Eligh - Enigma (CD)

All Music Guide

Released almost concurrently with the Living Legends' Classic, Eligh's solo album Enigma feels sort of like a scrapbook or journal more than a proper album, and has an air of mystery in keeping with its title. Fewer than half of the 18 tracks have vocals on them, the rest being instrumental sketches featuring Eligh's own keyboards and beatboxes alongside Robert Miranda's guitars. The results are sort of what the Roots might sound like if they did an EP without Black Thought: experimental, often very good, but undeniably missing a little something. However, the eight vocal tracks are uniformly excellent, particularly Eligh's speedy verses on the duet with Jo Wilkerson, "Life Dance," and the outstanding album closer "Desperation," which sets an impassioned rap with interjections from crew mates Scarub and Murs against a minimalist, vibraphonelike synth. The uneven, meandering structure of Enigma makes it a little hard to grasp on first listen, but its merits reveal themselves quickly. - ...Stewart Mason, All Music Guide Read more Less