CotW: A Beautiful, Dark, Twisted Review

I already wrote this week’s Complaint of the Week and had put it up a little while ago and sort of felt like I was set for this week. But then, Kanye West released his new album, My Beautiful, Dark, Twisted Fantasy and I had to amend those plans. As the resident hip hop expert round these parts—and yes, that is roughly like referring to oneself to being the most rational person on a comic book message board; the bar is very low and there just isn’t any competition—I could not very well ignore the latest from the Val Kilmer of rap. And don’t ask me if being the Val Kilmer of _____ is a good thing because you damn well know it is.

 So, the original Complaint that was going to run today will run later this week on Thursday and today, my short, bulleted review of Mr. West’s latest effort.

-To get this out of the way at the top. It’s good. Really damn good. Not a weak track in the bunch.

-Early frontrunner for favorite tune? For me, it has to be “All of the Lights.” For one thing, it touches on a great many of West’s favorite themes, ego, class politics, gender politics, losing one’s temper and doing something you regret, lights as symbolic double-edged swords, and overspending. But it does so in a way that allows West to stand outside himself, to address these issues in a setting that does not revolve around “Kanye West, Public Figure.” Make no mistake, the character whose perception West assumes is a man that the rapper shows a great empathy for and understanding of and the song is better for it. But it is always nice to see an artist stretch himself to the point where he can do something personal and, yet, not just a reflection of himself.  

 Plus, for the insane amount of guest stars on the track—Rihanna, Kid Cudi, Fergie, Alicia Keyes, Elton John, The-Dream, Charlie Wilson, Drake, John Legend, La Roux, Ryan Leslie, Alvin Fields, and Ken Lewis—it is remarkably seamless.

-Actually that goes for the whole album. It is chock-a-block full of guest stars and featuring credits, but it is never NOT a Kanye West album. Other artists can be drowned out or forced to the outskirts of their own work because of those they work with, but West is always front and center even when he hands the mike to someone else.

-I don’t know if Nicki Minaj is equal to the hype or not, but if her one and a half minute verse on “Monster” is any indication, I’d venture that she is. She rips the roof off the track, spitting in at least three distinct voices. And to do that after Jay-Z drops his verse? That’s damn good.

I am also kind of partial to her opening coda to the album in which she sports a British accent that degenerates into a demanding growl. I don’t know why, really, but I dig it.

-I tend to be more forgiving of West’s skits than I am of most rappers. I still enjoy “Workout Song” every time I hear it and the saga of Broke Phi Broke on Last Registration is amusing. Bear that in mind when I say that I still making up my mind about Chris Rock’s contribution, which is folded into the end of “Blame Game.” I cannot decide if it goes on too long or if it goes on long enough to become funny again, fulfilling what I like to call “The Simpsons’ Rake Paradigm” (search “Simpsons” and “rake” and you’ll find what I am referring to). In either case, it is not a particularly intrusive skit and even if it does run a bit long, it does not leave a lousy taste in your mouth like truly bad skits can. Like, say, the Chinese Restaurant skit on the Fugees’ The Score or Gang Starr’s “Hiney.”

-If you’ve only listened to the live version of Runaway or the 5 minute edit, you have not really heard it. The album version runs about nine minutes and is more compelling that either from the first atonal piano note to the fuzzed out end.

-The deluxe edition of the CD comes with a DVD of the Kanye West directed mini movie Runaway which features his brief romance with a humanoid phoenix. Buy this version. The movie is worth seeing and showing to friends. I imagine it is exactly what West would do if he met a beautiful phoenix. Jam out with her in his living room, take her to family reunion in an airplane hanger, not realize she has wings until someone mentions it, and give her an impromptu show involving an all-white ballerina company. There is also a dubious bit about the origin of statues that, if true, means that the likes of Myron, Kraft, and Pisano have a lot of explaining to do.

-Overall, it is another impressive album from arguably one of most artistically challenging rappers charting today. I’m not sure I am ready to declare it the best album of 2010, but it definitely would be in my top ten.

As always Tim can be reached at parallax2 [at] juno [dot] com, followed on Twitter @UnGajje, or friended on Facebook. Please feel free to do so or comment below.