Wu-Tang Clan members GZA,

, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah and Masta Killa as well as

Wu-Tang Killa Beez The following is a list of Wu-Tang Clan's associated acts and affiliates, known as the Killa Beez, the Midwest Wasps, and the Wu Fam. At times, they are directly funded, supported, or produced by Clan members, are formed as extension groups origin ...

. ''Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version'' peaked at number seven on the ''Billboard'' 200 and number two on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The album sold 81,000 copies in its first week, and was certified Platinum in sales by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) on March 26, 2019. Upon its release, the album received positive reviews from most music critics, with many complimenting Ol' Dirty Bastard's bizarre lyrical delivery and RZA's eerie production. The album was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 1996 Grammy Awards.

Critical reception

Upon its release, ''Return to the 36 Chambers'' received general acclaim, including award nominations and inclusions on year-end publications. ''The Dirty Version'' was nominated for the 1996 Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, but lost to Naughty by Nature's '' Poverty's Paradise''. In a 4-star review in 1999, '' Rolling Stone'' commented, "With his raspy, lisp-punctuated voice and half-sung, half-rapped style, Ol' Dirty Bastard may well be the most original vocalist in hip-hop history." In 1998, the album was selected as one of ''The Sources 100 Best Rap Albums. '' Entertainment Weekly'' said that the album showed the "raw, innovative talent of their illest member ... The RZA's signature dissonant piano loops parklebehind Dirty's delirious, reverberating delivery." ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' said, "... an hour of cruel hard and frighteningly funny hip hop; the perfect companion piece to Wu-Tang's 36 Chambers ... the songs are driven by a vicious, unstable urgency."Columnist
Review snippets: ''Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version''
mymusic.com. Retrieved 2010-08-16. By contrast, '' Select'' gave the album a negative review of two out of five. The review found the album inferior to Method Man's album '' Tical'', stating that "From the extremely long and unfunny – intro skit, it's obvious ideas are spread wafer thin across the 15 tracks." Retrospectively, the album has continually seen positive coverage. Pitchfork gave a 9.3/10 to the album in a classic review, lauding it as "a work of orchestrated negligence and a makeshift classic."

Track listing

Track listing information is taken from the official liner notes and AllMusic.

Personnel

Musicians

* Ol' Dirty Bastard – assistant engineer, mixing,

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

, vocals *

– producer, mixing, vocals * Ghostface Killah, GZA, Masta Killa, Method Man, Raekwon,

Killah Priest Walter Reed (born August 16, 1970), better known by his stage name Killah Priest, is an American rapper, member of Sunz of Man and Wu-Tang Clan affiliate who was raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant and Brownsville, Brooklyn. He is known for his inten ...

Sunz Of Man Sunz of Man is a New York-based Wu-Tang Clan affiliated group that currently consists of Prodigal Sunn, Killah Priest, Hell Razah and 60 Second Assassin. The group's first incarnation also included Shabazz the Disciple, 7th Ambassador and pr ...

, Brooklyn Zu – vocals * Buddha Monk – vocals, mixing * Big Dore – producer vocals

Additional

* Big Dore – producer * True Master – producer * Ethan Ryman – producer, engineer * John Wydrycs, Tim Latham – engineer, mixing * Jimmie Lee, Jack Hersca – engineer, assistant engineer * Deden Sumandani – mixing * Martin Czembor – assistant engineer, mixing * David Sealy, Jay Nicholas – assistant engineer * Alli – art direction * Danny Clinch – photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Accolades

* The information regarding accolades is adapted from acclaimedmusic.net''Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version '' Album Accolades
acclaimedmusic.net. Retrieved 2010-08-16. * (*) signifies unordered lists

References

External links

''Return To The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version''
at Discogs {{DEFAULTSORT:Return To The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version Ol' Dirty Bastard albums 1995 debut albums Elektra Records albums Albums produced by RZA Albums produced by True Master Albums produced by 4th Disciple Wu-Tang Clan