I told you previously in my french DJs' summer albums post that I couldn't wait for David Guetta's fourth studio album One love to be released and now it's been released a week ago and I've listened to it more than a couple times, I can review it fully.
Well, I guess I was awaiting too much of it, its first single When love takes over gave me great expectations while second one Sexy bitch should have let me know it was gonna be a mixed bag, full of too much US R&B influences... Not that it isn't a great album but David Guetta's moved a little too far away from his usual sounds for me.
1/ WHEN LOVE TAKES OVER feat. Kelly Rowland 3:12
The song starts with these gorgeous Coldplay inspired piano notes and builds up into the anthem of the summer 2009, maybe the club anthem of 2009, who knows? It could be. The song has everything : a beautiful melody, great arrangements, memorizable lyrics, perfect chorus, a nice slowed down bridge and a powerful vocalist. I really hope Kelly Rowland has learned of her recent hits (all in the club territories, over her R&B flops) and will work on a full electro-house solo album. Doesn't even Beyoncé get remixed to have higher hits (Freemasons somewhere?).
I must have listened to this song a million times already but I'm sure I ain't never gonna get bored of it... Did I told you it reached #1 in the UK charts? 20/20.
2/ GETTIN' OVER feat. Chris Willis 3:00
The song starts like previous Guetta/Willis collaborations, with minimal keys and soulful Chris Willis voices belting out but then, at 1'10, comes a dirty elektro loop that is on full repeat mode to get on our nerves before more nearly acapellas by Chris Willis heal our ears, but then the awful sounds come back and alternate with the "just no gettin' over you" final parts. It seems to me like David Guetta had recorded a Love is gone clone and wanted to disturb it a little, to make it sound raw, so re-arranged with cut/paste techniques : sometimes beautiful, sometimes boring : 14/20.
3/ SEXY BITCH feat. Akon 3:16
Having recently watched a lot of Kid Cudi vs Crookers' video on MCM, I can't forget Sexy bitch verses' sounds a lot like Day N Nite : minimal beats and confessional conversational lyrics. But then comes the pre-chorus then real chorus with full uplifting elektro treatment... This one is a grower, with the underground appeal it's been censured into Sexy chick for US radios : it's already reached #1 in the UK charts : 18/20.
4/ MEMORIES feat. Kid Cudi 3:28
Weren't we talking of Kid Cudi ? He is next on board with a darker voice on Memories verses and a full "Hey hey, hey hey" chorus line that must be one the the poorest chorus lyrics I have ever heard! But it must be about the rhythm, not about the lyrics, to make people move bodies and dance. So it's okay, I suppose. I won't trade it for the joyful Day N Nite though... 12/20.
5/ ON THE DANCEFLOOR feat. Will.I.Am & Apl de Ap 3:45
This first of three Black Eyed Peas/Will.I.Am collaborations starts with an annoying and repetitive rap before the music gets even more annoying mixing acid loops and shoutings by the boyz. This one's got me using the SKIP button each time I listen to my CD ! 00/20.
6/ IT'S THE WAY YOU LOVE ME feat. Kelly Rowland 4:10
Thankfully for my ears, When love takes over, Part II comes in with a more syncopated arrangement that makes me nod my head in rhythm but still an uplifting melody and charming vocal by Miss Kelly Rowland. Oh how I would like this one to be released as a single... but I doubt another Guetta/Rowland will be granted with such a bliss unless 2/3 of this tracklisting becomes singles : 19/20.
7/ MISSING YOU feat. Novel 3:07
A pulsating rhythm, a warm voice and african inspirations all melt into the following track, but just like on Gettin' over, there's too much elektro loops at some times to make it really work in my heart : 15/20.
8/ CHOOSE feat. Ne-Yo & Kelly Rowland 3:57
Now this is what some would call a missed opportunity : gettin' Kelly Rowland AND Ne-Yo sing on the same song and finally get THIS ! It sounds like an unfinished demo with an annoying repetitive chorus line "You wanna make me choose" repeated like endlessly on speeded up beats all with noizy blib-blips... I don't understand how this studio jam (afterhours and after smokin' a lot for sure) could have saved its place on the CD and really hope This kind of "music" ain't the future of Music ! 02/20 (for Kelly's contribution...)
9/ HOW SOON IS NOW with Sebastian Ingrosso & Dirty South feat. Julie McKnight 4:09
David Guetta or his record company must have been in the know some tracks were hard on the ears because they are always followed by old-school house anthems and How soon is now, a collaboration with Sabastian Ingrosso, Dirty South and Fred Riesterer is another perfect feel-good-with-your-hands-in-the-air lightful anthem where Julie McKnight's beautiful voice shines all through it : 20/20.
10/ I GOTTA FEELING (FMIF REMIX EDIT) by Black Eyed Peas 3:54
Some people may not know but Black Eyed Peas' recent #1 hit I gotta feeling from their #1 album The E.N.D. is produced by David Guetta and this remix by Mr. Guetta and Fred Riesterer has its own place on his album. For once, I like it more when the 'Peas are singing than when David's alone at twitchin' the knobs : over 30'', it becomes very annoying, and there are too many alarm sirens sounds too. I believe my parents would instantly die by blips overdose if I was tempted to hold them listening to it till the end ...and it's less than 4' long ! 12/20.
11/ ONE LOVE feat. Estelle 4:01
Once more, salvation comes from a true diva, from England this time (she may have found her American boy but she's all a british girl!) and Estelle's one and only collaboration gives its title to the album. One love has got some african inspired beats with non-primal electro arrangements and a beautiful vocal line, nearly gospel at times. Another anthem in the making and for sure a future single ! 18/20.
12/ I WANNA GO CRAZY feat. Will.I.Am 3:24
"Let's go!" shouts Will.I.Am in I wanna go crazy intro and I'm fearin' another awful mess ...that it is not, for once. This new collaboration is not the one I like best out of this bunch for sure but this time they made it hearable till the end. Allow me to think that Will.I.Am ain't a singer nor a good rapper on my shores... His flow is very binary, but isn't rap musically very primary too? 15/20.
13/ SOUND OF LETTING GO with Tocadisco feat. Chris Willis 3:45
Previously Guetta's favourite Chris Willis comes back for a second track, a new collaboration with Tocadisco and, just like Tomorrow can wait, it's another winner. Mr. Willis should get the chance to have a solo album of his own, for his vocals are always so soulful, and at the same time so perfect for house music ; I can't understand how he is so under-used by dance music producers round there. I'd hear it easily on radios if it was released as third single over Gettin' over apparent choice ! 17/20.
14/ TOYFRIEND with Afrojack feat. Wynter Gordon 3:17
Toyfriend starts with oriental chants with what sounds like a boat siren and it sums up perfectly what the song is : a journey into India/Africa with an electro mixing desk in our baggages. I can nearly see it in the background of a DVD showing David Guetta on a flight to Ibiza or Istambul. Refreshing but not my cup of tea... 13/20.
15/ IF WE EVER feat. Makeba 4:40
A nice female voice opens up for the final track of One love's tracklisting, with beats sounding like waterdrops falling behind the melody line. But when the chorus comes, all breezy and light, with a powerful wall of sound, it is a pleasant surprise. But the speed falls back for verse two, before a pulsating beat arrives in time for second chorus and lead the song into clubland, afterhours. It must be 5 'o clock in the morning, time to cool off at the beach before movin' back home for a nap... Ibiza dream : F*ck me, I may be famous? lol 16/20.
16/ WHEN LOVE TAKES OVER (BLAME REMIX) * feat. Kelly Rowland 5:13
First of two digital bonuses is an electro meets 2step/garage remix of the first single and I can't hide the truth : it's a real massacre !!! This remix has erased all the lightness of the track and the drum'n'bass rhythm has never done anything to me : 06/20.
17/ IT'S YOUR LIFE * feat. Chris Willis 3:45
Chris Willis gets a third card on the album's digital edition with It's your life, a better song than half the tracks on actual CD so I can't understand how it could have been put aside ...well, except Willis ain't a big name like Ne-Yo or Will.I.Am in the US bizness so it's safer to keep this one as a bonus. It is another winning collaboration between the two's, with aerial arrangements, hypnotic but discreet groove and amazing vocal performance : 18/20.
SPECIAL EDITION BONUS MEGAMIX CD including
I NEED YOU NOW feat. Samantha Jade
Now's another new song that only appears mixed in between others on the One love megamix on bonus CD for the special edition release. I need you now is another wonderful club anthem (except Miss Jade ain't got Miss Rowland's powerful voice) that should have won its place onto the physical CD! All I need now is to find where the complete (unmixed) version of the song is available to download and buy it straight away to complete my special One love folder on my mp3 player. 17/20.
* Digital Bonus Tracks
So what? it's a mixed review... but if I let aside a couple of tracks that are unhearable and a couple others that don't fit to my tastes, there's still enough to make a great electro/house album, more than able to cross-over in the US and make his electro/R&B sound the sound of tomorrow. Minus these bad tracks' notes, the global appreciation goes up from 13,4/20 to 15,6/20.
One more thing to add : for the first time, David Guetta has joined forces with other co-producers than Joachim Garraud on this album #4. In an attempt to prove that he is a producer of his own, who ain't staying in mister G's shadow, he has mainly worked here with Frédéric Riesterer or Jean-Claudre Sindres and Antoine Clamaran's co-producer Sandy Vee, and it does still sound like Guetta.
Well, I guess I was awaiting too much of it, its first single When love takes over gave me great expectations while second one Sexy bitch should have let me know it was gonna be a mixed bag, full of too much US R&B influences... Not that it isn't a great album but David Guetta's moved a little too far away from his usual sounds for me.
1/ WHEN LOVE TAKES OVER feat. Kelly Rowland 3:12
The song starts with these gorgeous Coldplay inspired piano notes and builds up into the anthem of the summer 2009, maybe the club anthem of 2009, who knows? It could be. The song has everything : a beautiful melody, great arrangements, memorizable lyrics, perfect chorus, a nice slowed down bridge and a powerful vocalist. I really hope Kelly Rowland has learned of her recent hits (all in the club territories, over her R&B flops) and will work on a full electro-house solo album. Doesn't even Beyoncé get remixed to have higher hits (Freemasons somewhere?).
I must have listened to this song a million times already but I'm sure I ain't never gonna get bored of it... Did I told you it reached #1 in the UK charts? 20/20.
2/ GETTIN' OVER feat. Chris Willis 3:00
The song starts like previous Guetta/Willis collaborations, with minimal keys and soulful Chris Willis voices belting out but then, at 1'10, comes a dirty elektro loop that is on full repeat mode to get on our nerves before more nearly acapellas by Chris Willis heal our ears, but then the awful sounds come back and alternate with the "just no gettin' over you" final parts. It seems to me like David Guetta had recorded a Love is gone clone and wanted to disturb it a little, to make it sound raw, so re-arranged with cut/paste techniques : sometimes beautiful, sometimes boring : 14/20.
3/ SEXY BITCH feat. Akon 3:16
Having recently watched a lot of Kid Cudi vs Crookers' video on MCM, I can't forget Sexy bitch verses' sounds a lot like Day N Nite : minimal beats and confessional conversational lyrics. But then comes the pre-chorus then real chorus with full uplifting elektro treatment... This one is a grower, with the underground appeal it's been censured into Sexy chick for US radios : it's already reached #1 in the UK charts : 18/20.
4/ MEMORIES feat. Kid Cudi 3:28
Weren't we talking of Kid Cudi ? He is next on board with a darker voice on Memories verses and a full "Hey hey, hey hey" chorus line that must be one the the poorest chorus lyrics I have ever heard! But it must be about the rhythm, not about the lyrics, to make people move bodies and dance. So it's okay, I suppose. I won't trade it for the joyful Day N Nite though... 12/20.
5/ ON THE DANCEFLOOR feat. Will.I.Am & Apl de Ap 3:45
This first of three Black Eyed Peas/Will.I.Am collaborations starts with an annoying and repetitive rap before the music gets even more annoying mixing acid loops and shoutings by the boyz. This one's got me using the SKIP button each time I listen to my CD ! 00/20.
6/ IT'S THE WAY YOU LOVE ME feat. Kelly Rowland 4:10
Thankfully for my ears, When love takes over, Part II comes in with a more syncopated arrangement that makes me nod my head in rhythm but still an uplifting melody and charming vocal by Miss Kelly Rowland. Oh how I would like this one to be released as a single... but I doubt another Guetta/Rowland will be granted with such a bliss unless 2/3 of this tracklisting becomes singles : 19/20.
7/ MISSING YOU feat. Novel 3:07
A pulsating rhythm, a warm voice and african inspirations all melt into the following track, but just like on Gettin' over, there's too much elektro loops at some times to make it really work in my heart : 15/20.
8/ CHOOSE feat. Ne-Yo & Kelly Rowland 3:57
Now this is what some would call a missed opportunity : gettin' Kelly Rowland AND Ne-Yo sing on the same song and finally get THIS ! It sounds like an unfinished demo with an annoying repetitive chorus line "You wanna make me choose" repeated like endlessly on speeded up beats all with noizy blib-blips... I don't understand how this studio jam (afterhours and after smokin' a lot for sure) could have saved its place on the CD and really hope This kind of "music" ain't the future of Music ! 02/20 (for Kelly's contribution...)
9/ HOW SOON IS NOW with Sebastian Ingrosso & Dirty South feat. Julie McKnight 4:09
David Guetta or his record company must have been in the know some tracks were hard on the ears because they are always followed by old-school house anthems and How soon is now, a collaboration with Sabastian Ingrosso, Dirty South and Fred Riesterer is another perfect feel-good-with-your-hands-in-the-air lightful anthem where Julie McKnight's beautiful voice shines all through it : 20/20.
10/ I GOTTA FEELING (FMIF REMIX EDIT) by Black Eyed Peas 3:54
Some people may not know but Black Eyed Peas' recent #1 hit I gotta feeling from their #1 album The E.N.D. is produced by David Guetta and this remix by Mr. Guetta and Fred Riesterer has its own place on his album. For once, I like it more when the 'Peas are singing than when David's alone at twitchin' the knobs : over 30'', it becomes very annoying, and there are too many alarm sirens sounds too. I believe my parents would instantly die by blips overdose if I was tempted to hold them listening to it till the end ...and it's less than 4' long ! 12/20.
11/ ONE LOVE feat. Estelle 4:01
Once more, salvation comes from a true diva, from England this time (she may have found her American boy but she's all a british girl!) and Estelle's one and only collaboration gives its title to the album. One love has got some african inspired beats with non-primal electro arrangements and a beautiful vocal line, nearly gospel at times. Another anthem in the making and for sure a future single ! 18/20.
12/ I WANNA GO CRAZY feat. Will.I.Am 3:24
"Let's go!" shouts Will.I.Am in I wanna go crazy intro and I'm fearin' another awful mess ...that it is not, for once. This new collaboration is not the one I like best out of this bunch for sure but this time they made it hearable till the end. Allow me to think that Will.I.Am ain't a singer nor a good rapper on my shores... His flow is very binary, but isn't rap musically very primary too? 15/20.
13/ SOUND OF LETTING GO with Tocadisco feat. Chris Willis 3:45
Previously Guetta's favourite Chris Willis comes back for a second track, a new collaboration with Tocadisco and, just like Tomorrow can wait, it's another winner. Mr. Willis should get the chance to have a solo album of his own, for his vocals are always so soulful, and at the same time so perfect for house music ; I can't understand how he is so under-used by dance music producers round there. I'd hear it easily on radios if it was released as third single over Gettin' over apparent choice ! 17/20.
14/ TOYFRIEND with Afrojack feat. Wynter Gordon 3:17
Toyfriend starts with oriental chants with what sounds like a boat siren and it sums up perfectly what the song is : a journey into India/Africa with an electro mixing desk in our baggages. I can nearly see it in the background of a DVD showing David Guetta on a flight to Ibiza or Istambul. Refreshing but not my cup of tea... 13/20.
15/ IF WE EVER feat. Makeba 4:40
A nice female voice opens up for the final track of One love's tracklisting, with beats sounding like waterdrops falling behind the melody line. But when the chorus comes, all breezy and light, with a powerful wall of sound, it is a pleasant surprise. But the speed falls back for verse two, before a pulsating beat arrives in time for second chorus and lead the song into clubland, afterhours. It must be 5 'o clock in the morning, time to cool off at the beach before movin' back home for a nap... Ibiza dream : F*ck me, I may be famous? lol 16/20.
16/ WHEN LOVE TAKES OVER (BLAME REMIX) * feat. Kelly Rowland 5:13
First of two digital bonuses is an electro meets 2step/garage remix of the first single and I can't hide the truth : it's a real massacre !!! This remix has erased all the lightness of the track and the drum'n'bass rhythm has never done anything to me : 06/20.
17/ IT'S YOUR LIFE * feat. Chris Willis 3:45
Chris Willis gets a third card on the album's digital edition with It's your life, a better song than half the tracks on actual CD so I can't understand how it could have been put aside ...well, except Willis ain't a big name like Ne-Yo or Will.I.Am in the US bizness so it's safer to keep this one as a bonus. It is another winning collaboration between the two's, with aerial arrangements, hypnotic but discreet groove and amazing vocal performance : 18/20.
SPECIAL EDITION BONUS MEGAMIX CD including
I NEED YOU NOW feat. Samantha Jade
Now's another new song that only appears mixed in between others on the One love megamix on bonus CD for the special edition release. I need you now is another wonderful club anthem (except Miss Jade ain't got Miss Rowland's powerful voice) that should have won its place onto the physical CD! All I need now is to find where the complete (unmixed) version of the song is available to download and buy it straight away to complete my special One love folder on my mp3 player. 17/20.
* Digital Bonus Tracks
So what? it's a mixed review... but if I let aside a couple of tracks that are unhearable and a couple others that don't fit to my tastes, there's still enough to make a great electro/house album, more than able to cross-over in the US and make his electro/R&B sound the sound of tomorrow. Minus these bad tracks' notes, the global appreciation goes up from 13,4/20 to 15,6/20.
One more thing to add : for the first time, David Guetta has joined forces with other co-producers than Joachim Garraud on this album #4. In an attempt to prove that he is a producer of his own, who ain't staying in mister G's shadow, he has mainly worked here with Frédéric Riesterer or Jean-Claudre Sindres and Antoine Clamaran's co-producer Sandy Vee, and it does still sound like Guetta.
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