2014 reissue in full color jacket - Sometimes, debut albums present an artist in full bloom, with an assured grasp on their sound and message. Sometimes, debut albums are nothing but promise, pointing toward what the artist could do. Public Enemy's gripping first album, Yo! Bum Rush the Show, manages to fill both categories: it's an expert, fully realized record of extraordinary power, but it pales in comparison with what came merely a year later. This is very much a Rick Rubin-directed production, kicking heavy guitars toward the front, honing the loops, rhythms, and samples into a roar with as much in common with rock as rap. The Bomb Squad are apparent, but they're in nascent stage -- certain sounds and ideas that would later become trademarks bubble underneath the surface. And the same thing could be said for Chuck D, whose searing, structured rhymes and revolutionary ideas are still being formed. This is still the sound of a group comfortable rocking the neighborhood, but not yet ready to enter the larger national stage. But, damn if they don't sound like they've already conquered the world! Already, there is a tangible, physical excitement to the music, something that hits the gut with relentless force, as the mind races to keep up with Chuck's relentless rhymes or Flavor Flav's spastic outbursts.E Side A1 You're Gonna Get Yours 4:03 A2 Sophisticated Bitch 4:30 A3 Miuzi Weighs A Ton 5:44 A4 Timebomb 2:54 A5 Too Much Posse 2:23 A6 Rightstarter (Message To A Black Man) 3:49 F Side B1 Public Enemy No. 1 4:40 B2 M.P.E. 3:43 B3 Yo! Bum Rush The Show 4:25 B4 Raise The Roof 5:19 B5 Megablast 2:50 B6 Terminator X Speaks With His Hands 2:13
