Issue date: 2/9/10 Section: Arts & Entertainment

Media Credit: www.teaserecords.net "Enter the Magical Mystery Chambers" at your own risk.

Do not rub your eyes, you read that correctly. While the title of this piece is not the official title of the album, it is what it implies. By some divine miracle, or genius beyond normal human capacity, the stars have aligned and two worlds have collided to bring us a Beatles and Wu-Tang Clan mash-up album.

A mash-up, for those not familiar, is when you take two or more tracks from two different bands/artists and mix them together to create one supreme new track. Producer Tom Caruana has done just that, layering classic Wu-Tang a-capellas over Beatles' musical arrangements, and naming this baby "Enter the Magical Mystery Chambers." The result is brilliant.

Upon first hearing of this somewhat delusional undertaking, your first instinct may be of skepticism and cynicism. Do not worry, especially if you have heard the "Grey Album," the 2004 mash-up album created by Danger Mouse which combined Jay-Z's "Black Album" with The Beatles' "White Album," Fans of the "Grey Album" know how extraordinary it is, and I, myself, never though there would be another mash-up that could top it.

However, we forget how naive we can be at times. Here comes the bold statement that I will spend the rest of this article attempting to prove: "Enter the Magical Mystery Chambers" is so good that it blows the "Grey Album" clear out of the water.

Before I begin my defense, let me open by saying that I am not even the biggest Wu-Tang Clan fan ever. Sure, I am a huge Beatles fan, but I never really paid the Wu that much attention. Maybe you have been the same way. To you, I say that this album will make you look at the Clan in a whole new light. Their lyrics are given a complete new makeover when lustrously draped over the ageless Beatles compositions.

The album opens with, what I can only assume is, the voice of Tom Caruana explaining how he came about the idea and went forth with it, "I took the Beatles and the Wu-Tang Clan and all that put together and I just made it one thing, and it just, it worked." That sounds simple enough.

Next, the unofficial leader of the Clan, The RZA, grabs the microphone and begins to introduce "his boys." This introduction sets the mood for the entire album. It has a raw, gritty feel to it. In this introduction, you hear cell phones, or beepers, going off in the background, and it all sounds like it has been recorded in someone's basement. The whole album has this vibe, which is cool for the listener because it really makes you feel like you are being exposed to something underground and exclusive.

Continued...

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