Arrested Development: 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of... (2LP) [CAPITOL/EMI]

Why you'll love it

The 2LP set gives the album's full running order room to breathe. It topped The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics' poll for 1992, won the group the Grammy for Best New Artist, and "Tennessee" is on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

This edition

• 2LP set

About the album

The title is a precise count of how long it took Speech and company to land a record deal, which tells you something about patience. In a year when gangsta rap ruled the charts, the Atlanta collective came out with something completely different: warm, rootsy, spiritual hip hop about family, faith, the South and looking after each other.

Speech produced, arranged and mixed it himself, building beats from funk, soul, blues and gospel. "Tennessee" is a gorgeous, grieving prayer of a song, "People Every Day" flips Sly and the Family Stone into a street-corner parable, and "Mr. Wendal" is a kind-hearted tribute to a homeless man that became a hit. "Mama's Always On Stage," "Fishin' 4 Religion" and "Children Play With Earth" round out a record full of ideas. Robert Dimery later put it in his book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Critics heard it as the start of a new Southern sound, and you can trace a line from here to Outkast and Goodie Mob. Three years, five months and two days is a long wait for a deal, though we've known customers take longer deciding between two pressings.

Also at Kops: more Arrested Development on vinyl · browse Hip Hop / R&B

Tracklist

Listen

On Chrysalis / Capitol (cat# B0026139-01), a reissue of the 1992 album.