Album a melting mess

By Wes Woods, On-Line Forty-Niner

Wednesday, October 28, 1998

Vanilla Ice. Do you remember him? The white, blond, handsome Miami native who rose to rap prominence with his album "To the Extreme" in 1990. Who can forget the redundant - yet hugely popular song - "Ice Ice Baby."

Evidently, his fans forgot. Despite reworking his image, his follow up, "Mind Blowin," was a dud on the music scene in 1994.

Third time is the charm, or so people say. Wrong. Retooling his image yet again, Ice is now, a self-described "skate rock artist," according to a Republic Records press release.

Ice now has platinum blonde hair, is extremely thin and has tattoos all over his body.

Still, "Hard to Swallow" sounds like garbage.

This is one album destined for the cheap bin, despite the help of producer Ross Robinson (Korn, Limp Biskit).

The album's production is a mess.

The noisy and ear-thrashing use of heavy-metal style guitars, bass, keyboards and throbbing drums is very bland. Sometimes it is reminiscent of the metal mixed with rap influence of Korn or Rage Against the Machine, but not as progressive. The songs leave much to be desired for originality.

The lyrics are even worse. He yells them frequently at the top of his lungs.

He has improved a little, however. He no longer claims to be "eating up MC's like Scoobie snacks," as he did in 1994. Instead, he tries to rhyme on actual topics such as being abused by his father.

"Memories and what about me, throw me through the window for watching TV ..." he says on the metal-guitar laced, somewhat mellow track "Scars."

Like the other album's songs, however, his lyrics are ho-hum and he never follows his song topics through.

He always gets lost in the rhyme. It is never certain if he is telling a story or just kicking lyrics.

In the slow, moody guitar-driving "Zig-Zag Stories," Ice rhymes about the evils of marijuana addiction for the first two lines.

In the last line he rhymes about "my new CD" and how he is going to "blaze till I die." Huh?

Then there is the puzzling "Too Cold." It is basically "Ice Ice Baby" with the same lyrics and rhyme, but with his new heavy-metal influence.

Most artists have other artists cover their "classics." Not Vanilla Ice.

No, he does it himself. Maybe he thinks it will get him back in the mix.

Sorry, Ice. This is 1998, not 1990.