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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"In My Mind", Pharrell should stick to producing but he still makes a CD worth listening to, August 30, 2006
I was first introduced to Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, who are better known as The Neptunes, when they wrote and produced 2 tracks on SWV's "New Beginning" CD. The best song of the 2 tracks, "Use Your Heart" ended up being the 2nd single from that CD. Right around the same time, I also found out that they produced Noreaga's "Super Thug" and Mase's "Lookin' At Me". They weren't as well known at the time but before you know it they were jumpin' all over well known artists tracks and you saw their name all over the place. In my opinion, the best beat that they have ever produced was Clipse's "Grindin'". That track made producers all over the world step their game up. Of course, when you do a lot of producing and writing, the producers and writers themselves want to take a stab at the industry. N.E.R.D. was a group composed of Pharrell, Chad and one of their boys Shay and they released "In Search Of..." in the year 2000. Although, I hated "Lapdance" which was the 1st single from the CD, I did enjoy tracks like "Rock Star", "Bobby James", and "Am I High" w/Malice from Clipse. While producing, Pharrell would also rap and sing hooks for the artists that he was producing for and even went as far as having verses on some of these artists' tracks.
The best that I have heard Pharrell on the microphone has to be the original version and remix to "Drop It Like It's Hot". The original version was with Snoop and the remix also featured Jay-Z with Snoop and Pharrell. The Clipse's current single, "Mr. Me Too", also features a nice verse from Pharrell as well. Lupe Fiasco's remix to "Kick Push" had a decent Pharrell verse on it and last but not least was Pharrell's 1st real track on his mixtape with DJ Drama where he took GZA's "Liquid Swords" beat and had a nice freestyle over the track.
However, if you had told me that Pharrell was going to make a solo CD, I wouldn't have believed it. Anyone that has heard Pharrell on hooks or on his own tracks like "Frontin'" w/Jay Z or on the N.E.R.D. CDs, Pharrell thinks that he can actually sing. The brother is talented, he's definitely a top notch producer and he's a decent rapper, but he's a "passable" singer at best, meaning he can hit some notes but he is not going to be singing the national anthem anywhere.
The 1st single from "In My Mind", is a collaboration between Pharrell and Gwen Stefani, from No Doubt, entitled "Can I Have It Like That". After producing Gwen's breakthrough solo track "Hollaback Girl", you knew that she would appear on a Pharrell track sooner or later. The track is nice for the clubs, which most Neptunes' produced songs are, but the song doesn't make you want to go out and grab the CD. "How Does It Feel" ends up being an upbeat party song as well. Pharrell plays around with his lyrics but the sound of the track will still catch the attention of most people. "Raspy S..." falls along the same lines, but the track isn't as uptempo as "How Does It Feel". Pharrell also gives a better performance this time around as well. My favorite and most creative track on "In My Mind" has to be "Best Friend" as Pharrell talks about tough events in his life to a midtempo track. Pharrell appears to be classifying Chad Hugo as his best friend, but the song can be interpreted in many different ways. "You Can Do It Too" also continues the mode of a laid back Neptunes track as Pharrell gets better on the mic as the CD goes. If you look at Tracks 1-5, his best lyrical performances are "Best Friend" and "You Can Do It Too". Maybe he just needed to warm up as the CD went along. "Keep It Playa" features Slim Thug, who was blessed by many Neptunes tracks on his major label debut, "Already Platinum". The best Neptunes' track being "I Ain't Heard Of That". Pharrell and Slim Thug basically are letting the ladies know that if you want to come to the club and get your mack on, they can too. So ladies if you come to a club with a male friend and you want to flirt, get numbers, etc. Then men can do the same, so don't get mad or upset or try to cause a scene.
"That Girl" starts the transition from hip hop to the r&b side of "In My Mind" as the track sounds like a throwback 80s r&b song. The thing about it, is that the track would probably better accepted if there was a real singer on the hook and not Pharrell acting as if he is a legitimate singer on the hook. The rap lyrics to the track are nice and Snoop drops a decent verse as well. The track is real catchy and the song will grow on you after awhile if you didn't like it originally like I did. "Young Girl" continues the trend as imagine Prince allowing The Neptunes to produce a track on let's say "Purple Rain" or somewhere in the mid 80s. When you first listen to the track you're like what in the world is this and by the 4th listen you're singing along with Pharrell and enjoying the track. Jay-Z doesn't give his best performance on the verse but Jay-Z's worst verses are better than some artists best work. For some reason, Pharrell adds "I Really Like You" to the end of "Young Girl" instead of breaking the tracks up. The track ends up being pretty good though. Once again, I am thinking of Morris Day during the "Ice Cream Castle" days, but the song is still pretty good. Just when you think the r&b side of "In My Mind" is about to end, Pharrell hits us once again with "Take It Off (Dim The Lights)". You can listen to the track but you can't help wondering why Pharrell is rapping to what basically is a beat to a slow jam. However, the more you listen to the track, the more you will like it. "Stay With Me" falls right in line with "That Girl" and features Pusha T from Clipse. This time around Pharrell is singing again, but I can actually say that I liked this track the first time around. "Baby" which features Nelly sounds as if it was left off of Justin Timberlake's "Justified" CD and Pharrell replaced Justin's vocals with his voice. You will not want to hear this track too many times, trust me. "Our Father" ends up being Pharrell's dedication to God. The track is a refreshing break from all of Pharrell's talking about clubs, money and women for the whole CD. "Number One" features Kanye West and is the 2nd single from "In My Mind". While the track is pretty good as Pharrell sings and Kanye adds a verse towards the end, you can't help but to look for the disco ball and the lava lamps while you're listening to the track. Pharrell ends "In My Mind" with the best rap track on the CD with "Show You How To Hustle" which features Lauren.
The only problems that you will find with "In My Mind", in my opinion are 1) Angel. Once you hear this track you will be glad that this was a single overseas and not the 2nd single for "In My Mind" in the U.S. This track is an album killer. That's how bad it is. You will never want to hear this track again when you hear it the 1st time. 2) It seems as if Pharrell knows the production is tight so he slacks off of his lyrics on some of the tracks. Although the production is definitely an A +, if the lyrics would have been better on some tracks, many people would feel alot better about this CD.
Overall, this is one CD where I feel there will be various opinions about this CD because of the fact that you respect The Neptunes for their production and you love to hear them on r&b and rap hooks. However, can you tolerate Pharrell for a whole CD? That question is what will make and break the opinions about "In My Mind". I rate this CD, 3 and a half stars, but if you judge this CD on just one or two listens, you may have a lower rating than I do. "In My Mind" took awhile to grow on me, so it may take awhile to grow on you too.
James' Top 5
1) Best Friend
2) You Can Do It Too
3) That Girl w/Snoop
4) Show You How To Hustle w/Lauren
5) Stay With Me w/Pusha T of Clipse
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17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a mind!, July 25, 2006
Who knows what really goes on in Pharrell's mind? In this, his first solo album, Pharrell (half of The Neptunes and chief N.E.R.D.) calls on some of the hottest talents in Hip Hop and R&B, and the result is this fifteen song extravaganza, part Hip Hop, part R&B, all with the slick production and smooth mixing that made him a music phenomenon.
Three singles have already been released from this album, at least two of which are guaranteed instant hits. "Can I Have It Like That" features the one and only Gwen Stefani, and you couldn't want a better lead off track for an album. The other heat generating single is "Number I" with red hot Kanye West, and this one is tucked away near the end of the album for a hit "sandwich" that'll be pretty hard to beat. The third single "Angel" was released in the UK and is one of the tracks that Pharrell handles on his own, falsetto and all.
Watch out also for "How Does It Feel" a steamy Hip Hop track (Remember that this album has a parental advisory warning); "Raspy Sh!t"; "Keep It Playa" with Slim Thug (this one has a great hook); "That Girl" featuring Snoop Dogg; "Young Girl" with Jay-Z; and the last track "Show You How to Hustle" featuring Lauren, where he goes by his rap name Skateboard P.
As if that weren't enough, fans of "The Artist Formerly known as Prince" will absolutely love "Baby" featuring Nelly, and for a nice spiritual touch, Pharrell gives a shout out to the Almighty giving thanks for his talents.
Do you really need more reasons than these to get this album?
Amanda Richards, July 25, 2006
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Hear me out., November 12, 2006
I gave this cd a lot of chances. I honestly did. I've had it for months now, but I honestly can't get into it. It's not that I haven't given it multiple listens to feel its full, err, 'brilliance' - it's just that Pharrell, on this album, does not appeal to me. I'll expand on this in my review.
Pharrell Williams, as we all know, is one half of the super-producers, the Neptunes. I first heard the Neptunes on Ol' Dirty's "Got Your Money," and I liked their technique on that song. They also scored one of N.O.R.E.'s catchiest solo tracks, on the track "Super Thug," which, while moderately annoying, was still a pretty decent track. Fast forward a few years, and they're working with the likes of Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg - and suddenly, everyone wants the Neptunes' production.
I'll be quite honest, and say I'm not much of a fan of the Neptunes' production techniques. I've always found that most of their production follows a steady format - tropical beats, that make you feel like you're literally living in Florida. In fact, the tropical production is so authentic that you can nearly smell the old people when listening to the Neptunes' typical production. Sometimes they'll take a different production, and rely heavily on drum-machines and synthesizers; and on tracks such as this(Drop It Like It's Hot, Grindin', Mr. Me Too, etc), they succeed. Otherwise, nearly all of their tracks sound like a rehash of Snoop Dogg's "Beautiful," which they also produced, and it really makes me wonder why they're in such popular demand.
Pharrell as an artist? I have very mixed feelings on Pharrell as an artist. While he has actually dropped some tight guest raps on other rappers' songs, his rhyming was shown off sparingly, and I didn't know if I'd be able to tolerate an entire album full of rhymes like "Elegible bachelor, million dollar boat; that's whiter than what's spilling down your throat." His flow is interesting, as he speaks much more softly than the average emcee, so that was one of his pros. Pharrell's singing? Honestly, I have NEVER liked Pharrell as a crooner. His falsetto grates my nerves to the point that I just skip the track completely, and an entire track full of nothing but Pharrell's singing, such as "Angel"(which I still can't even tolerate after multiple lessons), was nearly like a nightmare in audio form to me.
I still gave Pharrell a chance despite these drawbacks, and my harsh criticing of him in the past. The tracks I did like were "Raspy ****"(which features a tight sample from Drop It Like It's Hot on the hook), "Keep It Playa" with Slim Thug, "Take It Off(Dim The Lights)," "Stay With Me" with Pusha-T of the Clipse, and "Skateboard P. Presents: Show You How To Hustle." The rest of the tracks, yes, all 11 of them, had no appeal to me, even with emcees like Jay-Z making guest appearances(and definitely below Hov's standards; or the average emcee's, for that matter). Two of the five tracks I liked only succeeded because of guest appearance, however, the other three were genuine Pharrell tracks I enjoyed.
I did give this a chance, and I did want to like it, no matter how ire I may have for the Neptunes; to be honest, I don't want to dislike the Neptunes as much as I do, but their repetitive production work continues to annoy me. This album does nothing to change my opinion on the Neptunes, or Pharrell, and I consider that quite unfortunate.
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