From Amazon.co.uk
The contemporary of
It Takes a Nation of Millions and the blueprint for
Three Feet High and Rising,
In Full Gear was Stetsasonic's full-fledged classic. As summarised in the sublime "Talking All That Jazz", the album was meant to be a musical manifesto of all of the directions late-80s hip-hop was expanding toward: revolutionary spoken word, JBs tributes, soul jazz, go-go, R & B, dancehall, turntablism, instrumentals, even Miami bass. Yes, they did it all, and they did most of it really well. Throughout the album, a sense of light-hearted vibes prevails, like a giddy summer concert in the park. Check "Sally", "DBC Let the Music Play" and "Music for the Stetfully Insane" to work up a sweat. If you want to know where
De La Soul came from, this is a good place to start.
--Jeff Chang