David Bowie - "Young Americans" (1975)

I promised you I would get back to going through David Bowie's discography! Way back during the pandemic I was listening through David Bowie's records and reviewing them on here. I managed to get up to Diamond Dogs before the opening up of the real world again got on top of me. I have listened all the way up to Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) but never found the time to write about them. Diamond Dogs didn't really land with me and truth be told I don't think I've listened to it since that review. It was a bit of a mess of a record that had way too many half formed and thinly sketched ideas. One of those ideas was the incorporation of soul and funk music into his sound. These genres were nothing more than set dressing on Diamond Dogs, but this time around Bowie has dived fully into them; basically making a pastiche of the genre that he himself dubbed as 'plastic soul'.

I feel like Bowie's slightly dismissive terminology when referring to the record and the complete genre switch-up has led to the album getting a bit of a bad wrap from fans, often getting dismissed as neither a 'proper soul record' or an authentic Bowie piece of work. I think this sentiment is rather misguided, as while it isn't the very best of Bowie's discography, it is actually pretty good and personally I think it's a way more coherent and impressive record than Diamond Dogs.

The record is bookended by its two biggest songs, the title track and Fame. Young Americans is a loose and groovy soul jam and a great showcase of what the album is about. Bowie's earnest croon builds into an anthemic refrain over a steady drum beat and expressive saxophone with excellent backing vocals that give a real sense of gravitas to the song. Fame on the other hand is a swaggering funk tune that oozes confidence and coolness. The song is about the consequences of fame (a topic Bowie explored a bit in Aladdin Sane), and has a sinister undercurrent to it that in retrospect feels like a taste of what to come on Station to Station and the Thin White Duke persona.

The six songs that sit inbetween these tracks continue the very sensual and relaxed vibe of the two singles, making a bright and summery experience. The whole album just feels very loved-up and warm. Win slows it down with woozy guitar licks and smooth crooning from Bowie. It is a very gentle and tasteful moment on the record. Fascination is another meaty funk tune and has a real swagger to the call and response pattern between Bowie and the backing vocals. The Sax once again has a field day on this song. Right rounds out the first half with a wild mashup of the two genres, starting out very slow and emotive, before being overtaking by the funk groovy and vocals more powerful. Bowie sort of takes a backseat on the song, handing over the reigns to the backing vocalists

The back end isn't quite as engaging as the first half, and similarly to his Rolling Stones cover on Aladdin Sane, Bowie's rendition of The Beatle's Across the Universe is a bit of a clunker. He kind of butchers it if I'm being honest. All of the whimsy and wonder of the original is just stripped out, and replaced with Bowie just completely over egging the vocals. Somebody up There Likes Me is the longest song on the record and the one that feels the most like a pastiche and by the time Can You Hear Me rolls around as the penultimate song it does feel like the album has shown all its cards and run out of ideas. I'm glad that Fame kicks the album into gear again so that it ends on a strong and memorable footing.

Young Americans is a good album and a pretty successful foray into the worlds of soul and funk for Bowie. I think it is also really important in his development as an artist, with what would immediately follow with Station to Station and also down the line in the genres' incorporation into his biggest commercial hit, Let's Dance. It really doesn't deserve the reputation it gets from fans.

Top Tracks: Young Americans, Win, Fascination, Right, Fame

7/10

Little Simz - "Sometimes I Might Be Introvert" (2021)

Wow, turns out masters courses are hard work - so this is the longest break I've had on here. Anyway, hopefully back to more regular posts now. Little Simz burst into the mainstream sphere with her 2019 album, GREY Area; a raw and gritty hip hop record with a concise flow and poignant introspective lyrics. It was my favourite record of that year and it has not dropped out of my rotation since. Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, while still of excellent quality, couldn't be anything more different. It is a maximalist, 'magnum opus' scale record that brings back a lot of the neo-soul and funk elements of Simz' earlier output; but amping up the confidence and gravitas to another level. At over an hour long, with 19 tracks (5 of which are grandiose orchestral and spoken word interludes), SIMBI (also Simz' personal nickname) is a behemoth. This dramatic, semi-narrative structure is clearly borrows from hip hop giants like Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar; as does the theming around the struggle between the artist and the person off the stage, and the deeper introspection on Simz' psyche. It is obvious that Simz' is aiming for this record to be mentioned in the same conversations as My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and To Pimp A Butterfly. And for the most part, she gets there.

The record kicks off with its strongest run, from the opening Introvert to I Love You, I Hate You. Introvert is this massive, world shattering orchestral hip hop song that elevates Simz' lyrics from musings about her place in the world to a 'do or die' level of intensity. This instantly transitions into the gorgeous 2nd track, Woman, featuring Cleo Sol. This is pure neo-soul serenity, with its smooth as anything instrumentation and Cleo's silky vocals on the hook. Woman once again instantly transitions into the jazzy and off-kilter Two Worlds Apart. These kind of snappy transitions are common throughout the entire album and they are all brilliant. Two Worlds Apart starts hazy and relaxed, with Simz rapping in a lackadaisical flow about a failing relationship that has gone stale. She slowly morphs into a more deliberate and confident flow as the track progresses, reflecting her realisation that she no longer needs this person. I Love You, I Hate You might have the most poignant and precise lyrics on the entire record, detailing Simz' relationship with her estranged father and the trauma and baggage that comes with a parent walking out on their family. This is all set to a snappy funk beat and warped, repeated soul sample of the line "I love you, I hate you", that just oozes intensity and importance.

Following this is the first interlude of the record, Little Q, Pt.1,  a spoken word interlude from Simz' cousin leading into Little Q, Pt.2, a song which Simz' wrote from his perspective about the experiences he has been through including a near fatal stabbing which left him in a coma. The song is built around hopeful children's choir backing vocals that give a sense of joyousness and innocence; as if it is relieving itself of the cycle of anger and violence that perpetuates in the gang cultures that sent Little Q to a hospital bed. Little Q, Pts. 1 and 2 sits as sort of a transition from the very funk and soul heavy first few tracks to the much more eclectic middle section, which starts with the first of the fantastical, orchestral interludes. While I certainly get the need for some kind of interludes on the album to break up its various styles and genres, the musical theatre-esque melodrama of them is really on the nose and doesn't really do all that much to smooth over the transitions between the different styled songs. In fact I much prefer the hard, snappy cuts such as the one between Introvert and Woman.

While all the songs in the middle section on the record are at the very least pretty great, it is the part of the record with the most sonic whiplash. Speed is a raw and gritty tune that would've fit perfectly on GREY Area with its gruff bass and fuzzy synth line. This leads directly into Standing Ovation, which follows in the same dramatic and grandiose orchestral style as Introvert. The track is dynamic with a lot of tempo changes; which makes it feel like the grand centrepiece of the album. Then the album whips back to the neo-soul sounds of the first leg with the super sexy and suave I See You, before crashing into another interlude. After this we have the edgy and sinister sounding Rollin Stone, which leads into the biggest 180 on the record, the bouncy synth-funk bop, Protect My Energy. All of these songs are good tracks, but hard to place contextually within the albums flow and progression. It feels like a whistle-stop tour of everything Simz' wants to explore.

After another dramatic interlude, the album does settle down for it's last portion. This begins with the seamless back to back due of Point And Kill and Fear No Man. These jazzy afrobeat songs ooze confidence and charisma. The sound so joyous and free, like a carnival in the street. After one last interlude, the record closes with a couple of more gentle, reflective songs; where Simz reflects on her friends, family and journey. How Did You Get Here is more broad, detailing her journey through school, finding her passion for rap, finding a group of likeminded friends, and then finally striking it out on her own and finding success. Miss Understood focuses more specifically and Simz' strenuous relationship with her sister; and how the demands of being a performing artist has caused them to grow apart. Its a bittersweet and understated way to end the record and features such a soothing emotional hook that has me singing along every time.

While I think GREY Area is technically a better album on an objective level (It's tighter and more consistent in tone and theme) and I still just about prefer it personally, SIMBI's songs alone put it in the same ballpark. I managed to go see Little Simz live a few weeks ago, and the songs hold up even better in that environment. If it had just a little less sonic whiplash, and featured some slightly less on the nose interludes I would not be able to fault it at all.

Top Tracks: Introvert, Woman, Two Worlds Apart, I love You, I Hate You, Little Q, Pt. 2, Speed, Standing Ovation, I See You, Rollin Stone, Protect My Energy, Point And Kill, Fear No Man, How Did You Get Here, Miss Understood

9/10

Childish Gambino - "3.15.20" (2020)

My first real exposure to Donald Glover's musical project, Childish Gambino, was his 2018 global smash hit, This Is America. The captivating fusion of trap and afrobeat, paired with with the razor sharp political lyrics has made it an instant classic. This really peaked my interest, so I went and checked out his 2016 album Awaken My Lover, expecting more cutting, conscious hip hop. What I got was 70s throwback record of psychedelic funk and soul - and I really enjoyed it. But I still expected the inevitable next CG album to follow in This Is America's footsteps, even after the release of the follow up 2 track EP, which was more of a contemporary R&B sound.

So it was to my surprise that 3.15.20 is closer in sound to Awaken My Lover than This Is America, although it is hardly a sequel in the same throwback sense, as almost everything about the sound, style and release of this record is weird and unstructured. The title comes from the date the record was originally released, as a looping livestream on the website donaldgloverpresents (before releasing on streaming a few days later), and the majority of the tracks are titled as their timestamps in the entire records runtime. The exceptions are tracks 2 and 3, titled Algorhythm and Time. This is America does not feature on the record, yet Feels Like Summer (one of the tracks from the follow up EP) does. Although it now goes by the name of 42.26, track 10 of the record.

The sound of the record jumps all over the place, from contemporary R&B, to experimental hip hop, to the throwback sounds of Awaken My Lover; all through the lense of some really odd production choices. The mixes here feel muddy and washed out, but not in a good way. The whole mix feels out of balance. Things that feel like they should pop (Vocals, guitars and synths, ect.) don't; and many of the lower ends (percussion and bass) sound to harsh and loud. Time, featuring Ariana Grande, is a good example of this. Both her and Donald have striking, fairly high pitched voices, yet their vocals just feel concealed in the low end of the mix.

These tracks are also very unstructured, with half the tracklist being over 5 minutes, and a good chunk of them not really feeling like songs - more extended instrumental sections with Donald and others just doing whatever they feel like on top. While choruses and hooks do crop up, they feel rather unrefined and not very catchy. 12.38 is a six and half minute tune of Donald laidback-ly riffing over a simple beat, and while the relaxed vibe of the song initially sounds pretty decent, it goes nowhere for 4 minutes then just jumps off the deep end after that point with random effects placed on the mix and unremarkable features from 21 Savage and Kadhja Bonet don't anything.

The album really dips around the midpoint. The 8 minute neo-soul croon-fest that is 24.19 just goes on and on. The production on this one sounds really bad and murky, and makes Glover's usually quite intense croon sound amateurish. The pitch shifting that crops up from time to time also really doesn't sound good. The main track fades out at around 5:30 for a weird interlude with intense breathing and the building of industrial beats to lead into 32.22. This is a track in the style of some experimental, industrial hip hop, and just sounds ugly. The garbled, autotuned vocals combine with this repetitive, garish beat to just feel really pointless and annoying. Nothing else on the record sounds like this, which makes it seem really random and disjointed why it's on here (especially since it does nothing interesting).

The best tracks are the ones that do feel like complete songs (or songs most of the way to completion). 19.10 is straight up Prince worship, but the singular goal of the song gives it some focus and is fairly catchy. It's not amazing, and feels like 3/4 of a complete song, but I don't get tired of it by the end of its runtime unlike a lot of the tracks here. 42.26 is essentially unchanged from it's original incarnation as Feels Like Summer, and so is actually quite jarring how much better it sounds than the rest of the record. You can definitely tell it was recorded and mixed separately from the rest of the album. The relaxed, tropical grove of the song and Glover's reggae-ish singing do genuinely feel like summer. The Closer, 53.49, is reminiscent of the wacky, psychedelic funk that cropped up on Awaken My Lover. The track is short and snappy, and Donald's vocals really pop.

This record is really quite weird. Everything sounds so unfocused and unfinished, yet so intentional. It hops genres with each track; ideas are either barely explored or dragged out far too long; and the lyrics don't build to any sort of coherent theme or concept. It's certainly ambitious and subversive, just not really the strongest executed.

Top Tracks: 19.10, 42.26, 53.49

5/10

Kendrick Lamar - "untitled unmastered." (2016)

untitled unmastered. is a collection of unfinished tracks from the sessions of Kendrick's previous album, To Pimp A Butterfly. I must reiterate that they are unfinished, because they seriously don't sound like it. This compilation for me acts like an expansion to TPAB, because these tracks are genuinely great. Rather than having traditional song titles, each of the 8 tracks here are given a number and a date.

These songs are very much in the same vain as TPAB, being politically and socially charged jazz rap bangers. Kendrick's flow and character is just as strong, and the tracks bounce around from weird, dark psychedelic tunes (in the form of untitled 01) to fun and funky (untitled 03 and 06). untitled 02 and 07 even lean into the more trap sound of Kendrick's next album, DAMN. untitled 02 fuses this with the jazz rap he was playing with at the time, and it's really unique and kind of hypnotic. untitled 07 is probably my least favourite of the bunch, as it's rather devoid of the jazzy instrumentation and the trap beat on its own is kind of dull. untitled 05 opens as this rolling jazz beat, and stays that way for a while with some smooth vocals on top from Anna Wise. It takes two minutes for Kendrick to start rapping, and he comes in with a real punch. This is really contrasting to the smooth jazz of the instrumentation. The vocal hook by Cee Lo Green on untitled 06 is really fun and gives the track this sort of lounge vibe. Like rap for hotel lobbies. 

This album is a testament to Kendrick's talent, as it is and album of unfinished off-cuts, and it is this good. The shorter run time also makes it an easier listen; for as great as TPAB is, it's length and heaviness means I'm not always in the mood for it. Although I don't know it all that well, I have now listened to the rest of Kendrick's discography and this is definitely my second favourite after To Pimp A Butterfly.

Top Tracks: untitled 01, untitled 02, untitled 03, untitled 05, untitled 06

8/10

Kendrick Lamar - "To Pimp A Butterfly" (2015)

I don't have a musical background in hip hop (at all), but over the past couple of years I have been (very) slowly exploring the genre, starting from this album. This was the first truly hip hop album I ever listened to, outside genre crossover acts like Gorillaz and Rage Against The Machine, and I was blown away even at the first listen.

I was captivated by Kendrick's enigmatic and powerful delivery, dynamically switching up his pace and flow, as well as tone and presence. Sometimes hard and purposeful, like on Hood Politics; sometimes bragging and flashy, like on King Kunta; sometimes reflective and thoughtful, for example How Much A Dollar Cost. On u, Kendrick puts on a voice that sounds mid-mental breakdown, and it really adds an intense emotional edge to the song. The instrumentation is equally creative and dynamic. The album is stuffed full with funky and jazzy beats which constantly switch up and change direction, sometimes multiple times in a song. They are consistently entertaining, and never take the backseat to Kendrick's vocals. It is exceptional that these two elements work so well in tandem, it never feels like there's any kind of back and forth considering the complexity of both elements.

Kendrick's lyrics are engrossing, covering multiple topics including: life as a black American, institutionalised racism, growing up in Compton, the exploitation of an artists work in the music industry, and his own personal struggles with religion and his role in society. He switches between these topics effortlessly between songs and even within them. His lyrics are so dense that every time I've listened to this record over the past couple of years I discover something new, it's like a gift that keeps on giving. I don't pretend that I fully understand everything he mentions here, and I don't think I ever will, which draws me in further.

The album goes on such a run from For Free? through to Alright. All of these tracks are fantastic. For Free?, much like u, employs some of Kendrick's more deranged vocals. That combined with the frantic jazzy instrumentation gives the track a uniquely entertaining vibe. King Kunta takes shots at other rappers, and Institutionalized references growing up in Compton and has a great guest verse from Snoop Dog. These Walls and Alright have more fun to them, however still have intelligent lyrics and incredibly catchy choruses. The Story told on How Much A Dollar Cost is personal and spiritual, detailing an event where Kendrick came across a beggar who he initially dismissed as a scam artist, who then is revealed to be Jesus and that this was a test of his faith. This track is set to a moody piano line and some restrained saxophones, adding to this spooky and otherworldly atmosphere. The Blacker The Berry goes for the jugular, with Lamar aggressively rapping about the endless cycle of institutionalised racism and gang violence, and how even he can't get away from it despite being one of the biggest rappers in the world.

The closer, Mortal Man is slow track which winds down the album and its many ideas well, and after the track finishes there is a section where Kendrick has edited an old Tupac interview to make it seem as if they are having a conversation. This could come of a little awkward, however it is edited so well that it is very endearing, especially the end where Kendrick Shouts out "PAC!" as if hes disappeared, obliviously in reference to Tupac's untimely death.

This record is fantastic. It is bursting it's seems with creativity and character, as well as being poignant and thought provoking. It's focus on instrumentation also provides a nice starting point for people getting into the genre. Of the few hip hop releases I have listened to since, none have come close to beating this one, even some of Kendrick's other work. If you ave never been into hip hop, this record may change that.

Top Tracks: For Free? King Kunta, Instiutionalized, These Walls, u, Alright, Hood Politics, How Much A Dollar Cost, The Blacker The Berry, Mortal Man

9/10