On Chris Brown's fourth album F.A.M.E. ("Forgiving All My Enemies" or "Fans Are My Everything"), the immediate feeling when the listener immerses themselves inside the album's walls is the frenetic range of moods: anger, sensuality, swagger, flirtatiousness. Brown navigates each mentioned mode with dexterity, most of the time. The songwriting, which has the hefty task of bringing across these themes, isn't always up to par, having to compete with Graffiti's (2009) solid material. Thankfully, the hooks are kept hooky, and some verses are sincere, as they are salaciously witty.The mean mugging dual hits of "Deuces" and "Look at Me Now," each featuring a bevy of supporting hip-hop cat daddies, strike in their sturdy productions, but will or won't appeal to each Chris Brown fan depending on the way they like their urban Chris served. If you're looking for more tongue-in-cheek rowdy fun, visit the Wiz Khalifa assisted "Bomb" or the boudoir come-hither on "Beg For It," which work without roaming into the overt extremes some parts of F.A.M.E. veer into. Both of those tracks are featured on the expanded edition of F.A.M.E..
Unsurprisingly, the safest material here falls into his ballads. Assured and handsome, he twists some charisma out of the SWV '90's shuffler "Right Here," which was carved from Brown's forefather Michael Jackson's melody sherbet masterpiece "Human Nature," that also makes an enjoyable appearance giving Brown a double sample smash. The reflective "All Back" (with a cool country tinge), and "Should've Kissed You" platform he hasn't lost his heart.
The Benny Benassi produced "Beautiful People" conveys a deep love of Italian house, which Brown fits into nicely. That doesn't raise eyebrows, electronic music, in various mediums, has been the rage in popular music for the last six years. While Brown was not the first to wear it, his donning of it on the expanded version of Exclusive's (2007) single "Forever," and later sprinkling it throughout Graffiti, showed an ear for the pulse of the sound outside of the "thump-thump-thump" incarnations favored by everyone from Usher to Lady Gaga.
The two standout masterjams are "Say It With Me" and "Oh My Love" making Brown the leader of this interpolation of electro values in black music today. The songs favor layered forms, with synaptic shattering drops, swooshes, and rushes that bring to mind latter day Jamiroquai funktronica. Melody isn't shortchanged in the process, as Brown (with and without vocal distortion playfulness) snatches his voice in and out the mixes. Specifically "Oh My Love" combines grimy hip-hop blasted verses, with mannered and romantic choruses, a delicious musical versus battle between his own psychoses. F.A.M.E. is a transitional work, but houses enough strong material that professes that Brown is far from finished in his field, and is the one to watch in the coming years.
Duran Duran: All You Need is Now (Tape Modern/S-Curve)
Duran Duran's thirteenth studio spinner, All You Need is Now, will have different meanings to the two largest factions of their fan base.For the crowd who've anxiously, and at times obnoxiously, crowed for the glitter days of Duran's career triumvirate Duran Duran (1981), Rio (1982), and Seven and the Ragged Tiger (1983), Now is everything and more.
The flipside: the audience who has watched and cheered for Duran Duran as they evolved, even when it wasn't always to commercial or critical merit, may eye Now with an air of suspicion. It is their first, open return to a specific soundfield in their history.
Undeniable is the sheer greatness of Le Bon (vocals), Taylor's (John on bass, Roger on drums), and Rhodes (keyboards) sculpting, with wonderkid producer Mark Ronson, the ore of that salty trio of records that defined their genesis without it coming off as ridiculous or weighted. The opening and crashing assault of Roger Taylor's precise cymbals and drumming on the flashing "Girl Panic!" is the type of pulse raiser that will pump feet and fist. The neo-disco glide, with John Taylor's bass prominent, finds Scissor Sister Ana Matronic dropping some chocolate coated vocals, in "Safe (In the Heat of the Moment)". That song is sexy and not austere, but mature.
Their songwriting, which tends to be strong despite a misstep or two, is in its best form on the obsessive "The Man Who Stole the Leopard," Le Bon's clipped cool affectation is fascinating, and makes room for a cameo from Kelis to make a guest feature adding, not subtracting, to the stylish song. That stylish turn, is thanks to Rhodes, who despite any producer they've worked with, has arranged keyboards, and other objects onto the Duran Duran canvas to keep them on the edge of esoteric.
With an existing bank of ballad capitol, "Before the Rain" is another addition to the treasure pile, and the bonus edition cut (available via Best Buy only) "Early Summer Nerves" is all tense, pop sinew.An argument could be made that when their knack for experimentation was exploited, a first, for commercial gain on Red Carpet Massacre (2007), the door toward nostalgia didn't seem so taboo. Then again, maybe it was an acquiesce to the idea that only returning to the era of "The Reflex" would bear fruit, which is silly to even consider given Duran Duran's prolific output in three decades. Despite Ronson's ego-maniacal statements about Now being the "true" follow-up to Rio, the title track knowingly winks at their experienced fans with a distorted lead, and recurring, synth line owing more to Medazzaland (1997) or Pop Trash (2000) than Rio.
All You Need is Now is a pilgrimage to nostalgia in certain degrees, but one earned in the blood, sweat, and tears of evolution. Rather than an admission of defeat, it’s a full circle acknowledgement of where they've come from, and where they will still journey.
Lupe Fiasco: L.A.S.E.R.S. (Atlantic)
For an artist, the road to authentic expression ne'er did run smooth, especially in the fickle and contradictory realm of hip-hop music. Lupe Fiasco's L.A.S.E.R.S. ("Love Always Shines Everytime Remember (2) Smile") went through several transformative stages, at one point being touted as three part junior effort to herald an impending retirement, before taking its current state. The record would also be mired deep within label politics, which resulted in Fiasco's fans taking to the streets (literally) to free the record from Atlantic's tyrannical oppression.When the album finally materialized, it was an album of conflict. Two different albums both presented and performed by Lupe Fiasco. On one side, you have the slick cuts meant to appeal to the ring tone oriented ghettos (charts) that house most of today's hip-hop. Though they aren't uncharismatic, they do feel phoned in, and even with the cryptic messages folded within ("State Run Radio"), they feel flat.
The other side picks up where the conceptually charged album The Cool (2007) left off. Tracks "Letting Go," "Words I Never Said," and "Out of My Mind" are brittle, metallic, dry ice hip-hop wonders. The mood roils off each track curiously impassioned and restless. The features, in running order as mentioned, of Sarah Green, Skylar Grey, and Trey Songz are almost like vocal wallpaper, decent accents but easily peeled away, the songs lyrical and musical cores can exist without them. This issue was evident on The Cool, that also was too top heavy in its features which often were unnecessary.
Two Lupe Fiasco classics will be associated with L.A.S.E.R.S.: "Till I Get There" and "All Black Everything". The former is a heartwarming, but honest and bittersweet view into Fiasco's battle to remain relevant in a market that doesn't thrive on intelligence and thought, the latter a brilliantly bright and Utopian lyrical masterpiece.
Lupe Fiasco has been forthcoming in the press for this album that it was a labor, one that saw him compromise, but at the same time win. L.A.S.E.R.S is far from perfect, but is a compelling look at a man at the crossroads of creative censorship, brave (and foolish?) enough to bridge the commercial gap, and still get his thoughts to the public.
Ricky Martin: Música + Alma + Sexo (Sony)
Ricky Martin's career has stretched three decades, and is now moving into its fourth one. That reign in Latin pop music is only surpassed by his female predecessor Gloria Estefan, but unlike Estefan, Martin has worn several visages and none hinted at what he musically was. In the Eighties he was one of the many boy wonders in Menudo; he later would exit Menudo and find success in the Nineties as a sensual, if staid Spanish adult crooner. His most galvanizing success appeared in riding the crest of the American "Latin Pop Explosion" that boomed in 1999, crossing over with buttery smoothness.The last ten years found Martin recording still, returning back to his Spanish roots when the Americans grew fickle, but again nothing peeked beyond the ambiguous shades Martin showed through his music. With Martin's public outing as a gay man recently, it immediately put a level of pressure to what his music would sound like.
His ninth record Música + Alma + Sexo ("Music + Soul + Sex") rightfully gives Ricky Martin his first album to move beyond niceties, and give him a face. Working in tandem with producer Desmond Child, Martin's flavorful tone, always best in his native tongue, burns on the surging "Más," a rousing, summer dusk stinger that will bump in cars and on dance floors with equal flair. "Frio," with its tribal turns, is lush upon each return.
The slow burners, Martin staples in Spanish or English, vocally beat with urgency as heard on "Tú Y Yo" and the "Cántame Tu Vida"; "...Vida" lures the listener with its zephyr brushed touch that will win over the most non-bilingual individual.The album features several English translations of the songs, sadly lacking the same pull that their Spanish versions profess. Joss Stone's duet with Martin on the English version of "Lo Mejor de Mi Vida Eres Tú," recast without Natalia Jiménez, as "The Best Thing about Me is You" is wasted as it just doesn't work in the same context. Whether Martin will be able to beat the curse of his more limited English releases, possibly releasing one to rival his best Spanish recordings, is unknown. Yet, the album translates Martin's recent life changes as a gay, Hispanic man, now a father of two, making it human and tangible despite the supposed language barrier.
Mint Condition: 7 (Shanachie)
Twenty years have been kind to the men of Mint Condition. Stokely Williams (vocals), Ricky Kinchen (bass), Homer O'Dell (guitar), Larry Waddell (piano), and Jeffrey Allen (saxophonist/keyboardist) have weathered the loss of member Keri Lewis (keyboards), going from a major label deal to an indie one, and have continued to retool their brew of Minneapolis R&B to fine precision. 7, as the title implies, is their seventh record of original material, and the new songs featured are still mint. Vocally leading the brigade, Williams sounds bold, in full control of his gifts. Those pipes are on display when putting in overtime on what can only be called contemporary psychedelic rhythm and blues on "Mind Slicker," or the Quiet Storm color-by-numbers "Ease the Pain".
The band itself kicks, demonstrating that their “Minneapolis Sound” fathers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (who discovered Mint Condition in 1989) would be proud to see how they've absorbed their Twin Cities funk and swirled in a surplus of influences. The echo drum and bass quake of "Can't Get Away" bounces right next to the synth-washed snapper "I Want It" as the perfect one-two opening salvo. "I Want It" has further appeal, sporting its hypno-pant loop from Stokely recalling another Minneapolis titan, Prince, and his vintage groove storm "Sexy Dancer".
The "band" focus, which has been a perennial for Mint Condition records, appears as songs naturally flesh out. Like many of the albums discussed here, there is a deluxe version that is available at Best Buy with five bonus songs. Of the five, and tying into the band theme discussed momentarily, two live songs, from Mint Condition's past discography, are provided, performed recently at Yoshi's in San Francisco. The live songs will cast a spell on listeners as much as the studio work does on 7; proving the strength of Mint Condition. They manage to be consummate studio professionals who translate live energy to the record, and show no age or wear twenty years into the game.[Editor's Note: All records currently available at music retailers, physical & online.-QH]
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