The fourth album released in the wake of
2Pac
's 1996 death,
Until the End of Time
certainly offers plenty of music, two discs' worth to be precise, although the songs here seem overdone, which can obscure
's performances. Nevertheless, those performances somehow remain remarkable no matter how deep into the vault
Afeni Shakur
and
Suge Knight
have dug, and songs like
"Letter 2 My Unborn,"
"When Thugz Cry,"
and the title track are just as heartfelt as
"Keep Ya Head Up,"
"Dear Mama,"
"I Ain't Mad at Cha"
had been. The title track is one of
's most desperate, spirited performances ever -- the voice of a man face to face with his own fate -- and it's accompanied by an anxious yet lulling interpolation of
Mr. Mister
's 1985
pop
hit
"Broken Wings"
that is far more affective than you'd imagine. Note that there are two versions here of the title track (the best one being the original one, which features
RL
on the hook), as there are also two versions of a few other songs, and these remixes are nearly interchangeable. ~ Jason Birchmeier