Customer Reviews

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

5 star:		(160)
4 star:		(39)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(25)

 

 

Let's get it out of the way up front: If you even tangentially follow the hip hop blogosphere or Twitterverse, you've heard almost all of the substantive tracks on this album (two of the 13 tracks are an interlude and outro). Fully five of the 11 songs were part of Kanye's G.O.O.D. Fridays scheme, another three leaked months ahead of the album's release, and "Dark Fantasy" was included in Kanye's recent short film. But does it matter? Maybe Kanye's done the impossible and crafted an album so good that we'll pay for it even when he gives it away for free.

After listening to the record you'll appreciate how succinctly the album's title summarizes its themes. The record is framed as a fairy tale and the first few lines ("The watered down one, the one you know/ Was made up centuries ago...Twisted fiction, sick addiction/ Gather around children, zip it, listen) almost allude to the gradual censorship of the Brothers Grimm's dark fairytales over the centuries. On My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Kanye seeks to dismantle the facade of fame and fortune to reveal the twisted debauchery underneath.

Kanye's trademark arrogance is in full force on this album. But this time it's an unapologetic arrogance that's a product of being treated like a god on earth. On "Devil in a New Dress" he rhymes "It's hard to be humble when you're stuntin' on a jumbotron" and on "POWER" "I embody every characteristic of the egotisic, he knows he's so gifted." The occult is another central theme, not only in track titles like "Devil in a New Dress," "Monster" and "Hell of a Life" but in the bars on each record. Kanye offers "We headed to hell, for heaven's sake huh?/ Well I'mma levitate and make the devil wait, yeah."

Perhaps the most personal theme on the album is a feeling of dissatisfaction in the face of so much commercial and critical success. We hear it on "Runaway" ("I always find something wrong/ You've been putting up with me just way too long/I'm so gifted at finding what I don't like the most"). And while Kanye keeps up the pretense of ego (see above) it's clear that the endless criticism has forced chinks in his armor. There are unveiled jabs at both Saturday Night Live and South Park, and bars including "It's not funny anymore, try different jokes," and "I was lookin' at my resume, feelin' real fresh today/ But they rewrite history, I don't believe in yesterday."

In short, the album is brilliant. The rhymes are clever, the music is rich, the emotions are raw and the themes are dark. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy will be an interesting experiment in an age of dwindling album sales ostensibly due to piracy. If Kanye can move 800,000 units in his first week despite having given the album away, the power of good music will be proven and artists will have no one to blame but themselves.

A solid portion of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy earned its premiere on YouTube in the form of a half-hour music video for the single "Runaway." Opening the album with the same song as the video, titling it "Dark Fantasy," Kanye gives the first words to a female narrator, a fallen phoenix. With a choir of oohs and aahs in the background, she says "you might think you've peeped the scene. You haven't, the real one's far too mean. The watered down one, the one you know, was made up centuries ago. It made it sound all whack and corny. Yes, it's awful, blasted boring. Twisted fiction, sick addiction, well gather round children, zip it listen!" A grand piano chord quickly follows this short narrative and so begins Kanye's latest epic production.

Kanye is no stranger to grandiose compositions. Even his debut album, The College Dropout, had nearly an hour and twenty minutes of music with standout tracks like "Jesus Walks" paving the way for a new generation of artists. However, never before has Kanye blended so many genres of music together or taken so many musical chances on one record. Even a simple glimpse at the guest list is enough to make the heads of fans spin. Elton John, Chris Rock, Rihanna, Fergie, John Legend, Kid Cudi, Rick Ross and Jay-Z all on the same album? Bon Iver on a hip hop record? If there was ever any question as to how this could all work, a single listen to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is all the proof you'll need.

Although the entire album has an unquestionable flow that keeps every song fresh and intriguing, there are two tracks on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy that truly capture what Kanye West has built his career up to. The first is "All of the Lights." Complete with its own cello and piano interlude, "All of the Lights" throws an entire brass section into the mix and allows Rihanna as many if not more of the featured vocals in the song. Although strings and brass have all been used within the realm of hip hop before, the stylistic blend between classical, fanfare, and club worthy beats in less than a minute feels natural and effortless on "All of the Lights." The second feature track is, appropriately, the lead single "Runaway." Opening with a minimalist piano part similar to the end of Nine Inch Nails' "Closer," Kanye takes the listener on a six minute journey with some astute lyrics of self-reflection. As the beat abruptly ends and leaves the piano on its own once again, one may think the track has finished, but an additional 3 minutes of deep staccato strings behind a vocoder solo offer proof of Kanye's desire to push the boundaries of acceptable singles in today's pop culture.

Kanye West is not perfect. You know it, he knows it, and we all know the media exploits his imperfections to no end. Sure, he made a fool of himself on stage when he stole the spotlight from Taylor Swift at the VMAs. Yep, he sent a racy photo of himself to a woman that ended up on the internet. OK, his last album, 808s & Heartbreak, put a few nails in Auto-Tune's coffin, but like him or not, he's a visionary and a musical mastermind. With three phenomenal albums, The College Dropout, Late Registration, and Graduation, already under his belt, Kanye West enters his second decade of musical production with his best solo release yet. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy has once again upped the standards of rap that he himself set.

Similar Artists: Jay-Z, Dr. Dre
Track Suggestion: "All of the Lights"

Kanye has stated that he wants to be the new King of Pop, and "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" sounds like an obvious claim for this title. His legion of loyal followers are of course claiming it to be a masterpiece. But what about those of us who aren't yet convinced of his genius?

Here's my take, from someone who likes hip hop, but admittedly thinks Kanye has always been overrated.
More than anything, this album sounds Big. Reminiscent of the production from his first three albums (heavy on samples, especially 70's soul), but piling on the grandiosity with dense soundscapes of strings, choirs and whatever else he can cram into your speakers.

To me, this is like the rap equivalent of big budget arena rock. Think Queen, ELO, Styx, and Yes. Think "Use Your Illusion" by Guns N' Roses. The kind of music that wants its listeners to bow down and worship its creator.

Hey, sometimes that kind of stuff has its place. Queen has a slew of great singles under their belt, and "Twisted Fantasy" has some nice moments as well, like "All of the Lights," and the low-key "Lost in the World." But, mostly, this reaching-for-the-stars bombast is exhausting. Less is often more, you know. For instance, proto-rapping legend Gil Scott-Heron, sampled extensively here, did his most brilliant work with only some drums, a flute, and his electrifying words.

How do Kanye's words fare, by the way? Well, I've always maintained that folks who paint him as a lyrical genius have been selectively ignoring some really embarrassing lines, like "Feeling like Katrina with no FEMA/ Like Martin with no Gina." If anything, he's inconsistent, and this album's lyrics are no exception. For every clever line ("What's a black Beatle anyway, a f***in roach?") there's something like "Too many Urkels on your team, that's why your Winslow," a pun that would ruin any rookie MC's career.

If Kanye wants to be the King of Pop like Michael was, he should know that this one ain't his Thriller. With Thriller, MJ made sounds that were risky and innovative, yet appealed to countless demographics. It was effortless in its appeal; anyone with eyes and ears was welcome to enjoy it. In contrast, "Twisted Fantasy" is an album that shouts for your attention, and demands your concentration, not to mention your sympathy for the trials of our poor Important Superstar. It's closer to Michael's later album "His Story," which was an overwrought pop package designed to profit from a pre-established assumption of the Artist's Greatness. That album was a little much, but at least it came well after MJ had earned his title as King.

To Kanye, I recommend that he scale back his ambitions a bit, stop trying to be The Biggest Man in the World, and just try to make music that is authentically expressive of emotions felt by us regular people. Your faithful followers will worship you no matter what you put out, so you may as well try something new to get the rest of us into your camp.

To Kanye fans, what I say means little to you, I'm sure. These are just my humble opinions, and you're welcome to ignore them.

But to people who are similarly disappointed with this album and all the hype surrounding Kanye, definitely check out Big Boi's "Sir Lucious Left Foot" for a taste of Ambition done right. Not to mention Janelle Monae's "ArchAndroid," which does require some patience to get into, but more than pays off with intelligence and emotional depth that reflects a concern for a world far beyond Kanye's isolated bubble of experience. These are my nominees for King (or Queen) of Pop.

But what's a black Beatle anyway? As Janelle and Big Boi demonstrate, it's someone who makes challenging ideas seem simple and appealing.

Kanye? Maybe he's the black Axl Rose...

I was really looking forward to listening to this album after all the hype over it. And the first song - Dark Fantasy - didn't disappoint, it is a great intro with an uplifting chorus which really works. On the 2nd track - Gorgeous - Kanye is rapping with his voice `tinned' but the flow is good and you get the feeling that if he could keep to that level throughout the album, then it would be a masterpiece. Unfortunately as the 3rd track - Power - starts with clapping and the beautiful female vocals singing "Uh, hey ay, uh!" you know exactly what is coming. It is going to be noisy, triumphant, even overwhelming with those vocals on constant loop. Great music but all designed to drown out West's mediocre mcing. After that the album is mostly downhill, apart from `Monster' which is a very interesting track. And there is no surprise that the production on this album is nearly flawless, it's Kanye West. But as hip hop it was always going to be handicapped by West's amateurish lyrics and even worse delivery. He throws in one or two good lines, but fills the rest of it with rubbish like this:

How `Ye doin'? I'm survivin'
I was drinkin' earlier, now I'm drivin'
Where the bad b******, huh? Where ya hidin'?
I got the power, make yo' life so excitin'

I have to say that I am very surprised at many of the critic's reviews. At what point did everyone decide that you can make a classic hip hop album when the MC rhymes by just adding -in', it, -own to the end of incoherent phrases? But West is a very smart guy and he has tapped into pop culture where you are judged not only by your talents but by your celebrity. And in a stroke of genius he also made the album a celebrity treasure hunt so the American idol fans are fascinated, proudly declaring things like "Did you know that it was Elton John signing oooh la la at 4.12?!"

Overall MBDTF is a good album and on the first few listens it may even sound great. But those of us who value quality, intelligent lyrics will be left cold once effects of West's grand production have worn off and we can contemplate on the nonsense he has been spouting at us for the last hour. Try The Roots - How I got over, Nas & D. Marley or Kno - Death is Silent for 2010 releases with great rhyming as well as production.

This is a disclaimer: I don't flow hip-hop. In fact, I don't flow music with same veracity that I did in my youth. But regardless of that, I still know what I like and feel that there is talent among the artists. However, unlike a needle in a haystack, the art does sift its way to the top. Upon first hearing the single "Power", I felt like I was hearing not just a hip-hop musician, but a pop artist. With West's amalgamation of chant, rock and rap, he creates a brilliant tableau of music as a whole.

Most people look at hip-hop as a secondary art. This is sad for them; since there is a depth to the work here. What Kanye is doing is addressing two aspects of his psyche, the id which comes out in the impulses that makes him a target and the ego that strives or something much higher. This is found from the very beginning of the album as Niki Minaj sits us down for a story that is like an old Grimm fairytale that segues into a chorus of the heavenly choir. These somber moments are what gives My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy its emotional weight. Kanye is playing with a persona that even he himself hasn't cultivated. On "Monster", his eyes flash red as he is committing atrocities on everyone that comes into contact with him. This is not a reality, but part of that fantasy that has grown up around him. He uses that to make a point about the perception that the media prism refracts and he is just refracting back at them like a game of telephone.

The album's centerpiece, "Runaway", is what brings this collection into focus. The mix of styles, from hip-hop to R&B, to classical to pop, shows the ambition that West is going for. This isn't just some fly-by-night rapper just making music for a buck. Much like Radiohead he wants to push music forward, busting out whole walls with just a piano line. This track also focus on the vulnerability that most artists are afraid to express from a place of power. But this is what makes the song so accessible to anyone and everyone, without sacrificing the unique sound.

Now I am not going to say that there isn't any flaws in this work. Most masterpieces aren't perfect, which is why they are so human. The noodling at the end of "Blame Game" comes off as much similar to "Wild Honey Pie" or "Revolution #9" on The Beatles. But that is certainly not something to dock this endevour as a whole. Kayne West breaks his heart open like a walnut and allows us into all the nooks and crannies of his soul.

This is some of Kanye's Best Work (if not his Best.) Not yet ready to give it a instant classic just yet though. It isn't predictable, if find it weird how people judge the individual more so then the music itself. People's review reflect what they think and how they feel about Kanye as a person. That has very little to do with the actual album. Yes he's the person who music it it but people please write review about the album and not your feelings and opinion of the man.

With that being said I would like to comment on Kanye as an artist and the comments in regards to why people don't consider him a genius: People PLEASE,........ Everyone keeps saying that Kanye ISN'T a Genius, but clearly he is. Let me elaborate, he gets the genius tag so often because he's the total package. Tell me another single person who not only has dope lyrics but has the talent and ability to create dope tracks. Usually it's either one or the other not both. He has the ability to create both. He uses "double entendre" better than most people would understand let along appreciate. If you're a true hip-hop/rap fan you know that not EVERY bar is going to be perfect. If you think it's so simple and sooooo easy, then PLEASE make a valid attempt to write 16 bars and see how you're able to maintain a consistent line, for line, for line level of cleverness and whit. Just his ability to recognize and position certain samples and make them sound great in a song is genius. It's like taking a Michael Jordan or Kobe and surrounding them with key role players; you're destined for greatness. The only thing that I disagree with in regards to Kanye is him saying that he's a genius, the tag is something that has to be bestowed upon you and not self proclaimed.

I purchased this cd early today, having ignored Kanye's G.O.O.D friday program in an attempt, in this society of leaks and instant gratification, to genuinely approach a work with the possibility of surprise, and I was surely rewarded. This is a sonically shocking, beautiful album. I won't go on describing each song or my favorites- it's an album that benefits from an undisposed listener. It begins with a jarring British spoken word skit attempting to describe reality as removed from perception, and ends with a stoic, unmistakably American (oh, how I wish for italics here) voice telling of the American dream; these two bookend the ramblings of an egomaniacal genius, a work of harmonies and abused expectations, with John Legend's euphony swapped for West's strained warbling, Bon Iver's indie voice wrung through an autotuner, Jay Z giving one of the fiercest verses of his career, not to mention dozens of others that I'll leave for you to find. The beat from 'Lost in the World' bleeds into the spoken-word of 'Who Will Survive in America' and eventually fades as the album is ended in the same way as it began- that is, out of West's hands, with his life--his materialism, his religion, his dreams which are all of a shared stew--properly contextualized, and the new American (not to mention, the new musical) way, one beyond antiquated notions clearly inadequate for current travails, at least to the best of West's abilities, defined. A great album, and I say so without comparing it to others, for I don't listen to all too much music, that is aesthetically pleasing, emotionally resonant, and entirely relevant.

As much as I hate to admit it, Kanye West is a very talented musician. This album is such a departure from what is happening in much of rap right now, and I love it for that. There's not a stinker in the lineup. And it only gets better with repeat listens. Usually I don't care for features and guest spots, but Mr. West chooses his friends wisely. I don't think it is too strong to say that a thorough and attentive listening to this album will change your life.

Kanye West is undoubtedly one of the most unapologetically honest rappers to ever pick up a microphone. He knows what he is and what he's doing and as such, produces some of the most self-aware and truthful music in the industry. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is the penultimate Kanye album in a long line of already highly competent albums and one of the best albums of 2010.

This is the ultimate realization of the themes that have shaped his music career. Materialism, rejection, love, loss and sadness, MBDTF has a very dark overtone about it and the more you listen to it, the more you begin to feel as though you're delving further and further into West's subconscious. Similar to 808s and Heartbreak, Kanye lets it all hang out. He's unrelenting, unconcentrated and strangely focused. Like an expert sniper, he zeroes in on his target and strikes with precision. There's no nonsense, just an unfiltered display of raw emotion.

Lyrically, this is Kanye's strongest and most consistent work yet. Where he showed glimpses of greatness on the track Gone from his second album, Late Registration, he now seems capable of replicating that level of lyricism across an entire album. The level of depth and complexity in his rhymes has exceeded that of any other album he's released so far. Kanye's greatest asset in my eyes is how self-aware he is and it shows in his rhymes, such as in the song Gorgeous in which he says "I'll choke the South Park writers with a fish stick". This line sounds appropriately cathartic within the tone of the song itself.

Guest appearances are also excellent, demonstrated best on the feature heavy tracks Monster and So Appalled. Jay-Z is as lyrically potent as one would expect from such a veteran in the industry but it is Nicki Minaj that surprised me most on her verse on Monster. She outshines both West and even the venerable Jay-Z in her performances, playing with many differing lyrical and vocal styles in her just over a minute long verse. I was very impressed and I saw for the first time why she has been surrounded with such a great amount of hype in her short career.

In terms of cohesion, this is one of the most well put together album I've heard in years, second, at least recently, to Janelle Monae's The ArchAndroid. Each track flows logically from one song into the next. Layered perfectly, building on the foundation of the song before it but still sounding fresh. The album's title almost perfectly reflects the music contained within it as you really get a sense that this has come from the darkest recesses of Kanye's subconscious and is reflected in not only his and his guest's lyricism but the production behind it.

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is an amazing album that really comes together in every way. It's the most consistently brilliant, cohesive and lyrically impressive album Kanye West has released since 2005's Late Registration and is easily one of the best albums released in a year that was already quite good for great album releases. It remains to be seen whether or not Kanye West can top himself with his next album going forward but based on what he has done here, he seems perfectly capable of pulling it off.

I've been looking forward to this album for the entire past year, heck probably longer. 808's was some wonderful, bold, pioneering music and I knew that the next Kanye drop needed to be amazing. It's been about 2 years since that. Release date pushed back time after time, multiple name changes, cover art scandal, some controversial singles, and it's finally time.

But November rolls around, I take a glance at the track listing. What the hell!

13 tracks, not a bad length. I look closer: 1, 2, 3... 7! Of the 13 songs on the album, only 6 will be new music to me! Are you serious? I love you Kanye for giving us those amazing early Christmas presents in the form of G.O.O.D. Friday drops, but I had no idea those were the same tracks that would be making their way onto the album!

After waiting 2 years, 3 if you're only counting the classic Kanye, to get my hands on this red-tainted album, I find myself with just 6 tracks? I still love you for G.O.O.D. Fridays, but look at Eminem: A year after Relapse, the guy comes out with Recovery bursting with 17+2 tracks. Please keep that in mind for that next album, Kanye!

All that said, I spent the cash without regret, especially with AmazonMP3's release day pricing. Ima let you finish, Apple, but Amazon has the greatest music download prices of all time, ALL TIME!