Cornerstone R.a.S.
2005
It Takes A Nation: The First London Invasion Tour 1987
About This Album
Look at that date on the cover: 1987. If you could pick one year from which you could see a Public Enemy concert, wouldn't it be 1987? It's the year the group exploded onto the scene with a bona fide classic debut album and a manipulative attitude toward the media, the likes of which had never been seen before in hip-hop. As evidenced by the backstage cutaways sprinkled throughout the concert, journalists were extra anxious to shove their microphone in Public Enemy's face. And the fans? With fists in the air and clocks around their necks, they were building into the "nation" Chuck D spoke of frequently. It was a fascinating, exciting, revolutionary time for rap. The CD/DVD combo It Takes a Nation: The First London Invasion Tour 1987 gives the curious and nostalgic a chance to relive it all, but one thing keeps it from being a "you are there!" affair. The video quality of the concert is just a shade above N.Y.C. street vendor standards, looking like a VHS recorded at the six-hour speed and then retrieved from the attic 18 years later. It's hardly unwatchable, but colors bleed and the sound often peaks the meters. But the performance is a fantastic in-your-face explosion.
Track List

Disc 1 (try tracks 5 and 10)

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Disc 2

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