Neptunes clones7/14/2023 Nothing tentative this time: the percussion is mostly programmed and in your face the bulk of the riffage is carried by guitars, and they're plenty loud ("Kill Joy"). Loads of guests including Gwen Stefani ("Can I Have It Like That"), Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, Nelly and Kanye West ("Number One"). The pensive "Maybe" benefits from outside players - drumming from ?love and guitar by Lenny Kravitz - though it's still far from brilliant the only other notable guests are Good Charlotte's Joel and Benji Madden ("Jump").īut there are a couple of tunes at the level of the debut - the deliberate rocker "Don't Worry About It" (with Andrew Coleman on guitar), and the simple but catchy groove "She Wants To Move" - and just on that basis the record's worth checking out if you find it cheap. This time Williams and Hugo fired the band and played all the instruments themselves, which was a big mistake: the bass, guitars and keyboards are predictable but perfunctory - as if they were so nervous about playing the right notes they forgot to play anything interesting - and Williams is a strikingly dull drummer ("Backseat Love").Īs a result, the sound is still retro rock, but without the stylistic range or subtle touches that made their last record instead, track after track has the same minimal arrangement ("Breakout"), which is compounded by the drabness and humorlessness of the compositions (title track). There are exactly two songs worth hearing here: the lovely "Frontin'," with Jay-Z and Williams and Nelly's "If." Ol' Dirty Bastard appears here as Dirt McGirt, and his "Pop Shit" is moreĮvidence that he's lost without Wu-Tang Clan looking out for him Vanessa Marquez's "Good Girl" is an accurate but unnecessary ripoff of late 80s Janet ("Loser")Īnd their backup band, Spymob (the generic retro-rocker "Half-Steering"). The biggest disappointments are the tracks from alter-egos N.E.R.D. ![]() and Williams adds his endearingly untrained voice to a number of cuts,īut the grooves are stale and frequently irritating ("Blaze Of Glory"). There are stars aplenty - Busta Rhymes, Nas, Snoop Dogg, N.O.R.E. Williams and Hugo are going to alienate their audience if they keep pulling this kind of crap. It must be nice to be such successful producers that you can put together an album of outtakes from your other projects and have it debut at #1, but I have to think Guests include Lee Harvey, Vita, Kelis, Pusha T and Malice. Even the lesser tracks are memorable: the love song "Run To The Sun" has absurd lyrics and a lame vocalĭelivery, but the rhythm section cooks up such a solid groove it's tough to dislike. There are plenty of retro touches - Duane Eddy guitar on "Baby Doll," Moog squiggles on "Tape You" - but drawing from such a wide variety Nova coda "Stay Together," with a hilarious Michael Jackson impression) and at least one mock AM anthem ("Am I High"). But rather than run that approach into the ground, there are also soul ballads ("Provider," with a bossa The two singles, "Lapdance" and "Rock Star," are irresistable, raps with sung choruses and synth and guitarĭoubling huge riffs over shifting rhythms, and "Truth Or Dare" is in the same mold. Songwriting much more clever than their usual ("Brain"). Pharrell Williams, vocals, programming, drums Chad Hugo, keyboards, programming Shae Haley, vocals, I'm not sure what else.īacked by versatile, New Wave-y rock band Spymob, N.E.R.D.'s debut is a crazy amalgam of styles and approaches, propelling The followup was a dull retread, and the third disc is somewhere in between. ![]() ![]() (working with childhood friend Shae) is a different story, as their debut featured a live band and a terrific batch of tunes. Since the late 90s, Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo had tremendous success as the production team The Neptunes, initially working with hip hop artists - Ol' Dirty Bastard, MC Lyte - and later branching out into pop ( Beyoncé Knowles' "Work It Out" Mariah Carey's "To The Floor"), but I've rarely been impressed with their repetitive, familiar-sounding retro funk. The Clones - Fly Or Die - Seeing Sounds - Nothing
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