Great Breakthrough Album by a great talent (College Drop Out - Kanye West)

Member Name: paulie1975

Product:	College Drop Out - Kanye West
Date:	07/04/09 (3 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fantastic production, rhymes and some standout classic tunes

Disadvantages: Too long, some of the filler could have been ditched to make this leaner

01. Intro lyrics - This kind of sets the tone for the album concept, its a man with a silly voice talking about college, Kanye obviously either really regrets dropping out of college or is keen at this stage to make it clear he's a success because he dropped out, either way this is not of any musical interest to the album.

02. We Don't Care - This isn't one of the best songs on the album, its Kanye talking about why education isn't working, his rhymes are good, the backing track is laid back and catchy but it lacks the hook of some of his other tunes and is one of the weaker tunes on this album for me.

03. Graduation Day - Gospel tinged tune with a vocoder over the top, this is short and talks about how he feels he let his mother down, its not a standout by any means its too short and pretty basic.

04. All Falls Down - Now this is an all time classic for me, the hook, the backing vocals, the rap, its all here, this tune will sound as good in 20 years time, its an ellorgy to things going wrong, the backing singer has a wonderful voice and her 'all falls down' refrain is wicked, Kanye tells a story without resorting to caricature and simply lets this flow with grace and style, the music is tinged with melancholy as is the vocal, this is mature rap from an impressive young man.

05. I'll Fly Away - Just over one minute long, this is a kind of old style riff around a piano in a barbershop style way, it is cool in an old style way and really illustrates some great voices and is great for a little change.

06. Spaceship - I love the rhyme style on this he follows his breathing and the song fits around his rhymes, there are loads of things popping in and out here, vocals, strange effects, old style rhymes and beats mixed with more modern dance bangs, this tune is confusing but overall Kanye controls the tune with an impressive rap.

07. Jesus Walks - Straight out classic with the enormous bellowing chorus, this is catchier than an a velcro covered ball when your holding special velcro attaching mittens. Kanye is majestic, his style fits this perfectly he spits the lyrics out and really controls this tune, it is a straight out hip hop classic for me, a story, some great word play and a fantastic catchy chorus, undertoned by some wicked 70's funk soul. This is an amazing tune.

08. Never Let Me Down (feat. Jay-Z) - Two masters rhyming over Kanyes trademark beats a distorted backing vocal fading in and out, this is a wicked tune, Jay-Z takes a lot of the strain on this and as always throws so much into it that he proves he's still the top man, the contrast with Kanye is great and these two work well together, the tune backs the rhymes but never overwhelms them which makes this a strong tune.

09. Get Em High (feat. Common and Talib Kweli) - One of the harder songs on the album, joined by two more regular collaborators, common brings his other-worldly rap skills and Talib Kweli is just as always smooth as hell. The beats are repetitive, the styles are good, but for me this is a tad overdone and a bit too long.

10. Workout Plan - Vocals building up to track 11, works with the tune as a build up but no music involved.

11. The New Workout Plan - Kanye's instructions following the skit in track 10, based over a workout beat, well a messed up Kanye workout beat, this is twisted with violins, breakbeats and some great chorus', Kanye has fun on this and for the most part its a wicked tune but at over 5 minutes it is just a tad too long for my liking, good tune if it was cut to three and half minutes though!

12. Slow Jamz (with Jamie Foxx, Luther Vandross and Twista) - Another 5 minute tune this one featuring some smooth soul singers, this is a wicked tune and I love it, Kanye raps sporadically, Jamie and Luthor (not sure if he is a dub add from an old tune) throw in oodles of soulful croonings behind the tune and on the chorus, I am so impressed with Jamie Foxx's voice, Twista is involved but is outdone by the other 3.

13. Breathe In Breathe Out (feat. Ludacris) - Nice contrast between two fella's on top of their games, this is a decent rap but the chorus of breathe in breathe out is a bit simplistic and throws references to some of the less insprired hip hop tunes of the last 20 years.

14. School Spirit Skit 1 - Boring skit, doesn't add much

15. School Spirit - This is not a great tune for me, too much repetition and the chorus is weak but when Kanye flows he still shows enough for it not to be a bad tune.

16. School Spirit Skit 2 - See song 14, once you hear it once it becomes quite dull

17. Lil Jimmy Skit - Aaaagh, too many skits at this stage, the album is running out of ideas, it starts amazingly and these are just filler!

18. Two Words (feat. Mos Def)- Love the Gran Turismo type gangster backing tune mixing hard guitars with angelic musings, Mos Def is superb, hard, cutting, as usual he provides some excellent words to some great beats, Kanye can produce others really well and this is a great tune showing off the best of Def.

19. Through The Wire - This is the time when Kanye comes back to life, talking about his near death experience he rhymes fantastically, you can even hear him putting on a slight slur to build this up further, the beats are fantastic, old style seventies smooth groove, he samples this style so well and this works, its got flow, a story and a fantastic rap. Great tune, best on the last third of the album.

20. Family Business - A nice introspective tune, filled with a feeling of family and love, this is Kanye at his best, a lovely old school tune.

21. Last Call - A slow end to the album, this isn't particularly inspiring and ends the album on a flat note.

Voted one of Time Magazines 100 greatest albums of all time I would put it in my own top 100 definitely.

For this to be Kanye's debut album is an incredible achievement, filled as almost a biography it has his trademark style of rapping, not lazy, but measured and stylised. He is intelligent and wants to be seen this way, his production is superb, he fills his tunes with amazing collaborators and rather than keeping the best stuff for himself is happy to allow people to take the limelight. This is a mature, introspective album of class and substance and marked West out as somebody of great ability. My only criticism would be that the skits weren't necessary but if they are part of his life then it makes sense being on this album.

The CD is available to buy for £4.98 at Amazon and is a bargain at that price, high production values allied to a real inquisitive style of rhyming.

Summary: Great Breakthrough Album by a great talent