January 28, 2005 - The late '90s transformation of Dan The Automator and Prince Paul into Nathaniel Merriweather and Chest Rockwell, respectively, was the work of two hip-hop stalwarts persistent in the idea of forward thinking experimentation. Okay, perhaps that's a bit heavy-handed, but it was a maneuver of pure, post-post modern genius. Plus few would argue that both men were renowned in the field of rap oriented production, Automator for his seminal Dr. Octagon project and Paul for his legendary and legal precedent setting sample antics with De La Soul. That the two saw fit to pull a Green Apple and come together was a wonderful slap in the ever growing, increasingly uglier getting face of commercial rap theatrics.

Given the pedigrees of the duo, it was no surprise that they were able to enlist a wonderfully diverse group of talent ranging from Del, Encore, Grand Puba, Sadat X, J-Live, Sensational, EL-P, DJ Shadow, DJ Quest, Kid Koala, Mike D., and Dave of De La Soul on the rap front and Miho Hatori (Cibo Matto), Roison (Moloko), Sean Lennon, Keyboard Money Mark, Mark Hayden (Spain), Paula Frazer (Tarnation), Alec Empire, and even OG comedian Father Guido Sarducci.

The primary modus operandi of the School is spelled out on the intro track "Rock n' Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This)." A wonderfully thick break beat is laced with spoken word samples and scratchmatic shift and phase to create a turgidly enjoyable instrumental romp that sets the upbeat, free-flowing tone of much of what will follow. While the mood is kept relatively bouncy, the first proper "rap" track features Del verbulating over a chunky piano and bass lumber augmented by swirls and whooshes of ambience, as well as some intriguing scat-cum-doo-wop vocalizing inserted in-between the grooves. Sure, it's dark, but far from ominous, gravitating instead toward smoky, late night mood enhancement.

Mike D. delivers some "Metaphysical" and "Silver Surfer" styles along with Miho Hatori from Cibo Matto on the whimsically effervescent "Metaphysical," swatches of church organ and the repeated loop of a Doris Day-like woman saying "it's a good day" creating an almost ethereal aural motif. It's the kind of rich, sonic tapestry that both Automator and Paul are known for and it works wonderfully. So, too, does the first "skit" oriented number, "Look At This Face," which features chunks of dialogue lifted from Chris Elliot's Get A Life show and the inspirational origin of The Handsome Boy Modeling School. The snippets are coupled with a happily melancholic violin loop, with the whole 1-minute 59-second affair blending seamlessly into the tersely riddled "Waterworld," featuring underground MC fave Encore. Eerily intense slices of minimalistic keyboards coat Encore's vibrant baritone while liquidic FX burble in the background. It's dark jazz theatrics for the rap generation par excellence.

On the "skit" side of things, the album is relatively sparse, least in terms of what Prince Paul has been long stigmatized for (i.e. the erroneous perception that he is the bona fide skit master and that all of his albums are nothing more than skits punctuated by brief interludes of music) Paul gets the infamous Biz Markie on the phone for "The Biz," less a skit and more like a crank call in which he coaxes the Juice Crew comedian into singing like the Bee Gees. Then there's another Chris Elliot interlude, once again a combo of sampled voices and symphonic music. Finally, Father Guido Sarducci closes out the album with a testimony about the Handsome Boy Modeling School.