Rolling Stone (p.60) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Ghostface's emotionally charged stream-of-consciousness flow is off-the-wall and amazing as it's ever been."
Rolling Stone (pp.102-103) - Ranked #5 in Rolling Stone's "The Top 50 Albums Of 2006" -- "[I]t's the beats that seal the deal."
Spin (p.62) - Ranked #04 in Spin's "The 40 Best Albums of 2006" -- "[T]he album sounds like a man on his last legs, groggily spilling stream-of-consciousness rhymes all over a '70s jukebox."
Q (p.115) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he input of so many producers doesn't dilute the plot and FISHSCALE rattles along like a novel....He remains rap's finest storyteller."
Q (p.117) - Ranked #76 in Q Magazine's "100 Greatest Albums of 2006."
Vibe (p.151) - 4 discs out of 5 -- "The sample-heavy results are cohesive yet diverse, a proper canvas for Ghost's finest effort since SUPREME CLIENTELE."
XXL (Magazine) (p.140) - "Providing some of the year's most opulent music....An all-around cohesive album."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.104) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]his fifth solo album from the Wu-Tang Clan member certainly delivers a top-grade high."
Recording information: 2005.
FISHSCALE, the fifth solo album by Wu-Tang Clan's Ghostface Killah, is a brilliantly cryptic album drenched in complex ghetto slang that reinforces the MC's status as a master wordsmith. Ghostface doesn't disappoint with lines like, "Ay-yo I should just bark on you/burn your car on you/'cause I'm too much man to leave a mark on you." His voice is mellifluous even when he's shouting, and the infectious beats (provided by Pete Rock and MF Doom) and rare soul and funk samples (a staple of any Ghostface venture at this point) provide the perfect backdrop for the unveiling of Ghost's enigmatic persona. FISHSCALE, packed with gritty tales of the inner-city coke trade, occasionally meanders into tired Tony Montana-posturing, yet occasionally hitting par for the course can be forgiven when the game is being played by a proven champ like Ghostface.