Review by Ryan Blatto
I want to preface that I have never written a music review before, so I would assume I’d start on the songs I’ve known for the longest and get deeper into it from there.
“POWER” – a radio hit, one that brings me back to the middle school bus, hearing on kiss 98.5 on a cold, dark morning. Definitely associate this with Nike(?) commercials as well or other athletic based advertisements. Later to discover King Crimson and connecting the two, bringing the song back into my rotation for a bit. Overall a pop-ish hip hop classic hit that I wouldn’t skip if came on.
“All of the Lights” – I actually really like this song, even now. I know it’s probably the one that most people know off the album, but I listen to it with the same ears as the others. Rihanna definitely has a nostalgia factor for me. It doesn’t really feel “Kanye” if that makes sense, but it’s good for all the reasons that it’s a hit for.
“Blame Game” – probably my favorite song on the album that I haven’t heard before listening to the album in its entirety. Definitely feels more true to an underground, conscious type rap as opposed to what is conventionally popular. I’m not even a huge fan of John Legend but I think his place in this song was a very good choice.
“Monster” – very, very good. I love the beat and lyrics. Sorta feels like what Kanye might want to go for when describing his public image, him wanting to be the villain and such. Definitely makes me wish I knew this song sooner.
“Dark Fantasy” – I have contrasting feelings about this one. I absolutely love when the beat kicks in and Kanye just goes. I am not crazy, however, about this chorus. It feels too long and dragged on to me. I feel like I know what he’s going for with the profound choir and all, but I wish it stuck more to the verses and beat.
“Devil in a New Dress” – I feel like this is the type of rap that I need to explore more. Not too much of a defined chorus, feels more freestyle. Definitely something I need to come back to and put into my rotation. Feels like something I’d appreciate more with an acquired taste, but I want to acquire that taste.
“Lost In The World” – never heard this song before yesterday. Love it. Definitely something I’m going to be listening to for a while now. The beat feels like a train that keeps chugging along, and the line “down for the night” feels rather groovy and keeps replaying in my head.
“Runaway” – feels like another conscious rap piece. One that I know I need to appreciate more. I do feel like it is a little too long, coming in at over 9 minutes. I felt like I wanted to skip at the 6 minute mark. But definitely feel like it’s something that needs to be respected because I can tell there’s plenty of talent in there.
“Hell of a Life” – this song gave me a new hope for the album. Was not expecting to like this one so much. Usually I steer clear from songs that seem overproduced at first listen, but I went back to it, again and again. Something about the almost abstract-ness in the beat and lyrics kept dragging me back in to see what I could hear in the next listen.
I wasn’t huge on “Gorgeous” or “So Appalled” at all. I probably was just expecting more seeing that it had Kid Cudi, but I just didn’t care for the walkie talkie reverb he had going on for the entire time. The latter was another one I felt went too long at 6 minutes. I liked it better than “Gorgeous” and can respect it, but it wasn’t for me.
I would rate this album a 7.5/10