Digital Download Review — 808s & Heartbreak
I have a hard time considering Kanye West to be anything other than an egocentric rap superstar. His newest album, “808s & Heartbreak” (out tomorrow, November 25), is a conscious departure from his previous three albums and attempts to show his softer, sweeter, Gary Numan side.
Gary Numan, though? Really? Kanye could be single handedly responsible for pulling Daft Punk back into the spotlight, and yet, all I thought of while listening to “808s & Heartbreak” is why in the world he didn’t try to use them for a little more electronic sophistication on the album. Because, as it stands, “808s & Heartbreak” is filled with simple 80s blips, thumps, and whacks from Gary Numan’s B-sides and is, by far, the most confounding album I’ve heard all year. Putting out something different, just to be different, doesn’t gain you any more street cred. So what is the point of “808s & Heartbreak,” exactly?
No idea. This is a bizarre collection of musically dissonant pieces that don’t fit together very well at all. However, to Kanye’s credit, “808s & Heartbreak” is at least a deliberate departure from his past albums. It doesn’t appear to me to be an album full of throwaway tracks, where Kanye said to himself, “You know? I need money so I’ll throw a bunch of garbage tracks together and call it a radical departure from the ordinary.” It’s pretty clear that he put a lot of effort into crafting a new sound. The big downfall is that this is not a sound that at all reinforces Kanye’s talents, which lie in smart word play and self congratulation (if that can be a talent).
Instead, in “808s & Heartbreak” Kanye spends too much time repeating mind-numbingly bad lyrics. Take “RoboCop,” a track that features synthesized strings in repetitious, staccato, major chords and uses the simplest rhyme scheme this side of Coldplay:
“Cause I don’t want no RoboCop/You movin’ like a RoboCop/When did you become a RoboCop?/Now, I don’t need no RoboCop.”
Seems to me like Kanye spent too much time trying to match pitch to his songs than he did with writing the lyrics. This is especially a shame, beyond the fact that he can’t sing, because Kanye had established himself as a very talented wordsmith. However, “808s & Heartbreak” suffers because Kanye simultaneously craves the spotlight to showcase his voice while hiding behind strings, synthesizers, and reverb.
There are some legitimate highlights, however. “Love Lockdown” has by far the most infectious chorus on the album. The next track, “Paranoid,” is the only upbeat track on the album and is the best representation of Kanye’s love for 1980s excess (and it’s fun to boot). I half expected to hear this song in Scarface, and this is a compliment, I assure you. “Paranoid” is also the closest we get to hearing Kanye’s lyrical talents, and without very much singing, relatively speaking.
These two tracks, back-to-back, are by far the peak of the album. The two valleys? The headscratchingly dry first track (the dandruff of music if you will), “Say You Will,” and “Pinocchio Story,” an absolute throwaway live song that has no business ending any album.
The bottom line is that I really wanted to like this album. A new direction is probably something Kanye needed, but this isn’t it. Not even close. I have been left kind of perplexed by 1.) his choice to sing, 2.) his use of awkward minor keys, and worst of all, 3.) his decision to put the two most boring songs he’s ever produced as the bookends to the album.
Is it an artistic failure? Probably, but I genuinely appreciate his desire for a change to diversify his sound, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the album sells fairly well and ends up on some contrarian’s “Best of 2008″ list just to be ironic. But, if Kanye really wants to succeed at a departure from consumerist rap and enter into 80s electronic excesses, might I suggest listening to more of m83 and less of Gary Numan? If he’s really serious about a departure, I think he can pull this off and see better results. Perhaps a remix of “We Own the Sky” would serve as a good start. The title alone should speak to him.
Unsophisticated Rating: 4/10
Tags: 808s and heartbreak, Digital Download, gary numan, kanye west, m83, Music Review
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November 29, 2008 at 7:53 pm
Paranoid is hands down my favorite song on this album. Everything that was good about the 80s was captured in that song. When I first listened to it I was dazed and confused but then I gave it one more chance before I reviewed it. At the end of the day its pretty much a personal album that deals with probably every ill feeling Kanye has had and because of that its pretty much repeats itself over and over. But I think that’s what he set out to do and in that case it was achieved. Not a masterpiece but its a good album and will probably still end up on Top 2008 lists and so forth.
December 3, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Season: I agree with Paranoid, definitely. Best song on the album. What I found disconcerting with the album in general is Kanye’s attempts to showcase his voice while simultaneously trying to hide it (tough to hide it with bad lyrics to boot). I have heard rumors about a more traditional Kanye album next year though.
December 6, 2008 at 11:03 am
You really put into words a lot of things I was thinking about this album. I just got done thrashing it in my own blog, and you and I have a lot of the same thoughts. When you said :Instead, in “808s & Heartbreak” Kanye spends too much time repeating mind-numbingly bad lyrics,” you hit the nail on the head. Well done here. I like your style.
December 14, 2008 at 7:48 pm
thepowerof10: what’s the link to your blog? i’d like to check out your review. thanks for posting.
February 28, 2009 at 10:34 pm
People who say such mean things about his album are heaters. That’s all I have to say, say what you want about his album. To me its not all about street cred, its all about the music. To tell you the truth you may talk it but you still listen to tracks from it. I’m sure you do but thanks for the hate blog. Kanye needs more haters to build off on thanks for keeping him going
March 2, 2009 at 8:17 am
janequ: as someone who really likes kanye, i can tell you i’m no hater. but this album is garbage and does not even come close to capturing his talent, and i am certainly not alone in recognizing that fact. i do listen to two tracks from this album, which i mention in the review: love lockdown and paranoid. i do not, however, listen to the rest of the album and likely never will again.
also, over the weekend, i caught parts of his VH1 Storytellers appearance. the dude has gone crazy.