It Doesn't Get Better For Guetta (One Love - David Guetta)

Member Name: plipplop

Product:	One Love - David Guetta
Date:	01/09/09 (165 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very strong, consistent album, stuffed with big guest stars

Disadvantages: A couple of weaker links, may have short-term appeal

A review of the standard UK edition of One Love by David Guetta. The album is available in physical and digital formats. There is also a two-disc version featuring additional remixes, not reviewed here.

David Guetta is one of those names that often seems to get slotted in sentences with the word 'pioneering'. If Guetta 'pioneered' anything, I'm not entirely aware of it, but he's an increasingly influential French DJ/producer who has been around for a good decade, recording, producing and remixing club music. Guetta's sound is not typically the sort of thing that you might associate with French House music, most widely recognised with artists like Daft Punk and Bob Sinclar. Guetta's style is arguably more commercialised, and increasingly so, as he combines breezy, simple club beats with synthesised riffs and guest vocals from a wide range of artists.

One Love is David Guetta's fourth studio album and, if anything, only really solidifies his position as a purveyor of solid, reliable dance-floor friendly anthems. Guetta's previous three albums feature a range of guest vocalists, along with some long-time collaborators but the main change here is an upgrade in the star rating of the vocalists featured. Whereas previous featured names ranged from vaguely familiar (Stereo MCs) to those only known in the business (Chris Willis), One Love's track listing is largely littered with superstars. Guetta doesn't discriminate - his studio welcomes male and female vocalists, soul singers, R & B superstars and rappers alike. And so, it's no surprise that this new, rather self-indulgent approach to working with industry superstars has thus far yielded three number one singles in the UK, with more likely to follow. This is an unquestionably impressive album; it reads and sounds like a greatest hits compilation.

Former Destiny's Child singer Kelly Rowland is featured here on three tracks, twice as a solo vocalist and once alongside Ne-Yo. 'When Love Takes Over' is the album's opening track, was the first single to be released, was a huge commercial success and rightfully so. A little simple for more sophisticated club-goers, it remains an infectious and uplifting anthem and combines Rowland's sweet vocals perfectly against Guetta's piano-driven bass line. It's easily the strongest of the three Rowland tracks for the clubbers, but fans of Rowland's earlier material will probably favour the duet written by and performed with Ne-Yo. Ne-Yo's distinct sound comes through strongly here and it's hard to define who has the strongest influence. The pace and beat belongs to Guetta; the tone and vocal arrangement is Ne-Yo's from start to finish. 'It's The Way You Love Me' (Rowland's other outlet) initially seems to sit in the shadow of When Love Takes Over, but ends up with more staying power, with a slightly harder, sassier sound.

The Black Eyed Peas feature here collectively on one track and member Will I Am is featured alone on two further tracks. I Gotta Feeling was a number one single credited to the B.E.P. but is credited here (in remixed format) to Guetta. The remix here is familiar Guetta territory, initially sounding like his car advert mega hit Love Don't Let Me Go, before the recognisable vocal sample kicks in (quite different to the single version). It blends into the album well (due largely to the mix used) but isn't one of the strongest tracks featured here. Will I Am's other tracks are actually more like the Black Eyed Peas. On The Dance Floor is a furious, hip-hop, house tune. It's arguably a little repetitive outside the dance floor but the fusion of beats and sounds lends itself to so many genres it's close to a work of genius. I Wanna Go Crazy is less appealing, partly due to the rather dull rap from Will I Am, and also from the more industrial, plodding beat. Long-time collaborator Chris Willis (often mistaken now for Guetta himself) is featured here on two tracks, the better being 'Sound of Letting Go' that opens with a bizarre twist on House of the Rising Sun before launching into familiar, funky electro-house territory.

The stand-out track for me is the collaboration with Akon, Sexy Bitch, which is close to perfection. The swirling, bleepy instrumental is the perfect accompaniment to Akon's (slightly synthesised vocal) and manages the rare feat of competently blending R & B with house music. Commercially, the single has been edited into Sexy Chick, which is vaguely ridiculous, and I'd point listeners to the other version on the album that feels more complete (even if the reference to the 'neighbourhood whore' seems a clumsy way to get something to rhyme with more.) The other highlight sees the gorgeous vocalist Julie McKnight (she did Finally with Kings of Tomorrow) on top form with a haunting, soulful anthem that could give Finally a run for its money. The only track that I *don't* really like is the collaboration with Kid Cudi, that's a bit flat, but then Kid Cudi's voice is pretty flat, so that comes as no surprise.

The language issue is a minor consideration here. Most of the tracks are written by the featured vocalists, with or without some support from Guetta himself, and generally reflect the sort of material you'd expect the vocalists to release. So, the album has a slightly disjointed feel to it. Arguably, these are all tracks by the vocalists that have simply been produced by Guetta; it's slightly cheeky for the Frenchman to take lead credit in most cases. This also means that you have to watch out for occasional swear words dropped into the tracks, notably on a Ne-Yo track that unexpectedly throws in the f-word. It's notable only by the fact it takes you by surprise and the fact that, curiously, there's no parental guidance sticker. But it *is* appropriate to the music style. This is reasonably 'grown-up' dance music and it really shouldn't be sanitised.

The pace of the album is pretty relentless. Only the closing track 'If We 'Ever' slows down and shows a mellower side to Guetta. (It's a nice enough song but likely to be ignored by position alone.) Title track 'One Love', which features soul singer Estelle (and I should imagine will be the next single) is a slightly mellower tune too and sounds rather like a Bob Sinclar song that has wandered onto the album by mistake (it's a traditional French house anthem about the world being a better place.) Otherwise it's all pretty energetic stuff. The constant change of vocalists and styles might be unsettling for some. Fans of the Rowland and Estelle tracks might not be quite so keen on the Will I Am material, for example, and a broader appreciation of club and house music is likely to prevent picking and choosing a handful of favourite tracks.

But whichever way you look at it, the album is extremely consistent in quality. There are no fillers, intros or interludes here. Every single one of the sixteen tracks could stand as a single in its own right, which is no mean feat for a club artist and it is credit to Guetta that he has produced an album of such strong quality. The edits are pretty short, with the longest track length at around four minutes. This won't appeal to DJs or mixers but is perfect to your average home listener, who will probably pile drive through the entire collection before a night out - and rightfully so.

Highly recommended

Track Listing:

1. When Love Takes Over (Feat.Kelly Rowland)
2. Gettin' Over (Featuring Chris Willis)
3. Sexy Chick (Featuring Akon)
4. Memories (Featuring Kid Cudi)
5. On The Dancefloor (Featuring Will I Am & Apl De Ap)
6. It 's The Way You Love Me (Featuring Kelly Rowland)
7. Missing You (Featuring Novel)
8. Choose (Featuring Ne-Yo & Kelly Rowland)
9. How Soon Is Now (Dirty South Featuring Julie McKnight)
10. I Gotta Feeling (FMIF Remix Edit)
11. One Love (Featuring Estelle)
12. I Wanna Go Crazy (Featuring Will.I.Am)
13. Sound Of Letting Go (Featuring Chris Willis)
14. Toyfriend (Featuring Wynter Gordon)
15. If We Ever (Featuring Makeba)
16. Sexy Bitch (Featuring Akon)

Summary: De la maison francaise peut-etre?