|
|
Outdoor Living UK - 808's and Heartbreak
|
List Price: £16.99
Our Price: £6.60
Your Save: £ ( % )
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
Manufacturer: Mercury
|
Average Customer Rating:  
|
|
Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0602517913417
Format: Enhanced
Label: Mercury
Manufacturer: Mercury
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Mercury
Release Date: 2008-11-24
Running Time: 52
Studio: Mercury
|
|
|
|
|
|
Spotlight customer reviews:
|
Customer Rating:
Summary: A "Closer" for the hip hop generation
Comment: First and foremost, I'd like to express my exasperation at hearing or reading people moaning at some - currently successful - black artists (Kanye West being one of them), accusing them of having betrayed the so-called "original true spirit of hip hop". These, behaving like self-proclaimed guardians of some private temple, seem to forget that hip hop, like every other form of art, is a mean not an end.
I also recall the great Mos Def was once asked, a few years ago, what he thought of his peers parading in videos with lavish ladies and expensive cars instead of providing supposed conscious statements in their music. His answer has baffled me for years (and still does): he said that it was precisely this (i.e. the fact of seeing black people behaving that way in front of huge audiences of, say, MTV proportions) that was revolutionary, more than any kind of political contest. And so, whether you fancy it or not. I can't agree more, as it seems, more generally, that a black artist is, still nowadays, supposed to deliver what's expected of him: making "black music".
Sorry for that somewhat long introduction, but I thought those two distinct points could be helpful to fully understand what Kanye West's fourth album proper is all about, and what it aims to be. On the previous one, 2007's "Graduation", he already considerably extended his sonic palette (sampling Daft Punk or legendary german krautrockers, Can), yet after that, last summer he produced, in the form of his duet with the promising Estelle, the wonderful "American Boy", which can only be described as the single best musical mainstream moment of the year, all straightforward dancefloor power and heavy beat science upfront.
"8O8s & Heartbreak" is an altogether very different beast to both those releases; having recently both lost his mother and ended up a longtime relationship with his fiancee, Kanye West isn't exactly in a partying mood here, to say the least. Yet, and it's what makes this record so satisfying, he still manages to entertain while expressing his utter sadness and pouring his deepest doubts over every song featured. From the first few bars of "Say You Will", it's understood Kanye's probably unleashed his landmark piece of music this time: over a bleak, possibly new wavish rhythm synth, he croons in a desperate yet suggestive and seductive manner about the loss of his love. The much-publicized use of the auto-tune process, supposedly a limitation, in fact allows him more freedom than ever: some reviewer pointed out he's not Nas nor Guru (he actually barely raps on the whole LP, mind you), and heaven knows he ain't Marvin Gaye either, but if the spine-tingling lament that is "Heartless" or the broody hypnotic complaint the first single "Love Lockdown" manages to be fail to move you, then nothing ever will. On the only upbeat track, "Paranoid", Kanye West even delivers the most perfect slice of pop angst ever heard since, say, Depeche Mode's "Enjoy The Silence" (yeah, that good). Perhaps only the quite blank "Robocop" is a relative failure, as every other song is a fascinating trip through this visionary artist's mind, even the somewhat rawer-sounding live freestyle "Pinocchio Story", that closes proceedings with an overwhelming tearjerking class.
Being very intimate, sounding entertaining at it and clearly conscious of what he does, somewhere between Kool & The Gang produced by New Order and the late and great Al Green stuck with The Neptunes in an elevator, Kanye West has achieved, minor weaknesses aside, a truly perfect pop album.
In a world that enjoys nothing as much as pigeonholing people of every kind (let alone artists), that alone is a triumph in itself.
TO ENJOY, CHERISH AND TREASURE...
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Different But Great!!!!
Comment: Having been a fan of Kanye West for a while now, I never thought that anything he released would match the excellent 'Graduation'. However, having bought and listened to this latest studio album, I can say that this is a great album. Kanye is obviously able to change his style of music with ease and the tracks on this album are a breath of fresh air. It bears no resemblance to any of his previous albums so if you are expecting another 'College Dropout' or 'Graduation', you may not appreciate it. All in all an excellent album.
Customer Rating:
Summary: We Need More of This (Experimentation)
Comment: For those willing to push the envelope I have the upmost respect. As ever the bigger the risk the bigger the payoff.
You can't deny that this album has got people talking. In a stagnating music market Kanye has really done what needs to be done. This album will also create curiosity about his next album, Kanye is now unpreditable and thats much better than being preditable.
I personally feel that this is quite original, yes auto-tune has been widely used, and this is because people obviously like the sound, so doesnt it stand to reason, at least commercially to make an album like this? Plus hip hop has always been about expressing you, Kanye's taken the classic 808 drums, one of hip hops foundations and blended it with his personal heartbreak.
Instead of following a boring formula, Kanye's again pioneered new concepts and his sales figures show whether its right or not.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Kanye's Triumphant Return
Comment: I've got all of Kanye West's albums but, on the whole, have tended to like 3 or 4 tracks (mainly the singles) on each, which I've stuck on my iPod and then haven't really played the whole album again. But this is very different - what a fantastic album. Mellow, melodic, catchy and a real triumph. The 1st single - Love Lockdown - is fantastic but the rest of the album is equally as strong making it's his best and most consistent album to date by a country mile. Whatever your musical taste, buy this album and give it a go - you won't be disappointed.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Subversive......Brilliant
Comment: First listen, you gotta hate it. After a while you listen and appreciate, constant play since, I am normally one but this is special and you can feel Kanye's emotions just as you could when he performed Hey Mama through tears for numerous nights. Heartfelt, different yet extraordinary. Genius and honest.
|
|
|
Editorial Reviews:
|
808s & Heartbreak sees Kanye West move somewhat controversially away from hip hop towards what he calls "pop art"--not the art movement championed by Andy Warhol, but his own artful pop music. This translates as Kanye dropping his rap shtick and picking up the Auto-Tune to help even out his singing voice, and trading his usual summery bounce for the brittle, wintry sound of the electronic Roland TR-808--the drum machine used in early hip hop and techno. Where previous Kanye albums have been about bling, 808s & Heartbreak is a paean to pain and misery. Prompted by the recent death of his mother, opening track "Welcome to Heartbreak" sets the album's key themes--lyrics about the emptiness of fame and wealth crooned over a desolate electronic backdrop. Things don't get much cheerier as Kanye continues to pour his heart out on songs like "Coldest Winter", "Street Lights" and the slow jam "Say You Will". High profile high guests like Young Jeezy, Lil Wayne and Herbie Hancock can't lift the gloom either, but the consistent aura of sadness that envelopes this unexpected album is ultimately what makes it so compelling. --Danny McKenna
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
