One Step Ahead of the Spider

MC 900 Ft. Jesus was influenced by the Miles Davis album Bitches Brew.{{cite news |last1=Hamilton |first1=Denise |title=Hip-Hoppers Come 'Round to Jazz |work=Los Angeles Times |date=14 Aug 1994 |department=Calendar |page=4}} He employed more of a band sound on One Step Ahead of the Spider; he spent six months listening to all the takes before adding vocals to his favorite tracks.{{cite news |last1=Jenkins |first1=Mark |title=MC 900 Foot Jesus: 'One Step Ahead of the Spider' |work=The Washington Post |date=25 Sep 1994 |page=G10}}{{cite news |last1=Punter |first1=Jennie |title=MC 900 Ft Jesus returns with posse of eight players |work=Toronto Star |date=29 Sep 1994 |page=G11}} Vernon Reid played guitar on "Stare and Stare".{{cite news |last1=Terrell |first1=Steve |title=TERRELL'S TUNE-UP |work=The Santa Fe New Mexican |date=22 July 1994 |department=PASATIEMPO |page=30}} The album cover art is by graffiti artist Greg Contestabile.{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J-B_8wFmPg8C&pg=PA210|title=Assimilate: A Critical History of Industrial Music|first=S. Alexander|last=Reed|date=June 3, 2013|publisher=Oxford University Press|via=Google Books}}

{{Album ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{Cite web | url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/one-step-ahead-of-the-spider-mw0000115795 | title=One Step Ahead of the Spider - MC 900 Ft. Jesus | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic | website=AllMusic }}

| rev2 = Calgary Herald

| rev2Score = A{{cite news |last1=Muretich |first1=James |title=Recent Releases |work=Calgary Herald |date=3 July 1994 |page=B8}}

|rev3 = The Indianapolis Star

|rev3score = {{rating|3|4}}{{cite news |last1=Hooper |first1=Kim L. |title=MC 900 FT Jesus 'One Step Ahead of the Spider' |work=The Indianapolis Star |date=19 Sep 1994 |page=C3}}

|rev4 = Los Angeles Times

|rev4score = {{rating|3|4}}{{cite news |last1=Ali |first1=Lorraine |title=MC 900 FT JESUS, 'One Step Ahead of the Spider' |work=Los Angeles Times |date=10 July 1994 |department=Calendar |page=56}}

|rev5 = Rolling Stone

|rev5score = {{rating|2|5}}{{cite journal |last1=Evans |first1=Paul |title=Rollin' & tumblin' — One Step Ahead of the Spider by MC 900 Ft. Jesus |journal=Rolling Stone |date=Sep 8, 1994 |issue=690 |page=78}}

}}

Trouser Press wrote that "Griffin's connection to hip-hop is gone: the music of 'New Moon' and 'Tiptoe Through the Inferno' are free-flowing jazz in which voice serves as just one of the instruments."{{cite web |title=MC 900 Ft Jesus with DJ Zero |url=https://trouserpress.com/reviews/mc-900-ft-jesus-with-dj-zero/ |website=Trouser Press |access-date=3 August 2022}} The Calgary Herald likened the album to "a spoken word Burroughs meets Don Was when he Was (Not Was)."

The Los Angeles Times determined that "the record's balmy and organic grooves are far from the electronic dance pulse of previous records, and now he steeps his hip-hop sensibilities in minimal, goatee-stroking jazz." Rolling Stone called MC 900 Ft. Jesus "desperately wack, browbeatingly outre." The Indianapolis Star concluded that "while Griffin's hip-hop sensibilities may run closer to New Age, he delivers lyrics with a cadence that shifts between those of a finger-popping, beatnik poet and a world-weary commentator on race relations."

(All songs written by Griffin, except where noted.)

1. "New Moon" – 11:41
2. "But If You Go" – 5:39
3. "If I Only Had a Brain" – 3:46
4. "Stare and Stare" – 6:58 (Mayfield)
5. "Buried at Sea" – 4:46 (Griffin/Rollins)
6. "Tiptoe Through the Inferno" – 4:50
7. "Gracías Pepé" – 3:42 (Caldwell/Griffin)
8. "New Year's Eve" – 3:43
9. "Bill's Dream" – 8:15
10. "Rhubarb" – 3:11

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• Mark Griffin – vocals, guitar, keyboard, trumpet
• Earl Harvin – drums
• Chris McGuire – tenor/soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, flute
• Dave Palmer – piano
• Drew Phelps – bass
• Vernon Reid – guitar
• Mike Dillon – congas, percussion
• Nikhil Pandya – tabla
• Rajiv Chakravarti – tampoura
• Analisa Ripke – backing vocals

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Category:MC 900 Ft. Jesus albums

Category:1994 albums

Category:American Recordings (record label) albums