The Wu-Tang Clan have slimmed down on their lean and mean third album, both in title and in content. Clearly having learned a lesson from the ostentatious affair that was their last group effort, Wu-Tang Forever, The W weighs in at a taut 13 tracks, with little, if any, extraneous self-righteous solipsism. RZA returns to the boards for all but one track and proves that Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) was no fluke, manipulating ghoulish soul to chilling effect on "Hollow Bones" and dropping (and chopping) thunderous horns at the intro to "One Blood Under W" (which features a stellar turn from reggae don Junior Reid). The album's first two singles--"Protect Ya Neck (The Jump Off)" and "Gravel Pit"--are both fierce, propulsive numbers, inspiring the Wu collective--Ghostface Killah and Method Man in particular--to higher energy levels than they've displayed in years. Elsewhere, The W is Ghost's record, especially on the unhinged lament "I Can't Go to Sleep" and the prostrate plea "Jah World." Memorably, Snoop and ODB collaborate to comic effect on "Conditioner," and all the album's cameos--from Redman and Nas to Isaac Hayes and Busta Rhymes--show that the group is still as savvy as ever. On The W, the boasting is earned. --Jon Caramanica