Customer Reviews

Fly Or Die (Clean)

5 star:		(131)
4 star:		(52)
3 star:		(24)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

First of all, if you're reading this and you have NOT bought the first cd, BUY IT!! Same goes for Kelis' WANDERLAND. These are must haves!! Next, be warned -- yes it's Pharell, and yes, there are a couple of Neptunes-ish tracks, but overall this is a whole different thing so be careful. That's the thing about Chad and Pharrell. Yes they can create booty shakin' anthems for Nelly, Kelis, and Britney et al. Yes, they can get thugged out with the Clipse, and a dozen other rappers. But here, they're strictly on the rock tip. For those of you wondering if that was really Pharrell on the drums during the 2004 Grammys during the Beatles tribute, the answer is yes, and Fly or Die is Williams and Hugo trying their own hand at a loose Beatles interpretation. Yes, they did so previously on In Search of on tracks like "Baby Doll" and "Stay Together" but here, it dominates the whole disc.
It is a bit uneven, but enjoyable from a garage band perspective.
Imagine if the Fab Four were from Detroit and were fronted by Al Green or Sly Stone and had Bootsy Collins as a part-time bassist. That's what this disc is like. We do get one of Pharrell's off the wall bossanova excursions ("Wonderful Place") which is always fun.

There's not much slickness here as opposed to In Search Of. There is very little rapping, not even from Shae who's supposed to be THE rapper in the group. There are no superstar cameos, from any rappers or female singers. It's a rock thing -- you got to understand.

The Neptunes are who they are and N.E.R.D is what they do. For those of you looking for un-used jt or jay-z beats on this cd should save their coin and go cop j-kwon's new disc. In order to truly enjoy this album you have to listen to it with the correct prior expectations. Is the cd chill? Yes. Is this disc a kick a** combo of clumsy rock riffs and goofy lyrics? Of course, but that is what N*E*R*D* is all about. These dudes are multi-platinum producers; they know what they're doing. Keep in mind that you're not going to get club banging beats, your just going to get a sweet cd worth your lunch money.

yes people! N.E.R.D aka the neptunes have returned to grace us with their exploration of sound! if u havent heard their multi-platinum first album "in search of" i suggest you buy it as soon as possible!But now on to the current masterpiece "fly or die" which i might add has been certified gold which mean this album has sold over 500,000 copies in the U.S and has sold over 1,000,000 copies worldwide! yes N.E.R.D delivers again with their masterpiece music!let us go through each song.

1-"dont worry about it"-a song about a man and girl and they have such a sexual tension for each other but dont want to rush things/its a great fusion of rock and a great breakdown at the end.
2-"fly or die"a track about children who have neglectful parents and N.E.R.D gives the kids a choice, Do you want to fly or die?/very punk and very powerful
3-"jump" featuring Benji and joel madden from good charlotte
a song about kids wanting to escape their family problems/great hook sung by the madden bros
4-"backseat love" a song about a guy chasing and getting a hot girl in the backseat of his car and telling her to relax/great guitar play and breakdown
5-"she wants to move" a song about a guy who keeps too much grip on his girl and doesnt let her be free/great beat, great lyrics, a great song to dance to!
6-"breakout"a deep emotional song about kids trying to change their apperance to be cool and N.E.R.D is telling them to be who u are/great chorus and great guitar play
7-"wonderful place" a wonderfully crafted song about how a man still finds this earth a wonderful place amist the wars,fears, terror/great beat, just a great song
8-"drill sergeant"a anti-war song about a man standing up to a drill sergeant telling him that he is not going to a war that is not justified(the war in iraq)/great lyrics and breakdown
9-"thrasher"N.E.R.D goes crazy in this song, this one just means N.E.R.D are nice guys but dont take advantage of them and push their buttons cuz they will F**k you up/great piano in the backround
10"maybe" a great breakup song about a man who broke up with his girl, but he still loves her but she lied to him and it wouldnt just work out/the main guitar is played by Lenny Kravitz and on drums ?uestlove from the band "The Roots"
11-"the way she dances"a song about a man who is just in love with how a sexy girl dances/great drums and breakdown at the end
12-"chariot of fire"A song dedicated to one of their biggest fans who has cancer and her name is mildred/great dedication!
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May i add that this album also has 3 hidden songs that are great and they take you by surprise so i wont spoil it for you but they are great! Also when you pop this cd into your computer you can listen to the cd and watch a slideshow of images chosen by N.E.R.D!!!!
So please do yourself a favor and buy this for yourself, you will enjoy it! and for parents this cd has a parental advisory sticker which means that their are curses but please still let them hear this album it is powerful and it will teach your kids and they will love it!so please everyone dont miss out on a great cd, over 1,000,000 people in this world havent.

Like anyone who picked up In Search Of... I was definitely anticipating Fly or Die. I give N.E.R.D. credit for taking chances when they could've easily rested on their laurels. The hip hop and 70's pop rock sound have been left behind (Am I High Pt 2 sadly not to be found) and replaced with something not quite as accesible on the first listen. A jazz-rock fusion seems to drive the first third of the album (The Good Charlotte collabo Jump notwithstanding ) yet it remains quirky like you'd expect from Pharell and Chad...perhaps Zappaesque (Backseat Love being a highlight) would be an apt description.
From that point on Fly or Die definitely flies. Wonderful Place is lovely, sophisticated pop music and Drill Sergeant is when the whole affair takes on a feelgood vibe (think Sgt Pepper) with it's background vocals especially. "Maybe" reminded me a bit of early Wings. The Way She Dances and Chariot of Fire wouldn't have sounded out of place on In Search Of.
If you bought this one waiting for Lapdance the Sequel prepare to be disappointed. Fly or Die is the sound of N.E.R.D trekking along their distinct musical path, challenging listeners to keep up if they can.

First off, I'm not saying this album is bad, it's not. I was a big fan of their first album and was real excited when this came out. However, I was really dissapointed. They seem to have basically, gone soft. Musically, they've matured quite a bit, but that sense excitement and energy is gone. This is a much more mellow album, with no guest rappers. I'm not saying you need a rapper to make the songs good, in fact songs like Bobby James and Brain were some of my favorite songs off In Search Of... I find this is a good album, but only if I listen to it once every couple months. A lot of the songs sound very similar to each other and it gets old. Just don't expect the same stuff you heard on their last album.

tranks to check out:
Jump
Backseat Love
She Wants To Move

Crossing rock and roll with the best hip hop production this decade certainly isn't easy, but N.E.R.D have dropped fire on this release.
At first listen, it sounds a little shallow, a little too experimental. By the 3rd or 4th listen you start to realise how good this release really is. Basically, it's the best across genre's release in a while. standouts include:
Drill Sergeant - 5/5
Thrasher - 5/5
Fly or Die - 5/5
Jump - 5/5

the rest are solid, at least 3 out of 5 each. Don't buy this if your expecting pharell to be singing or rapping over his usual hip hop beats that he churns out for jay-z and co. Buy this album because it proves Pharell's musical genius, as it is pushing boundaries and delivering great music at the same time.

N*E*R*D is Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo, and Shay. N*E*R*D is not The Neptunes. Important to get that out of the way because if it's hip hop Neptunes style you're expecting here, this isn't for you.

`Fly or die' is great, catchy, fun (and also serious) 70s sounding and Beatles-esque rock, with some fleeting soul and hip hop influences, largely played and produced by The Neptunes, featuring guests like Joel Madden & Benji madden (of Good Charlotte) on vocals for `Jump', Lenny Kravitz playing guitar on `Maybe', and Ahmir ?uestlove (of The Roots) playing drums on `Maybe'. The attention to detail on these songs is amazing!

The CD debuted at #6 in the US, and was certified gold.

Opening track `Don't worry about it' has Pharrell singing in his falsetto, and giving some James Brown/Prince style yelps. A hard edged rock number with a great bridge.

Title track `Fly or die' is a sunny bouncy song. Even bouncier is `Jump' which will make you do just that, with its spoken/sung delivery, and chant along chorus.

`Backstreet love' is a slower rock number that starts with the sound of a car starting up, with lyrics about, well, backseat love!

`She wants to move' is a great R&B/rock song. Frenetic drumming, a great sparse bass line, great guitars, and interspersed with hand claps. Very catchy and a great chorus. Highly danceable. Silly lyrics though, but a standout!

`Breakout' is a bit similar to `She wants to move'; slower though. It starts off real delicate and sweet and gets rockier at the chorus. I love the final minute of the song with some great wailing guitar.

`Wonderful place' is a two part epic, the first half a gentle sunny jazz tinged ballad with lyrics about the beauty of nature, in spite of the problems of the world, and a horn drenched chorus. The other half, `Waiting for you', is an even slower acoustic ballad about a family fishing outing which results in the near drowning of a child. Very cutting strings add to the drama of the tale, and some delicate percussion comes in during the final half minute.

`Drill sergeant' is another two part song; a poppy Beatles like goose stepping rock number, with lyrics about the ills of war. `I'm not going to war'! Second part `Perseverence' features some off kilter drumming, razor like guitars, and angry spoken lyrics. Totally different from the first half. Another standout!

`Thrasher' is a psychedelic sounding rocker with a party feel to it. Very catchy, and lots of melodic piano. I love it.

`Maybe' is a mellow Beatles like song beginning sparse with rolling percussion and some thumping piano, before guitars herald a killer chorus with excellent dreamy sounding backing vocals, and a fab bridge. Forlorn lyrics about the loss of love. Great video too. Another standout!

More upbeat is the catchy, danceable `The way she moves'. Sparse instrumentation and great guitar work.

`Chariot of fire' is yet another two piece song. The first part is a tender ballad, and the other half, `Find my way' is a mid tempo tale of regret; Trying to find my way back/I wanna be the hero. Beautiful keyboard and guitars!

A superb CD. Simple songs (for the most part) with clever little twists and turns that make them stand out that much more. One of my favourite CDs of 2004.

Usually, the infamous producing team The Neptunes had a certain sound that fit all the artists they produced for. However, when it came to producing "themselves" as N.E.R.D., putting them in a genre is harder than it seems. From "In Search Of..." to "Fly Or Die", N.E.R.D. has grown as a group as well as individuals. Every track on "Fly Or Die" takes you on a trip about life. And when matched with the enhanced CD portion, the playlist pictures just make the experience that much better. But dont think that N.E.R.D. would just leave you with 12 tracks to love. There is more to "Fly Or Die" than meets the eye. Hidden tracks are loaded on this album, some of which I wish were tracks on their own. My personal favorite would be "Wonderful Place" and the hidden track that follows it. If you want listen to something different than "mainstream" music that is promoted today and listen to something quite unique, "Fly Or Die" is for you.

For those who loved their first cd this one is a bit different. Pharrell, Chad and silent member Shae explore their rock roots and mix it with trance, hip-hop, r&b, and garage band melodies. Some of the lyrics left much to think about, wondering if it is different just to stand out, or was not much thought put into the song.

Much like their first cd the album has plenty of standout tracks such as "Breakout", "Drill Sargent", and "Jump" (featuring the Madden brothers of Good Charlotte). But the track which stands out the furthest is an "unmentioned" bonus cut after the song "Chariot Of Fire" It is Pharrell performing at his best.

Overall N.E.R.D. is not a total waste of money, or time listening. Granted it may take you listening to it several times to fully grasps the groups focus, it is well worth the trip.

N*E*R*D* finally released their new album which was so highly anticipated by true N*E*R*D* fans (like me). This album for most people is a love or hate album. I think it was ok. First of all I also must ask...wtf does Shay do? Tracks 6,7,and 10 are slower and these songs I found to be the best to listen to because they have different melodies and there are more layers to the sound. Especially 10 with ?uestlove and Lenny.

Now i know that from reading about N*E*R*D* that they have a very wide music taste which includes many very very talented artists who arent so known. One main thing that disappointed me was the Lyrics. They are very redundant (even close to ones from ISO). They are confusing and seem random at times. Often the Pharell also Yells or shouts in his raspy voice which can get annoying very fast.

The collabo with guys from Good Charlotte really upset me. N*E*R*D* for me is still sort of an underground band. Underground is known for a "better, more real, deep" sound...something Good Charlotte DEFINETLY does NOT represent. THeir whiny singing and yelling was very extranious.

Overall the album was very good. It has different themes and moods throughout it. Drums, guitar, instruments were all pretty nice. Id love to hear some keyboard solos. I think N*E*R*D* will only get better. This cd was only a crossover into better things to come I HOPE.

This cd is not a musical milestone...but good indeed.