I was thrilled when I got the email last night, informing me that my copy of Saul Williams – The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust was ready for download. Quickly downloaded my lossless FLAC audio files, eager to hear what Trent and Saul had come up with.

What can I say … Some tracks are exactly what I expected, others stray away from what I had invisioned, but in a good way.

Imagine Nine Inch Nails, Massive Attack, Public Enemy, Seal and The Blue Man Group or Cirque du Soleil all stranded on a Carribean island with nothing but Trent Reznors iBook Pro and some studio mics.

The tracks range from mellow and minimalist to insane and chaotic. Each of the tracks carry a common thread that is unmistakably Trent Reznor — A few tracks reek of NiN so much they would be just as comfortable sharing CD surface area with Head Like a Hole or Vessel.

This release includes a cover of Sunday Bloody Sunday that was obviously the work of Trent Reznor himself — it’s a great track and gives Mr. Williams an instant radio-ready launch pad to the mainstream, but frankly I’d rather hear Mr. Reznor on vocals.

Time to get some work done while I run this on repeat for a few hours and let the music sink in and get a big more familiar.