A Classic Album (Late Registration - Kanye West)

Member Name: paulie1975

Product:	Late Registration - Kanye West
Date:	02/05/09 (59 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Wonderful Production, great rap, great collaborators

Disadvantages: None

Released in 2005 this is Kanye West's second album and is possibly his greatest commercial success with a number of interesting collaborations and chart hits. Where as the first album concentrated on Kanye's dropping out of college and his seeming obsession with this, the second album is more varied and shows touches of arrogance alongside some wonderfully beautiful songs.

For me this is one of the best Rap albums ever, Kanye moved on from his first album and is more constructive on this one, discussing American Politics, healthcare, drugs, women, he does it without being destructive, although some rhymes are powerful and biting about politics or the world in general.

There are some great collaborators on this album, from Nas to Jay-Z, Cam'Ron to Common, this is a great show of Kanye's production skills as well as his excellent rap skills.



Track List:

Wake up Mr West - Simply an opener, the guy from the original album simply talking trash in a funny voice and then a gorgeous piano cuts in building up slowly for the first real song.

Heard Em Say - Featuring Adam Levine of Maroon 5, this starts with a gorgeous piano, huge beats and Kanye rapping superbly talking about the problems faced in todays society with healthcare, with crime and with life, Levine cuts in at the chorus and provides a soulful cut, Kanye returns and on this tune he absolutely storms it, he is incredibly intelligent in his output, he's come back ready to try to change things and you really believe him. This song is soft with hard lyrics, it is a lovely contrast and some people might dismiss this as being a bit poppy but its wonderfully produced and a really great song.

Touch the Sky - Massive seventies brass instruments bring you into this funky tune, Kanye sounds on top of the world, rapping with pace, flow and humour, the music on this song is brilliant, the cuts and samples are superb and this is a great uplifting song to play on a sunny day. I love this tune, it is superb and the funny video really catches the mood of the piece, Kanye the singer and Kanye the producer are both on top from on this tune. Lupe Fiasco throws in a superb rap on one verse and as always he's outstanding, one of the best young vocalists on the planet right now. What a good tune, I love it!

Gold Digger - Jamie Foxx comes on sounding like Ray Charles and then a massive beat comes in, Kanye obviously has experience following his debut album and talks about girls who are just about fame and money, the track is well produced, funky and funny, the flow is superb, Jamie Foxx sounds fantastic and it's a classic tune which we probably all know nowadays. A modern prose on the difficulties of fame.

Drive Slow - This tune has GLC and Paul Wall on it, the song is well produced with trumpets throughout and as always the production is superb, Wall and GLC don't add too much, its not one of the better songs on the album but it is still a pretty good tune. Lyrically its very strong.

My Way Home - Nice seventies sample again, this tune starts with cohort Common rapping in a constructive way, talking about making change, its intelligent rap with flow, structure and a real pride, I rate this song highly, the chorus is superb, the raps are excellent and the tune has a real lo-fi funk to it which is different to most Kanye tunes.

Crack Music - Kanye introduces the Game on this song, he hasn't gone gangster as Game actually has some really interesting flow when you get past his appearance and bravado, this song is about Crack obviously, the backing tune is catchy with lots of la la la's but the raps are the main thing here, a really political and interesting take on how drugs have overwhelmed the black communities in America and how the drugs need to be overwhelmed, I love Kanye's political stuff, he is a real voice of change in a country which is looking to change.

Roses - I love this song, funky and cool, its about Kanye going to hospital to visit his grandma and being stopped for autographs by nurses while wanting his gran to live. Its sad and a damning endictment on healthcare in America, this is powerful and moving, the music backs some superb raps, I think the chorus is catchy and grainy and adds to this tune, this is touching and powerful in its talk of family, its constructive criticism of the Bush administration is interesting.

Bring Me Down - This is a good tune, but not one of my favourites on the album, it features Brandy providing some good vocals but sounds too poppy for me, the production and music is great, the vocals are powerful and inspiring, talking about making life better, this is an uplifting tune and I like Kanye's talk of changing the world without being destructive and denigrating.

Addiction - Nice music, fast flowing rap about addiction, funnily enough, this is a great tune, I love the lyrics, its not preachy but talks about us all having our own addictions, be it food, money, family or something more destructive.

Diamonds from Sierra Leone (Remix) - This version has Shirley Bassey samples of 'Diamonds are forever' as well as the music, but then Kanye cranks a beat over the top and raps about diamond mining and the oppression of people in Sierra Leone, he creatively connects this to rappers and bling, it's a really interesting tune with a powerful hook, this is a wicked political song, its interesting and constructive again, Jay-Z joins Kanye on a verse and this is better than the other version of this song on the album simply for his presence. The two biggest rappers in the business working together constructively is interesting. The use of words is fantastic, they bring together so much, I love Jay-Z's lyric 'Difficult takes a day, impossible takes a week'.

We Major - This song features the other great rapper of our times, Nas and Really Doe, the music is a slow funky jam, with brasses and the use of the different vocals is great, the tune begins lazy and the flow works, the chorus is superb, Nas is excellent and his flow of consciousness is excellent, I love hearing rappers working together and being interesting and constructive, Nas is the best in the business at interesting, politically motivated lyrics and combined with this smooth Kanye production this is a lazy delight.

Hey Mama - This song is beautiful, it was something Kanye played incredibly well recently on his UK tour following the sad loss of his mother, but at this stage when it was made, it was a song telling his mum how amazing she was and how she made him, the lyrics are stunning, the backing track is simplistic and adds to the tune, I love this song so much, it is truly emotive, it is a song that should make everyone think of their own mum, the song about the most powerful woman in the world for anyone will always be about their mother.

Celebration - Funky, lazy, for me this feels like it should be the last song on the album, it is so well produced the backing vocals are great, this reminds me of old barbeques and parties on the estate, it has that kind of feel to it, brass instruments, small casio type instruments, this lacks the cutting edge of other raps but it's a lazy love song to women, life and having fun.

Imposter Skit - These skits never work on Kanye albums, that's all I've got to say.

Gone - This tune features Cam'Ron and Consequence, this has a piano flowing through it and an old skool beat, the rap is also fairly laid back and chilled, this works, its one of the weaker songs on this album, but is still very good, nice flows, nice production and great lyrics.

Diamonds From Sierra Leone - Same song but without Jay-Z on one verse.

We can make it better - This starts like an eighties sitcom with a strange rock pop sound but then backing vocals come in, a fantastic beat joins, the saxophone flows through the track, the rap is excellent, by this point your exhausted by this tour-de force of an album, concentration is key as the raps on each tune are superb and this is true on this tune too, I love the strings on the album, love the mix of vocals and the stories on this tale are pretty great, talking about reparations, moving forward and making life better for everyone.

I'll be late for that - Final song on the album, it begins very prettily with strings, then throws in a fine sample, which Kanye raps over, this is a slow tune, its fine, again not one of the albums highlights musically or lyrically but it ends the tune on an experimental lazy note.

The album is available on I-Tunes, its available on Amazon Market place or Ebay for under £4 too.

Summary: A Classic Album