For haters eager to see Kanye hit a sophomore slump--no such luck. Late Registration can't replicate the novelty of last year's College Dropout, but otherwise, this is an impressively more mature and labored-over album. Lyrically, Kanye's only improved a notch but musically, the album sounds incredible, especially with co-producer Jon Brion helping polish the songs to perfection. Tracks like "Heard 'Em Say" (featuring Maroon 5's Adam Levine) and "Hey Mama," are richly textured in their soulfulness while the flint-edge of "Crack Music" and "Gone" (feat. Cam'ron) will appeal to the street-oriented. There's a few duds on here--the sickly-sweet, syrupy "Bring Me Down" (feat. Brandy) being one of the worst offenders--but when the album's good, it's very, very good. In short, Kanye's detractors may not be swayed in their resistance to his charms but not only will his past supporters be rewarded but Late Registration has enough appeal to earn new crowds of fans. --Oliver Wang
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Summary: pretty good Comment: i like this one, there's a couple of tracks that i skip over, but for the most part the whole thing is pretty good. Customer Rating: Summary: Perfection Comment: This album is likely my favorite album ever. Every song is a masterpiece in itself and even the skits tie into the concept of the album. Kanye's improved lyricism and the numerous guest appearances combine with amazing beats to make a fantastic sophomore cd. It is probably the only 20+ song album that I can listen through every single song and not skip one. It is the definition of a perfect album. Customer Rating: Summary: Good Stuff from the Master Comment: This is a solid album with solid beats. Lots of colab on this. Not as good as his first or his third album, but still enjoyable. Too many versions of "Diamonds". I wish his version of "Hey Mama" from the grammies was on this. The standard version doesn't convey the immotion.
Customer Rating: Summary: poseur: an overblown self important hack Comment: This guy is terrible. Throw your money down a sewer and it will be better spent. Customer Rating: Summary: sucks Comment: The only person that is stupid enough to like Kanye West's poor excuse for music or existance for that matter is Kanye West.
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