Liquid Swords

Liquid Swords

{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" width="225" align="right" !align="center" bgcolor="orange" colspan="3"|Liquid Swords |- |align="center" colspan="3"|

|- !align="center" bgcolor="orange" colspan="3"|LP by GZA |- !align="left" valign="top"|Released |colspan="2" valign="top"|November, 1995 |- !align="left" valign="top"|Recorded |colspan="2" valign="top"| |- !align="left" valign="top"|Genre |colspan="2" valign="top"|Hardcore hip hop |- !align="left" valign="top"|Length |colspan="2" valign="top"| |- !align="left" valign="top"|Record label |colspan="2" valign="top"|Geffen |- !align="left" valign="top"|Producer |colspan="2" valign="top"|RZA |- !bgcolor="orange" colspan="3"|Professional reviews |- !align="left" valign="top"|Entertainment Weekly |valign="top"|Grade: B+ |valign="top"|December 22, 1995, p.70 |- !align="left" valign="top"|Option |valign="top"|Positive |valign="top"|March/April, 1996, pp.104-105 |- !align="left" valign="top"|NME |valign="top"|9 out of 10 |valign="top"|November 11, 1995, p.46 |- !align="left" valign="top"|The Wire |valign="top"|Positive |valign="top"|link |- !align="left" valign="top"|Melody Maker |valign="top"|Positive |valign="top"|November 25, 1995, p.36 |- !align="left" valign="top"|Q |valign="top"|4 stars out of 5 |valign="top"|February 1996, p. 96 |- !align="left" valign="top"|Rolling Stone review |valign="top"|3 stars out of 5 |valign="top"|November 30, 1995, pp.66-67 |- !align="left" valign="top"|Allmusic.com |valign="top"|5 stars out of 5 |valign="top"|link |- !align="left" valign="top"|Rap Pages |valign="top"|8 stars out of 10 |valign="top"|January 1996, p.31 |- !align="left" valign="top"|Robert Christgau |valign="top"|2 stars out of 4 |valign="top"|link |- !bgcolor="orange" colspan="3"|GZA Chronology |-align="center" |valign="top"|Words From the Genius
(1990) |valign="top"|Liquid Swords
(1995) |valign="top"|Beneath the Surface
(1999) |- |}

Liquid Swords was a 1995 (see 1995 in music) solo album by Wu-Tang Clan member Genius (GZA). Though the album was credited to Genius alone, there are numerous guest appearances from the entire Wu-Tang Clan. Liquid Swords is widely acknowledged as one of the best Wu-Tang solo albums, on par with classics like Ironman (Ghostface Killah) and Only Built 4 Cuban Linx (Raekwon).

Liquid Swords is characteristic of the Wu-Tang Clan in its distinctive, spare, menacing beats by producer RZA, and its cinematic themes relating to kung fu movies. The album begins with a monologue from a little girl; her monologue, and many of the other skits scattered throughout the album, are from the cult classic kung fu film Shaolin Vs. Lama.

Table of contents

1 Track listing
2 Personnel
3 Chart positions

Track listing

Liquid Swords - 4:30

Duel of the Iron Mic (with Ol' Dirty Bastard) - 4:06
Living in the World Today (with Inspectah Deck) - 4:23
Gold (with Inspectah Deck) - 3:57
Cold World (with Inspectah Deck) - 5:31
Labels (with Ghostface Killah) - 2:54
4th Chamber (with Ghostface Killah) - 4:37
Shadowboxin' (with Method Man) - 3:29
Hell's Wind Staff/Killah Hills 10304 (with Killah Priest, Dreddy Kruger) - 5:08
Investigative Reports (with Raekwon) - 3:49
Swordsman performed by (with Killah Priest) - 3:21
I Gotcha' Back performed by (with Killah Priest) - 5:01
Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth (with Killah Priest) - 4:32

Personnel

Method Man - Performer
Mark A. Humphrey - Photography
GZA - Performer
U-God - Performer
Killah Priest - Performer
Dreddy Kruger - Performer

Chart positions

Billboard (North America) - album

1995	The Billboard 200	                No. 9
1995	Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums	                No. 2

Billboard (North America) - singles

1994	I Gotcha Back	Hot Rap Singles	                        No. 29
1994	I Gotcha Back	Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales	No. 39
1995	Cold World	The Billboard Hot 100	                No. 97
1995	Liquid Swords	Hot Rap Singles	                        No. 3
1995	Liquid Swords	Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	No. 33
1995	Liquid Swords	Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales      No. 2
1995	Liquid Swords	The Billboard Hot 100	                No. 48
1996	Shadowboxin'	The Billboard Hot 100	                No. 67
1996	Cold World	Hot Rap Singles	                        No. 8
1996	Shadowboxin'	Hot Rap Singles	                        No. 10
1996	Cold World	Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	No. 57
1996	Shadowboxin'	Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	No. 41
1996	Cold World	Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales	No. 8
1996	Shadowboxin'	Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales	No. 9