House of Pain - Same As It Ever Was LP + 7" - Yellow Vinyl

Tommy Boy (2024, Reissue)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for thirty plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

I had been looking for a decently priced copy of the second House of Pain album for a few years when it was finally announced a reissue was coming.  And a colored vinyl LP with a bonus 7" reissue to boot for the album's 30th anniversary.  This is one of those albums that has aged really well for me.  When I originally bought this on CD in 1994 I was kind of disappointed in it and really didn't listen to it very much.  I remember a high school buddy Scott who liked it more than I did.  The album was fine, but it didn't really keep me interested enough to warrant repeated listens.

But as the years have gone by, I've been able to really appreciate this record in a way that I wasn't able to initially.  Most of that is based around the production of the album, which is really stellar.  Same As It Ever Was is the last great Soul Assassins record.  The next year they would lose the plot for me with Cypress Hill's Temple of Boom and Brothas Doobie by Funkdoobiest.  Both of those sound like they were produced by completely different human beings than the ones responsible for five pretty classic albums from 1991 to 1994.  So this House of Pain album was their last stand, at least when it comes to hip hop production that I like.

And man are there some good beats on Same As It Ever Was.  The bass lines drive the album with the Soul Assassins trademark horn screeches wailing in to emphasize the point.  Sonically, it's just a joy to listen to and it really elevates Everlast's rhyming.  And let's be honest, Everlast is something of a cartoon character when he's rapping in House of Pain.  He's totally fine and I'm not in any way insinuating that he doesn't have skill, but the character he plays is silly at times.  Luckily the whole package makes it easier to overlook some of the inherent ridiculousness of rhymes like "I got skill kid and I'm gonna milk it."

I'm just glad I was finally able to add this record to the collection at a reasonable price.  This is an affordable version of the album to pick up if you don't already have it.  And if you haven't listened to it in a few decades, give it a whirl.  I think you'll be surprised how well it holds up.

House of Pain - Same As It Ever Was:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_n5SBoH3Ms3ti3LD5MFON23aa-LhARsF0Q