1. Say You Will - The album's opener sets the tone for what Kanye's attempting to do with the entire album. "Mrs. So Fly crashes lands in my room/Can't waste no time, she might leave soon". The chorus goes as "Don't say you will/unless you will", or some variation of that with some "hey, hey, hey's" mixed in there. The beat is a desolate electronic beat that mimicks a slow heartbeat, adding to the desperation he's trying to convey. The beat continues for what amounts to be about a 3-minute outro, much like he did with the album version of "Stronger". Normally its done to ride out a banger; here it stands to punch in the feeling that he's putting across, the true intent of the album. Plus he has a flare for the dramatic. In the end, the song is pretty average, but it does get the point across.
3 * * *
2. Welcome to Heartbreak - Here's the first one that I have real mixed feelings about. Another simplistic beat with some synth thrown in. It's a good backing for the "where the hell has my life gone?" punchlines that he throws around throughout the song. But really, the lyrical content is lacking. He starts one line with "He said his daughter got brand new report card"... before the line was over I knew the rhyme was "sports car." Through all of that introspection and spiritual revivement one would figure he'd have a new one in his bag. That said, the chorus is catchy and most of all, Kanyesperate (okay, I'll never try that again). It passes the this stuff is pretty average test.
2 * *
3. Heartless - Don't worry, I'm not going to hate on both singles. Just this one. Maybe because I heard Love Lockdown and thought "okay he's trying something different," then heard Heartless and thought we need bring out the hip-hop defibrillator. The beat sounds like a ride on a DisneyLand trolley, the chorus is nothing interesting, and generally there's nothing catchy about it. I'd go into his flow and lyrics and such... but why bother, this isn't a rap album. Nevertheless, there's nothing here of note.
1 *
4. Amazing - I can't even understand what's being attempted here. Jeezy growls, repeated verses, basically the same song I heard with Heartless but less feeling and absolutely no meaning whatsoever. Not even giving this the time of day. Oh wait, Jeezy just came in with a "verse". I think I'd rather hear the AutoTune. Wait... am I at song four and I haven't said "AutoTune" yet? Alright, I'll say it again. Just for fun. AutoTune.
0 (Please no Remix Baby)
5. Love Lockdown - Thankfully, here's one I can deal with (I swear the hatred has nearly ceased). 'Ye wanted to be a pop star. And he achieved that with this one. The tribal drums, the piano beat, the freaky-ass music video: it all hits. Everyone's heard it, I'm not going to delve into it too deeply. But the drumming outro is pretty sick too. He got his message across, he knew he had a great beat, he kept it simple and let it work its magic (despite the probably unnecessary wild monkey howls).
4 * * * *
6. Paranoid - Kanye is just having fun here. And so am I. The beat has a pretty sweet 80's pop feel, similar to a mindnumbingly good Chaka Khan song. I'm not even positive what the songs about... but I'm pretty sure it just says "leave the attitude at the door, lets have a good time and worry about it later." It doesn't fit with the theme of the album, but at this point I've left that at the door and at this point I'm just looking for anything to salvage. It's an upliftingly fun song, which flows right into the next one.
5 * * * * *
7. RoboCop - He keeps trying to convince us that there's something really deep here, but he'll always revert to songs like this. Which I'm not saying is a bad thing, because it isn't. The song is about a girl being too controlling and watching his every move. I guess this contributes to "heartbreak", correct? Unless the crazy, psycho Lorena Bobbit's are your thing, I suppose? This doesn't provide the same "F' You" punch like JT's "Cry Me a River" (yeah, I went there), but the chorus is hella fun, what can I say?
3 * * *
8. Street Lights - I want to know allhiphop thinks of this (I'll throw in a 'lol' for good measure). This is just a beautiful sounding song (take 2 points off of my manhood, I don't care I got a couple to spare).
All the street lights, glowing
Happen to be just like moments
Passing, in front of me
So I hopped in
The cab and I paid my fares
See I know my, destination
But I'm just not there
I could listen to this song over and over again. You can hear the sincerity in his voice, which actually sounds pretty good on this song. As long as he's not trying to belt it out further than his range (youtube: Europe VMAs "Love Lockdown"), he can sound pretty good. And it doesn't even sound like he had to consult with T-Pain on this one.
5 * * * * *
9. Bad News - Another downbeat song in the same vein as the previous song. It almost plays off as a blues song as he says "I've just heard some real bad news." But the feeling is there; this is one of the closest songs to him sincerely and accurately conveying his true pain.
Oh you just gonna
Keep another love for you
Oh you just gonna
Keep it ike you never knew
While im waiting on a dream
That'll never come true
2 * *
10. See You In My Nightmares - Let me start out by saying that "Barry Bonds" was my least favorite song on Graduation. The Lil Wayne cameo was completely useless (even more than Mos Def's... yes, I stand firm that 'Ye should've done that whole album solo). I digress, this song is half decent. The beat starts out like a Young Jeezy mixtape song 18 (without the Jazze Pha/Mannie Fresh beat kicking in). Kanye and Weezy both sound flat-out angry on this one. It isn't a great song per se, but it does transition the story quite well coming out of the previous song. You broke his heart, he's angry, and he's going to dedicate an album to it.
2 * *
11. Coldest Winter - This is the other song that I would say packs the biggest punch as far as describing regret, lonliness and a loss of hope. "Goodbye my friend/Will I ever love again?" is repeated quite a few times, describing the pain of what I assume is the dissolvement of his engagement. "If spring can take the snow away/Can it melt away all our mistakes"; metaphor is questionable, the intent is not. Tribal drums are always a plus.
3 * * *
12 Pinocchio Story - I wish that the album version sounded clearer. But it's done on purpose, a studio version wouldn't sound better. It's a freestyle (I believe), and I have a hunch that he'd say this is the most meaningful song he's ever put to record. It's a live version where the crowd cheering just adds to the effect of the moment (youtube: "Longing For" live by Jah Cure). He's speaking from his soul here. Somebody should remind him that this is what comes out most pristine.
5 * * * * *
As a whole, I'm still mixed up about it all. The album really picks up steam after Amazing (which is a good thing, since I nearly threw my laptop out the window while listening to it). But start-to-finish, I just don't think the feelings and inner turmoil came onto record like he thought it would. Maybe I should stop overanalyzing and go with my instincts here.
3 Stars ***/6
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