More old and probably rubbish reviews

Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part One (4th World War)

Let me start off by quoting myself from some months ago regarding Erykah Badu’s 4^th EP New Amerykah Part One (4th World War)

“I’m not really getting into it, there are a couple of good tracks but nothing that I can get into. Its just not very good, I’m quite disappointed really.”

This was met by swift responses of “It’s not her fault you’re not getting it,” or “your wrong listen to it again.”

As it turns out, I listened to the album again, and I was wrong. My main gripe with New Amerykah was that Erykah doesn’t sing on it, not as much as she did on Mama’s Gun (2000) or Worldwide Underground (2003) and nowhere near the pureness of her debut Baduizm(1997). The Erykah from those albums was the Erykah I fell in love with and with her latest offering I felt, her voice was, just there and not really doing anything. It was like listening to an entire album of Badu features, where her voice is cool but it wasn’t her track. New Amerykah is an electic mix of 70’s funk and soul, along with 9^th Wonder and Madlib’s sampling. This is similar to her previous albums in the sense that it it’s different from the norm but what made me a reluctant fan was that this is different from her norm. With time I can see this isn’t such a bad thing. New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) feature production from some of hip-hop’s finest, meaning while Erykah doesn’t steal the show on any of the tracks it is used more like an instrument to accompany the drum, saxophone and base samples. This is evident on the heavily drum influenced tracks The Cell, Soldier, The Healer and Twinkle. There are still some songs where I don’t feel this works, such as Master Teacher, Me and to a lesser extent Amerykahn Promise.

As I probably should have picked up on from the albums title, (Part one) this is like when an actor takes up a new role, you wouldn’t go to see an Al Pacino movie and complain that Frank Slade from Scent of a Woman doesn't have the same personality as Tony Montana....

Some old reviews I did for the uni paper

Oasis – Dig out Your Soul

Oasis return from their three year hiatus with their seventh studio album Dig Out Your Soul, in an attempt to reclaim their place at the top of the British indie/rock scene. With so many hits under their belt the band stay true to their roots and it’s not long before Liam’s familiar crooning reappears. All the ingredients of their previous success are present, the signature strings find their place in the melancholy track Falling Down, and it wont be long before you hear your friends singing about “Hebee Jeebes in a bag” from the sing-a-long chorus of the opening song Bag It Up. The foundations are there, however current single The Shock of the Lightning is the closest you get to a Supersonic, Wonderwall, Morning Glory classic, and that doesn’t quite reach the high standards the Mancunians have set themselves. Still though, Dig Out Your Soul remains a decent addition to the band’s impressive mantle.

***/ 3.5stars

Robin Thicke – Something Else

Something Else is an album where influences are ever present. The opening track You’re my Baby sounds like a Marvin Gaye imitation, Sidestep has echoes of Anthony Hamilton and the rest of the album is some sort of Motown/modern R&B hybrid, in an attempt to piggy back the success of Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black and Estelle’s Shine. What you end up with is a list of tracks that could have been far better if the imitations, which are borderline plagiarism at times, had been left to an Xfactor contestant. Instead of thinking, “oh this sounds a bit like Marvin Gaye” you wonder to yourself, “If only Marvin Gaye didn’t get shot by his dad, and did this album, I might actually like it.” None more so is this evident than on Hard on My Love where Thicke sounds amateurish on what is essentially a very good 70’s funk/soul track. The highlight of the album is Lil Wayne’s guest appearance on Tie My Hands where he delivers a typically stylish and effortless contribution to fit in perfectly with the slow drum beat and Thicke at last uses his own voice to sing.

** 2stars

The Streets – Everything Is Borrowed

For the most part it seems as if the electronic drum machine was lost behind a speaker, at the back of a cupboard, under a cover, in a music studio somewhere in Birmingham .Musically speaking, this is the most diverse and mature Streets album to date. Electric guitars, saxophones and pianos help to create very natural sounding songs rather than beats as the backdrop to Mike Skinner’s usual brand of social commentary, mixed in with more personal moments and brilliant one-liners. Lyrically speaking, Skinner is still an expert, but he cannot sing. You have to wince through the chorus of Never Give In and On the Flip of a Coin. The drum machine was found again for the most thought provoking song, Alleged Legends where Skinner challenges some of life’s established perceptions. The first single The Escapist could have been on any of The Street’s previous three albums but it seems orphaned and out of place here as the majority of the ten other tracks sound nothing like it. In the end like every other Streets release, Everything is Borrowed will make you think, laugh and bop your head, with or without the drum machine.

** 3stars