Reissue of NOW's most popular album from 1995, Smoker's Delight, from the good folks at Warp. I always thought the cover and title had a lot to do with this album's popularity. I remember seeing that juicy cover and wanting to buy it without even listening to it, followed by a sesh at home with a dime of NYC's bottom level brown mexi. Underneath the exterior, the album manages to live up to its presentation. Start with the Quincy Jones-sampling "Night's Introlude" which establishes the album's thick, dense sound. Relax to the oversized basslines of "Wait A Minute" and wonder at the intriguing interludes like "Me + You" and "Time," "Groove Str," "Man Tha Journey" and "Bless My Soul" were my shit back then, back when you could rock 90bpm instrumental tracks and have the dough boys go crazy (strange times). In retrospect, this album was much more realized than its downtempo counterparts, dude was already way more advanced than the cut and paste of the day. A downtempo classic indeed. A long one too with 16 tracks and over an hour of music.

• black double vinyl pressing
• housed in gatefold sleeve w/ printed insert
• originally released in 1995
• digital download included
• music label: Warp Records 2014

reviewed by the mgmnt 03/2006