Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Just average (3 Stars), November 12, 2005
Before you click that "not helpful" button, you should know that I own Late Registration. I've given the album dozens of repeat listens. I'm here to review the album; don't let the "oh my goodness, only three stars?!?!" factor convince you that I'm here to call Kanye names and question comments of his about a certain president. This page is meant for reviews of the album. This is not a message board, people.
With all that said, on to the review. After Kanye's near-classic College Dropout album, and with all the media buzz he`s generated, obviously the expectations for Late Registration were sky high. Kanye is, by all means, a great producer. Tracks such as Scarface's "Guess Who's Back," Jay-Z's "Encore," and more recently The Game's "Dreams" all show Kanye's prowess behind the boards. He showed people on College Dropout that he wasn't half-bad on the mic either. Pretty excited, I hit up a local record store the day this came out, dishing out fifteen bucks for Kanye's sophomore release.
After sitting through the seventy-minute duration of the album, I sat dumbfounded. Maybe I was expecting College Dropout part two, because I was shocked to hear minimal usage of Kanye's tried-tested-and-true sped-up soul samples. Instead, the majority of the album is filled with bland, overproduced, and orchestral music that can hardly be labelled as "rap beats." I don't know if Kanye's arrogance has finally caught up with his ability to produce music, but the "beats" on Late Registration scream sheer arrogance. The entire album sounds like Kanye amusing himself with myriads of unnecessary instrumental arrangements, and most of the time, it's just not very listenable. While this method of overproduction succeeds to certain degrees on tracks like the lead single "Diamonds From Sierra Leone" (remix included), over-the-top tracks like "Roses," "Hey Mama," and "Celebration" suffer. But the worst offender is easily the horrid Brandy-K. West duet "Bring Me Down," a track that sounds like it was left in the recording studio washroom circa Brandy's last album. While I applaud Kanye for being somewhat experimental, some of these tracks are simply not very enjoyable to listen to. It also hurts when one of the best beats on the album, "Touch The Sky," isn't even produced by Kanye West - it's produced by Just Blaze.
The best musical moments on this album happen when the production is a little more straightforward, as displayed on tracks like "Drive Slow," "Crack Music," and "Gone." On the feel-good single "Gold Digger," Kanye strips down the beat. The result? A number one pop chart single and one of the better rap songs of 2005. Another problem on Late Registration has to do with wasted time. College Dropout suffered from back-to-back skits, but Late Registration suffers from songs that unnecessarily drag ON and ON and ON. "We Major" could've been a great song, with a nice beat and an excellent guest verse from Nas, but the song is about three minutes too long. There is absolutely no reason not to skip to the next track after Nas finishes his verse. "Hey Mama" is about two minutes too long as well. Take away two minutes of "Mamama-ma-mama-ma, mama-mama-ma" and the song might've been decent. Maybe. Wasted time HURTS this album. The skits littered across the CD are slightly amusing at best, but they interrupt the flow of the album, unlike the skits on College Dropout that were incorporated into the album nicely.
The only real reason to purchase Late Registration is that the CD contains guest appearances from some of the best in the business. In fact, the strongest tracks on the album all contain guests. Cam'ron makes a welcome appearance on "Gone," Paul Wall on "Drive Slow," and Common shines on his brief solo, "My Way Home." The Game makes an appearance on "Crack Music," but a verse from him would've been a lot better than just hearing him on half of the hook. Also, this album would be the first time anyone could've witnessed Jay-Z and Nas appearing on back-to-back tracks, but it's only a matter of time before they actually collaborate now, considering their beef was officially squashed just last month. The potent guest appearances are the only thing that saves Late Registration from sheer mediocrity.
After a stellar CD like College Dropout, Late Registration comes as a great disappointment to me. And believe me, I was VERY excited about this album coming out. The strongest point of College Dropout - the beats - happens to be the weakest point of Late Registration, and that hinders this album a ton, considering Kanye's still somewhat-questionable mic skills. If you do buy this, make sure that the fast-forward button on your CD player is in perfect working condition. One last note - expect this album to win 56 Grammy Awards next year.
Best Moments: Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Remix) feat. Jay-Z (my favourite), Touch The Sky, Gold Digger feat. Jamie Foxx, Drive Slow feat. Paul Wall & GLC, Crack Music feat. The Game, Gone feat. Cam'ron & Consequence, and Diamonds From Sierra Leone.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Rap's Mainstream Maverick, September 27, 2005
After hearing excerpts from this album on NPR, I was itching to pick it up. Being a man of class, I opted for the clean version instead of the explicit version, but that's a whole other story entirely. Kanye West is no stranger to music fans, or even current events buffs for that matter. He's wowed the music fans, and is scoffed by the current events buffs for his dubious political accusations and his annoying diva tantrums he's been employing since the success of his first album "The College Dropout". You're probably asking why I even picked up this album. Well, the answer is quite simple: as long as the music is great, that's all that matters.
I haven't heard "The College Dropout" in its entirety, but I have heard Kanye (or Ye as he's called) beats and production stylings for Alicia Keys, Common, and John Legend. AK's sophomore album is a winner, and from what I've heard of "Be" (Common's album) and "Get Lifted" (Legend's), they seem like winners, too. Well, for my first taste of Ye, I have to say that it's a keeper.
Kanye West is daring, for lack of a better word. His fashion (I gotta get Pastel when it's out), his wordplay, and his music may be mainstream rap's anti-bacterial soap for a disgusting cesspool of similarity. His sense of humor is charming and chuckle-worthy on the opening skit featuring Bernie Mac, "Wake Up Mr. West". That transitions intriguingly into the beautiful "Heard 'Em Say", featuring the fascinating Adam Levine of Pop-&-B band Maroon 5. Levine adds a welcoming diverse touch to West's music, his Stevie Wonder-ish vocals proving that some white people do have a lot of soul. It's refreshing to hear Ye rap about middle-class angst, but the sex aspect of that angst gets in the way too much, like on the hit single "Gold Digger" and on the exquisitely melodic but profanely satirical "Celebration".
However, these good-but-could-be-better tracks and filler tracks like "Drive Slow" come far and few between. The brilliance of "Late Registration" lies in Ye's love for old-school soul music, and his samples add a sublime touch to both his rhymes and producer Jon Brion's alternative touch, particularly on "Touch the Sky" feat. Lupe Fiasco". When Ye is rapping about something other than how great he is, we realize that he's great, especially with the "Diamonds from Sierra Leone (Remix) feat. Jay-Z", which absolutely roadkills the original version, an exercise in trite, ego-driven rap.
Love him or hate him (I have mixed feelings myself), Kanye West has released a near-masterpiece that has completed his transformation into a pop superstar. At its best, it's one of the most contradicting, interesting, fresh, and entertaining rap albums I've heard in recent years, and let's hope that Ye can churn out more great music, and keep his diva tantrums in check. Oh, BTW, the skits are pretty good. You'll get a kick out of them. If you don't, you don't care about black people.
n3ur010g1c gives Kanye West's "Late Registration (Clean)" a 10....out of 12.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A TOTAL ECLIPSE ..., August 30, 2005
After much anticipation and hype, I am happy to inform all of you that this album is a legitimate sophomore release that musically eclipses The College Dropout in all ways except lyrically. Late Registration is probably the most musically diverse album in Hip-Hop history next to Outkast's Speakerboxx/The Love Below. It features a host of talents from the Rap and R&B scene and they add a lot to the flow of the album: namely changing up the pace. Kanye's first album was suprisingly fresh and still sounds great next to this new album. If I only had two words (no pun intended) to compare Late Registration to The College Dropout they would be: Heightened Musicality. There are so many great subtleties in this album, like the voice of Biggie Smalls in Crack Music. Despite what many critics may say, Kanye remains genuine and fresh and gives us one of the most interesting palates in Hip-Hop. Excellent.
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~ Kanye West
~ Common
~ Jay-Z
~ Kanye West
by Kanye West 
