Review Summary: The Peas return with one of their laziest record, despite the catchy vocals...
Ah… the « decisive » new Black Eyed Peas album, the one most of their fans were hoping to be a return to their old sound, the one that made them so likable and fun before. Well, for the most part, that’s not the case. Of course, “The Beginning” give hints of old school BEP, but for the most part it just feels like unwanted songs on “The E.N.D.”. As for me, I quite enjoy their previous album (The E.N.D.), and am a big fan of “Elephunk” and “Monkey Business”, but I won’t let my love for the band get in the way of correctly reviewing this rather disappointing record.
The Black Eyed Peas are:
Will.i.am
Fergie
Apl.de.Ap
Taboo
For the most part, this album is what you could call “chill”, filled with sweet synth lines, it provides the listener with a new, more calm aspect of the Black Eyed Peas. This new direction in the world of electronic music though has its flaws, which would be the beats themselves. Alright, the synth sections are decent, but when things try to get upbeat on this album it just fails. A perfect example for this would be the single “The Time (Dirty Bit)”. The song is good, the use of Dirty Dancing’s classic “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” was a pretty slick move on their behalf, but the electronic beat that comes in right after the chorus is cheesy and not very interesting. And that’s the case for most of the songs on this album, highlights being “Don’t Stop The Party”, “Love You Long Time” and “I Just Can’t Get Enough” (song that is in the deluxe edition of the album).
Another interesting aspect of “The Beginning” would be the vocals. There’s a clear dichotomy that’s installed as soon as you press play. The vocal lines are insanely catchy and probably will be staying in your head for a long time, but the lyrics are… well, how to put it? “God-awful”. Will.i.am has never been a class A writer, but the man has written some decent stuff in the past. These are just bad. Most of the time I can listen to great vocals and not care about the lyrics, but at times in this album, they just make me want to jump out of a window. It would be better for them if in the future if they hired a professional writer. Even the best vocal lines can be ruined by childish and mindless lyrics, the worst probably found on the songs “Do it Like this” or “XOXOXO”.
Unfortunately, the other big problem with this album is Mr. Will.i.am himself. This time he’s just all over the place, to a point where this looks more like “Will.i.am and Pals” instead of “The Black Eyed Peas”. He is on each and every song, hogging the spotlight even though Taboo and Apl.de.ap have always been better rappers than him. Even Fergie doesn’t have anything classic to sing on the album. This does great damage to all of the work on “The Beginning”, which could’ve been much better if he had just let the others sing or rap more.
In the end, this album is one lazy effort from the Peas, mixing horrid lyrics with simplistic electro beats and poor teamwork. Maybe a bit more time to produce, a better writer for the lyrics and less ego tripping from will.i.am would have made this album and instant hit. If you’re looking for great pop or synthpop from this year, I would suggest picking up Robyn’s “Body Talk” or Janelle Monae’s “The Archandroid” since they will provide you with something that the Black Eyed Peas are having great troubles in achieving… consistency. Other than that, it’s a sweet listen, but inevitably falls short of being a great album.
Recommended Tracks:
Love You Long Time
Someday
Don’t Stop the Party
Just Can’t Get Enough
Everything Wonderful
(The last two being on the deluxe and super deluxe editions)
Avoid:
XOXOXO
Fashion Beats
Do it Like this
Own it
P.R. (post-review): I must add that my choice for a "3" was biaised, so I lowered the rating to a "2.5" in order to stay as objectif as possible
