Customer Reviews

Collision Course (with DVD)

5 star:		(102)
4 star:		(57)
3 star:		(25)
2 star:		(21)
1 star:		(57)

 

 

Reading some of the other comments here, you would think this CD is terrible. The fact is that most of these users who say its bad actually hit the nail on the head, but don't even realize what they've said. IT'S A MASH-UP. It says so ON THE LABEL. This was not meant to be a stand alone Linkin Park or Jay-Z album. Neither is it meant to be part of either artists' lineup. It is an addendum, people. That being said, you can't match it up against Linkin Park's or Jay-Z's past works other than as a reference. Though it does have the original recordings of both, they have been twisted and reshaped to make new songs.
Now, rating this CD/DVD by the CORRECT method I would have to give it 4 stars. I personally loved the collaboration, and felt that both artists' put some quality work into this album. My only complaint is the meager 6 songs. The DVD is a nice addition, and is great to watch. But the CD is almost like a teaser. Great bass, awesome (yet familiar) guitar riffs and perfect synchronization put this CD in its own class. I think this CD is a great one, but I would highly recommend sampling a track or two before purchasing to see what you are getting into.

In Linkin Park's second side album between their cd's, like Reanimation was between Hybrid Theory and Meteora, once again a great success. Reanimation is also an excellent hip-hop blended album for Linkin Park and if you don't own that, I advise you to pick it up. Anyways, onto this review.

Linkin Park is the biggest and most influencial rock band of the new millenium, and Jay-Z (even though he's retired) is one of the most popular hip-hop artists too. Even though I am not a big hip-hop fan, Linkin Park already features a lot of hip-hop vocals. The reason Linkin Park's hip-hop vocals work to me, are because of the guitar riffs behind them. Each and every song catches a new beat and adds new style to great lyrics. Even though Jay-Z is a different kind of rap then Linkin Park, the music still meshes very well.

#1 - Dirt Off Your Shoulder/Lying from You ... Now first off I'd have to say that originally I hated Dirt Off Your Shoulder. With the additions of the guitar riffs behind Jay-Z voice and the addition of Mike Shinoda to the hip-hop vocals, I changed my mind. This is my favorite song on the cd and to rate with the numbers system 5/5.

#2 - Big Pimpin'/Papercut ... definately the bust on the cd. Papercut in itself was a good song. Big Pimpin' in itself was a good song. The mix between the two, uh-no. The slow-down of Papercut's lyrics with the Big Pimpin' music behind it, a little rough and not much edge to the sound. I recommend to pass on this song. 1/5... and that's a compliment.

#3 - Jigga What/Faint ... excellent! Jay-Z rapping over the Faint music sounds incredible. The fast-paced song picks up even more with Jay-Z and his fast mouthed lyrics. When Linkin Park comes back in with their own part to Faint, it matches up to it's original quality. Great song 4.5/5

#4 - Numb/Encore ... the most family oriented song on the cd. A good mix of Jay-Z and Chester Bennington in this song. Chester's additional lyrics of "What the hell are you waiting for" throughout Jay-Z Encore lyrics sounds quite soothing. A great concert song, and a very good song on this cd. Once again ... 4.5/5

#5 - Izzo/In the End ... another suprisingly good song. Izzo by Jay-Z is one of my least favorite songs. The mix between the two however sounds great. In the End is of course Linkin Park's most famous song. Mike's mix and match with Jay-Z once again flows very nicely with the music and it's a good listening song. It doesn't quite match up with a few of the others though but still good ... 4/5.

#6 - Points of Authority/99 Problems/One Step Closer ... very close to the greatness of Dirt Off Your Shoulder/Lying From You. The mix of these three songs in absolutely insane. The beginning with Jay-Z rapping over Points of Authority sounds like how it should have originally been. Then after Points ends, Brad Delson kicks in the guitar from One Step Closer and Jay-Z continues to sing throughout One Step Closer mixing in with Chester and Mike. The police scene in 99 Problems with Jay-Z and Mike is my favorite part of this cd. Great song 5/5.

The DVD includes the MTV Mash-Up performance which I thought included great energy and sounded great also. It's another good addition along with the cd, and except for the short length I would give the dvd a 5/5.

Overall I would give the CD/DVD combo a 4.75/5 ... I know it's a weird number, but it's not perfect, but it's very very close! Incredible how great the mash-up really sounds between two total different ends of the spectrum of music. I recommend this for another hip/hop or rock fan.

Title says it all. This set is hot. The CD is good -- the DVD showing the making of, and the live show are awesome. I wasn't a Jay-Z fan, but after watching the DVD, I've gained a lot of respect for him. He's talented, and a great complement to Linkin Park.

Others have said it: this is not a remix album, it's not a re-release, it's a mashup. It's an intentional blending of two distinct sounds. It shouldn't be rated in comparison to either act individually. I purchase a lot of music, and this is one of my better purchases in recent memory. Great concept, and flawless execution.

except that there's harmony. Any fan of Linkin Park and/or Jay-Z should pick up this album. My only complaint is that there should've been more, but it's still worth it.

The first thing that I must say is WOW! They picked two of the most influential musical artists of their genres and "mashed" them together. I think that Jay-Z's Black Album: Acapella Version was the inspiration for "mashing" artists together. For those of you who don't know what the Acapella Version is, it is a recording of Jay-Z rapping his lyrics only with no music in the background so that people could add their own beats and create remixes with Jay-Z's lyrics.

The idea to mix two groups of different genres is sheer genius. I'm sure that the idea arose, but no one ever did anything toward incorporating two artists into remixed songs. The result of this combination is excellent. Take a rock, yet hip hip influenced Linkin Park, and mix with one of the all-time greats of rap, the clothing industry, and the soon-to-be president of Island/Def Jam/Rocafella Records, and you have one hell of a combo. I love this cd even though it has only 6 songs, but each one is as good as the next and the one before. Unfortunately, this cd can only be truly and thoroughly enjoyed by those who are fans of both LP & Jay-Z, and speaking as one, I love this cd! I am a long time fan of Jay-Z and LP, so it's perfect for me. I think it's awesome that they include a DVD of the live performance shown on MTV on such short notice (live on TV about 3 weeks ago). I recommend this cd to anyone, but mostly to anyone who loves remixes and collaborations of artists.

It seems as though misunderstanding of this collaboration is running rampant.

Simply put, it's hot.

Track 1, "Lying From You/Dirt Off Your Shoulder", is the best, IMO. That would explain why they led off with it. LFY is the most hip-hop sounding track LP has produced, at least for release in the US. It doesn't surprise me that the combination with Jay is awesome.

"Numb/Encore" is 2nd. It's the closest to a reinterpretation of the original rhythm track. It has been produced so that it sounds like the original "Numb" but is still distinct and somewhat new. And the heavier base line adds some depth that I always felt was missing from "Numb". This defines how all the mash-ups should have sounded all the way through, IMO.

Next best is "Points of Authority/99 Problems/One Step Closer". In fact, I like Jay's lyrics better over POA than Mike's, personally. But it's a combination that works *very well* although it seems like it shouldn't.

"Jigga What/Faint" works for several reasons - mostly the lyrics and flows. Jay is able to flow at speed over the faster beat of "Faint". I'm sure people who remember his younger days will probably get a kick out of him speeding up his flow on this track. Also, they extended this track out to multiple verses from Jay and Mike, intertwined, and it feels *more* like a mash-up and _less_ like a rhythmic experiment than the others.

"Izzo/In The End" is hard to describe. That's probably a good thing, since we are re-interpreting the music of 2 different artistes. I really would have liked to see something more done with this, but the timing of Mike's lyrics over this track works fine.

"Big Pimpin'/Papercut" works although, again, it seems like it shouldn't. If you like to bounce, it's the "Big Pimpin'" rhythm track so you'll be fine; if not, you should probably move on. That track was always an acquired taste.

All in all, my biggest disappointment was that the tracks weren't extended out longer. That's a by-product of this being a first draft of this type of effort in an organized, legitimate fashion. There aren't any glaring production flaws. As far as those who criticize the entire effort, they probably don't understand the music. Musical experimentation is the reason LP exists. I liked them before this effort for 2 reasons: [1] they used a sound that obivously had hip-hop intonations and beats while maintaing a strong rock sound and [2] their lyrics are infectious and emotionally penetrating. Notice #1. They have mastered the art of melding rap and rock better than any of their predecessors. It only makes sense that this type of collaboration would come out.

NOTE: "The Grey Album", DJ Danger Mouse's mixing of the Beatles' "White Album" and Jay-Z's "The Black Album", was not sanctioned. He may still face a lawsuit for doing it (to the person who said "this has been done before already this year"). See http://www.illegal-art.org/audio/grey.html

Finally, to the guy who said that it sounds like this collaboration was put together in order to sell CDs - duh! The music industry is a business. Would they have done this - going through all the licensing and obtaining the necessary rights to create this album - if they didn't think they would get paid (they being the artists and even more so, the label)? NO. Especially not the labels. Of course they want to sell CDs. Of course, I think that, as artists, Jay and Linkin Park are probably more inclined to this type of collaboration for the sake of doing it than necesarily the monetary rewards (although they are businessmen too). I believe this because of some of the things we see on the DVD, about how this idea was originally presented to Jay and his response, as well as LP's previous efforts - primarily "Re-Animation".

So all in all, the CD is too short, but better too short and hot than too long and crappy. Only so many tracks are going to blend well and lend themselves to multiple flows. Of course, a good rapper (i.e. Jay-Z and Mike) can flow over almost any beat, within reason. (Anyone who's ever been in a real cipher knows what I mean.) And the DVD has good background material. The DVD and online videos were great watching, to me, as a fan of LP. If you just want the tracks, I'm sure you can find them for download on the P2P networks. If you want the tracks, and the background, the artwork - the stuff fans crave - you want to buy this!

Wow, what a good cd! It would be perfect if it was only a little bit longer than 6 tracks.

Dirt Off Your Shoulders & Lying From You
Arguably the best track on the disc. Starts off with a band member being upset at not having his drink he ordered, then it kicks right in with good rapping and a nice base line for the guitars. Awesome song! Not even a few F-Bombs could stop it from getting a great score in my book.
10/10

Big Pimpin & Papercut
Papercut's chorus is added as an opening line to Big Pimpin, on this track. Nice, but could have been better if they had the ENTIRE big pimpin, they cut out the best part! More of papercut would be nicer too. Great idea, but not thought out very well. Oh, and who the heck is Randy!?!?!?
8/10

Jigga What & Faint
I like this one. First Jay-Z does some rapping, then Faint starts up. I liked the original Faint better, but this is still great.
9/10

Numb Encore
If this cd will be remembered for anything, it will very likely be the Numb Encore. They turned numb into a rap song, and did a great job of it. Very powerful song. I liked the rock version of Numb better than this rap one, but it is still extremely good, and proof of what can happen when two great bands team up, they make masterpieces like this track!
10/10

Izzo & In The End
A lot of people are disapointed with this track. Why? I don't know, I on the other hand was very pleased with it. The version of Izzo on this is FAR superior to the older (not to mention, more boring) version. In The End's chorus is added to Izzo as an extra line. Jay-Z even changed the lyrics to say "here with US" instead of "here with me", to signify that its now an LPJZ song and no longer just his, I thought that was cool. They did a great job.
9/10

Points Of Authority & 99 Problems & One Step Closer
Could you possibly ask for a better closing to such a good cd? Begins as Points Of Authority with new (and BETTER!) lyrics, with Jay-Z being pulled over by a cop (voiced over by LP's Mike Shinoda) and then the background changes to One Step Closer, as Jay-Z continues to rap about his 99 Problems, then Chester comes in with the infamous SHUT UP line from the original One Step Closer, and trades off lines with Jay-Z. "EVERYTHING YOU SAY TO ME" .... "I GOT 99 PROBLEMS BUT A B**** AINT ONE!" what an incredible closer, not as good as Dirt Off Your Shoulders, or The Numb Encore, but so good.
10/10

Overall, get this cd if you like either band. It is NOT a compilation of each band doing remixes of each other's work but on the other hand they worked together and teamed up to make something incredible. Just wished it would have more than 6 tracks, thats the only thing stopping it from being perfect.

Overall grade: 56/60 ---> 93% ---> A- !


A true "collission course" of rock and rap.
Give it a try, enjoy! ~ Dagger Dias

When I first heard Jay-Z and Linkin Park were making an album, I was exited. Its pretty good.

Dirt off your shoulder/ Lying From you 4/5 good start, but not impresesed
Big Pimpin/Papercut 4/5 Good but short
Nigga What/Faint 4/5 tight beginning. Slips after that.
Numb/Encore 5/5 Best song. Original beat
Izzo/In the End 4/5 Good but boring
99 Problems/Points of authourity/1 Step Closer 5/5 Jay-Z steals the show

This album a good album, but it is by no means stunning. To start off with, for a mash-up, the album isn't bad. The thing is, when you buy this album, you feel like you're paying too much for a 21 minute CD. True, the DVD is included, but if you pop the CD into your CD player and you just simply want to listen to the CD, there is only 21 minutes of material. For me, that was a disappointment.

To be fair, the album isn't bad. My favorite is the opening track "Dirt Off Your Shoulder/ Lying From You". The guitars in this production absolutely rock!!! This track almost makes the whole 21 minute CD worth it. When I bought this CD, I couldn't stop listening to this particular track. "Numb/Encore" is my second favorite with "Points of Authority/99 Problems/One Step Closer" and "Big Pimipin/Papercut" coming in at a virtual tie. It is an interesting and enjoyable musical listen, even if you only wish there were more tracks, especially of the caliber of "Dirt Off Your Shoulder/Lying From You"-- but then of course it is a mash up and respecting the production work, it must've been a task matching up the 6 tracks to work correctly. The DVD for me was alright, but I wouldn't watch it over and over and over. For me it was a 1 time thing. 3.5 stars is fair. It isn't average or just good (3, but it isn't quite stellar (4). 3.5.

for those of you with an appreciation for all types of music this is a really good album. The people who do not like this album because of the rapping.. have you heard LP before? The amount of effort in mixing the songs together to make them seem rather seamless is nice.

I do agree with a few reviewers that sometimes it sounds like Linkin Park, then Jay Z, then LP, etc. But many of the songs are nicely done.