KANYE: 808′S and HEARTBREAK

by Leigh Silbernagel in Album Reviews, Musician Reviews, New Releases, News, Reviews, Song Reviews

The songs that are not about heartbreak are your classic Kanye self-swagger tributes: powerful tracks with stylistically well-done use of an auto-tune that showcases Kanye’s impressive vocal range and control. Ranging from the resolved, empowerment-anthem: “Welcome to Heartbreak,” to the unexpected throwback early 90s beat “Paranoid:” Kanye knows what he does best, and he delivers it once again.

There are three download-them-now tracks: the Feel-good “Amazing” with its lyrics: “Holding on to what I believe in/ No matter what you’ll never take that from me/ My reign is as far as my eyes can see/ I’m the only thing I’m afraid of.” The seductive-without-vulgarity, “Love lockdown,” features drums that make it the newest hottest baby-making ballad. And the radio-friendly, mid-tempo affectionate “Street Lights:” “I know my destination, but I’m just happy at the street lights glowing/ Happy to be just like moments passing in front of me.”

What Kanye should have done was make two discs in one set to separate the down-beat slow-tempo heavily- autotuned tracks: “Say you will,” “Heartless,” “RoboCop,” “Bad News,” “See you in my Nightmares,” “Coldest Winter,” and “Pinocchio Story” from the aforementioned must-owns. Since half the album is the music at the pity party no one wants to go to, it begs us to say, “Kanye: Obama won the White House, black men can overcome anything, now stop whining about a girl.”

–Leigh Silbernagel