877. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill - Lauryn Hill

This album was the first that Lauryn Hill released as a solo artist following the Fugees descent (ascent?) into individual acts. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was hugely well received at the time, with the album eventually going multi-platinum, with over eight million record sales in the US alone. The album won five Grammy awards, having been nominated for ten, and this helped catapult Hill into the spotlight even further.

The title comes from Carter G Wilson's "The mis-education of the Negro." The album was recorded at Tuff Gong Studios in Kingston, which was the studio set up by Bob Marley. The album features a series of skits involving a school teacher discussing ideas about love with his class, which is slightly cheesy, but just about gets away with it.

Lost ones has a great harmonizing chorus, and Hill is very confident on her rhymes. Whilst it appears to be a song about a conventional man losing his woman, it is hard to ignore the subtext of the somewhat acrimonious Fugees move from group to artists, and the references to the ending of her relationship with Wyclef Jean. Ex-factor follows this up with one of the album's instantly recognizable tracks, featuring the obscenely good line "tell me who I have to be, to get some reciprocity." The overt frustration with the moebian nature of the relationship is palpable, and features a great vocal bridge, which show off the quality of the voices used throughout the album. To Zion is a touching ode about a mother's love for her son, but the relentless religious imagery frustrates me somewhat, but then the intention is that it was a gospel song, so that makes sense. Doo Wop (That Thing) is another great song, with probably the best chorus on the album, although with possibly questionable lyrical content, with a slightly regressive view of the gender divide. I believe the album goes downhill from there however, with only a few diamonds remaining. Superstar's chorus just doesn't work for me at all, Nothing even matters is just too saccharine, and the title track is overblown. Everything is Everything, however, has the best sample on the album, and Every Ghetto, Every City is basically a template for a lot of Beyonce's best work.

This is clearly a very good album, and I understand it's popularity, but it just didn't resonate with me. Whilst I'm glad that I know this seminal work better, I think that knowledge is now considered acquired, and I won't be spending more time trying to deepen it. This was one of Chloe's favourite albums as a teenager, and so whilst she didn't enjoy it as much as then, she felt she couldn't reward it anything less than an 8 because of its resonance for her.

Chloe's rating: 8

Chloe's favourite track: 4. To Zion

Olly's rating: 6

Olly's favourite track: 13. Everything is Everything

Next week we have 341. Willie Nelson - Red Headed Stranger. Our first country record - I'd be lying if I said I was excited.