Greatest Misses

GREATEST MISSES is more than a re-visitation of Public Enemy's history. Released in 1992, in the wake of the Los Angeles riots, and containing original tracks, remixes, and assorted excerpts of dialogue and music, the album provides another cohesive and powerful soundtrack to America in the 1990s. "Hit the Road Jack" cleverly reworks the Percy Mayfield classic as a hardcore urban anthem. "Gett off My Back" is a bass-heavy anti-cocaine rap that highlights Flavor Flav's personal problems with drugs. plus...

Between the tracks is a series of sound bites that includes bizarre statements made by various media personalities regarding the intent of PE's music. These misinterpretations are addressed in "Gotta Do What I Gotta Do", where main rapper and lyricist Chuck D explains his motivations. Rounding out the new tracks is "Hazy Shade of Criminal", one of PE's most potent singles. Chuck D's literate rap, accompanied by Flavor Flav's lyrical punctuation, sits atop monster beats. The musically dense track also features Terminator X's signature scratching. Among the remixes, Flavor Flav's "Megablast" gets a heavy, filled-out sound, "Louder than Bomb" is made over with a proto-trip-hop backing track, and "You're Gonna Get Yours" moves Terminator X's scratching forward in the mix.

Musician (11/92, p.104)
- "...includes six stronger new raps that not only boast the expected topicality but add a new dimension to the soul of the P.E. sound. Don't miss it..."

Q (11/92, p.118)
- 3 Stars - Good - "...the uncompromising Public Enemy sound of old returns....samples and beats attack the listener from all angles. The remixes are interesting..."

Q (9/95, p.132)
- 4 Stars - Excellent - "...fine by any but their own Olympian standards...showed Public Enemy ploughing old furrows..."

NME (10/10/92, p.39)
- "...a fine compilation album....at this time, it's probably the only record Public Enemy could, or should have made.."

Entertainment Weekly (9/25/92, p.65)
- "...six absurdly cautious remixes of tracks from their four albums....The new music sounds, of all things, almost relaxed..." - Rating: B-

Spin (11/92, p.114)
- Not Recommended - "...there is no big boom, no indelible Chuck D or Flavor Flav aphorisms to stain your brain. The project is in need of a jump start...The whole thing is stagy, lacking fire..."