Released - 6/9/09
Label - Interscope Records
BLURB - Wow. This is not the Black Eyed Peas, this is, 'The Will.I.Am Experience.' Will was not lying when he said this record was going to be heavily influenced by the european electronic trance culture. While visiting Cherry Lane several months ago, Will referenced his fanaticism for the Crookers (if you haven't heard of them, go buy everything they've put out) and submitted that the new BEP record would be heavily influenced by that sound. This is more or lease a 'pop / rave / electronic' type-feel. There are some massive club bangers on this album, along with some great samples. The beats and the production are out of this world on more than a handful of tracks. However, there are also several songs on here, that for no reason, made the final cut. This is poppin' but, there may be a little too much cheese for the populous to handle.
RATING - 7.5 out of 10
FULL STORY - The premise and name of this record is, 'The Energy Never Dies.' Will Adams and the rest of the 'Peas have been notedly outspoken about the decline of the record industry. There are no longer albums...it is more or less a pick and choose culture, and that is the mentality around this record. 'The E.N.D.' is meant to be an album that is constantly changing. Whether it be additional releases, blogging, pictures, videos, etc., the album is intended to be open-ended and not your traditional album. It's an interesting premise, but for those involved in the industry, and until further notice, this is still just an album.
As I referenced earlier, this is clearly Will's baby. After a long career with the Black Eyed Peas, Will emerged as one of the premier producers and songwriter's in the industry. With a resume that includes penning hits for Common, Justin Timberlake, Talib Kweli, NAS, John Legend, Flo Rida, Nicole Scherzinger (Pussycat Dolls) and countless others, Adams is clearly his own entity. Will has even scored portions of 'Shrek 3' and was a vocal political activist, campaigning for Barack Obama's presidency. By the way, he also released his own (much underrated) record, 'Songs About Girls' in 2008. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that he took charge and direction for 'The E.N.D.'
'Boom Boom Pow,' Billboards #1 Top 100 (for what seems like months) opens the album, and deservingly so. The track is multi-toned with two clearly different grooves going on. There is the verse and the chorus which, while great, can get a bit redundant. But BEP does a great job in varying energy with a tremendous 'B' section (See Also: 'Will.I.Am Drop the Beat Now!). Apl.De.Ap has an 'average' verse, but this is clearly a Will / Fergie number. The second single, 'Imma Be' is also another two section track...and another Will / Fergie number. In my opinion this single is a cut above 'Boom Boom Pow' but there is an extremely awkward transition between the 'A' and the 'B' section that really will prevent it from becoming popular on radio. It's a very unimaginative and just plain 'weird' segway between two great beats, that has Will basically talking over a string section. But there are some really great, contagious beats that will be huge in the clubs and guaranteed to make the crowd move.
Other smashes on this record include, 'Rock That Body,' 'Missing You,' 'Party All the Time,' and 'Rockin to the Beat.' So far, the clear cut joint of choice, for me at least, is 'Rock That Body.' The track features a sample of Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock's, 'It Takes Two,' electronic voicing and a killer beat. All of the aforementioned are completely nailed. The tempo changes, beats, verses, chorus, production...everything. It's just right. The only complaint listeners will have is the lyrics, but that being said this is the Black Eyed Peas. This is the group that brought us the line, 'My humps, my humps, my lovely lady lumps.' I don't really expect too much lyrically, I've been long conditioned to just nod my head and disregard what is being said. Another interesting song of note is, 'Meet Me Halfway.' This song features Fergie handling the choruses, in what sounds like a tune from 1988. Minimalist keys and old school synth provide the backdrop for Fergie to belt out, 'Can you meet me halfway / right at the borderline...' The verses dabble between Apl.De.Ap and Adams, in what is as close to spoken word as one can get. The song does modernize fairly quickly as some 'talk-box' effects come in to play later on. Standard protocol in today's hip hop world.
And now for the cheese...namely, 'Ring-A-Ling.' I can't listen to this song...it's endlessly annoying. What's worse is that the song has an amazing beat, which is ruined by a chorus of, 'Ding-a-ling-a-ling-lings.' This is where BEP gets into a little bit of trouble. Including songs like this, compromise the fact that this is not meant to be your 'standard' album. Au contraire, my funky friends. Songs like this are your typical album filler fare. I can definitely see this song being pressured to make the record from the label from a marketing standpoint. It gets lodged in your head and would be perfect for an AT&T commercial. Also, 'Showdown' is a pretty regrettable song, but I can see it being used for pretty much any sporting event. Don't tell me that this is a european fused, ever-changing dance record, and then include two sales jingles.
The next two singles slated for release are, 'Alive' and 'I Gotta Feeling,' and while they are nice songs, they are nothing more. No really crazy beats or production values, but they will mesh well for TV / Film synchs and radio airplay. So while these are singles, to me, they still have that filler feeling. The tracks are nice, but nothing crazy, and at the end of the day they don't really impress me or warrant a second listen.
There are also two pop-culture 'call-to-arms' tracks that don't really mesh with the atmosphere established by the impressive club vibe that was created by, 'Boom Boom Pow' and 'Rockin to the Beat.' The songs, 'One Tribe' and 'Now Generation' have good intentions, but again they don't really go anywhere or cover anything that I'm not already aware of. I also feel that these tracks were stymied by the band themselves. Will did a great job releasing culturally aware tracks for the Democratic Convention and Obama's inevitable presidency, when they needed to be released. On the record, it's as if Adams was handcuffed and there was a conversation such as, 'Hey Will - those Obama tracks were great, we should do a couple for the record.' Again, while the intentions were good, the end result was not. 'Yes We Can' and 'It's a New Day' were so politically charged and released at the proper time, that they made the songs greater than what they should have been. Likewise, the fact that, 'One Tribe' and 'Now Generation' were released within this club-feel album, really detracts from any emotion or cause the 'Peas were trying to accomplish.
So all this being said, this is great record...but you may have to skip few a songs. Be on the look out for infinite remixes to some of these ditties. I'll be loving life the next time I'm out downtown, with drink in hand, and hear 'Rock That Body' pumping through the speakers.
Tracks
1.) Boom Boom Pow
2.) Rock That Body
3.) Meet Me Halfway
4.) Imma Be
5.) I Gotta Feeling
6.) Alive
7.) Missing You
8.) Ring-A-Ling
9.) Party All the Time
10.) Out of My Head
11.) Electric City
12.) Showdown
13.) Now Generation
14.) One Tribe
15.) Rockin to the Beat
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