My copy in came in on Saturday. I've given it a few listens since then.
This is one of the most frustrating albums I've listened to, but for a good reason. It's so close to being great, but Blais' stupid chourses, and a few weak tracks (St. Clair Thug and Carbon Monoxide, mainly) just hold it back.
The beats are fine, but they're nowhere near the quality of production on ASFY (we'll just ignore HM and The Gift since there's no point in comparing post-The Gift Bizzy Bone albums to those two). The production is good, don't get me wrong; it's certainly better than everything post-The Gift except ASFY.
I will say that Carbon Monoxide is the most consistent(ly good; certainly, everything between The Gift and ASFY was also "consistent"...) Bizzy Bone album since The Gift... on Bizzy Bone's end. Unfortunately, Blais doesn't seem to know how to shut the fuck up and let one of the best hook writer's/performer's in history do what he does. Specifically, Unlucky Ones and Remember What Eazy Said would be fantastic songs if Blais was nowhere to be found (vocally). When I Land in Cleveland would be fantastic if the chorus didn't consume the song (and if Blais wasn't on the chorus). I dunno, it's frustrating because Unlucky Ones is so dope... and then the chorus kicks in, and I skip it. Can't even listen to When I Land in Cleveland or Remember What Eazy Said thanks to the choruses... and the chorus on a Bizzy Bone song should never ruin the song.
But as far as Bizzy goes... man, I mean, New Waves instilled some hope in me that maybe he'd one day put out a consistently good album, and if you remove Blais features and the sucky songs, he's pretty much there. Stalkin Me kinda shocked me, because he somehow hopped in a time machine and brought mid 90s Bizzy back in a few parts (and my thought was, "Wait, he can still sound like that? Him not sounding like that has been a conscious decision!?")
The vocals are a bit too high (this is especially painful when his son is rapping...), but overall the mixing is fine.
So... I'd give Carbon Monoxide a 7/10, with the caveat that if you did one of:
A. Replace St. Clair Thug and Carbon Monoxide with songs that don't suck;
B. Remove all Blais features (OK, fine; he can stay on F.T.P.).
it would increase the score by 1 point for each one (thus, if you did both, I'd give it a 9/10).
As for where I'd put it in my personal "Ranking of Bizzy Bone CDs"... I'll put it just below ASFY but above Ruthless (1. The Gift; 2. Heaven'z Movie (unless the "full" version ever gets released; then HM might take #1 back) 3. ASFT …). Yes, it's more consistent than ASFY, but ASFY has better production and there isn't a song on this album that I would put above ASFY, Money, or What Have I Learned (also, ASFY had better features... come on, DMX and Twista killed it on that album).
All that said, Bizzy Bone (in the unlikely (or maybe likely at this point; don't seem to be many BTNH forums left) event that you read this), next time, please just set up a Kickstarter to raise whatever money you need to fund Tony C to produce your next album. Or Hoton. Or Johnny Jackson. Or A.Jones. Or, hell, I'd even be happy to hear what Damon Elliot could pull off, and God knows Flesh doesn't have enough sense to hire him to produce his albums anymore.
…. just stay the fuck away from Studio Rat productions and whatever gang of Fruity Loops kids you got to produce every album between A&O and ASFY, please!
