Wesley Willis' first album of new material for
Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles label (which had already released two
Greatest Hits volumes),
Rush Hour isn't a significant departure from
Willis' previous recordings with a full band. The musical backing still sounds oddly subdued, even canned, and
Willis still takes long pauses in between his recitations. Somewhat surprisingly,
Rush Hour doesn't have the loopy celebrity tributes
Willis became known for; he relies more on his imagination to conjure up lyrical scenarios. Other than that,
Rush Hour is pretty much a standard
Wesley Willis album, with enough bizarre connections to make it a slightly more amusing listen than some of his other records. ~ Steve Huey