The Enemy Within.(How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul???)(Sound recording review)

In the late eighties and early nineties, Public Enemy was the only band that mattered. It was, as these things always are, an unsustainable position. Since 1999, amid the reality TV and the radio shows, Chuck D and company have continued to put out records, but they've been a mixed bag--sometimes exciting, sometimes exhausting jumbles of new material, live tracks, and remixes. Now, for their twentieth anniversary, Public Enemy has released "How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul???" (SlamJamz), and, from the portentous title to the extensive liner notes, it's clearly intended as a return to the group's heyday.

In some respects, it is. Both the title track and the lead single, "Harder Than You Think," wed Chuck D's hammering vocals to dense soundscapes full of surging horns, spoken snippets, and sneaky synthesizer lines. "Sex, Drugs & Violence" employs a children's chorus and a guest verse from KRS-One for a sharp (if familiar) critique of gangster rap. Elsewhere, though, the record is overworked or undercooked. "Black Is Back," which was originally built around AC/DC's "Back in Black," had to be reconceived for legal reasons, and now it sounds less like a throwback to "Walk This Way" than like the hundredth retread of "99 ...