Well, as many of you know, I purchased GD & TOP's full length album on Christmas Day here in Korea. I didn't listen to it until the 26th, but have been listening to it practically nonstop yesterday and today in order to prepare this review for you, the fans. In fact, I'm listening to it right now to make sure I don't miss anything.
The album overall
The album is really nice looking. I think it's much more sophisticated and expensive looking than the 2ne1 album, which was pretty but super flashy. This album manages to combine bling and sophistication. I actually really like the pseudo playboy bunny and the paisley print that was incorporated into the bunny design and the cd itself. But I just really like paisley in general. The pictures are generally pretty good although some of the styling is questionable in my personal opinion (I like animal prints and furs, but the headscarf gd wears, and the ladies fur coat TOP dons in two of the pictures are horrible). I really like the backgrounds of the pictures. Either really really super simple or really really eccentric. Just like GD and TOP. What I hate about the cd itself? Two things. First, there are two separate pages which both contain identical track lists. Why? I mean, the pictures are different, but why put the tracks listed twice? It's weird. Second, the album jacket which contains all the lyrics is glued into the cd case. I HATE THAT. 2ne1's album was the same and it makes me effing crazy.
Track List & Analysis:
1. Intro: The intro, which samples 70s legend Freda Payne's It's Yours to Have, is just enough of a borrowing from the past without copying, and still super super forward thinking. I feel like wearing some big ass earrings and a headscarf and some rollerskates, but at the same time, heading to a club and bouncing around. I also like how the last verse introduces all the songs. It's like an actualy introduction, not just some jibber jabber that starts the cd.
2. High High: We've all heard this song (unless you've been living under a kpop rock for the last month) but it's still awesome. It definitely sounds like something I would hear in a club in Seoul (although unfortunately not in most American university area clubs, with which I'm much familiar with). The hook is SUPER catchy. And the video, well, it's super American. It feels like something I'd watch on t.v. in America, except that some of the western girls aren't video girls at all (which is a true statement, this was just like a big party at the filming and lots of people who are not actually dancers or models attended). There are a couple moments I'd replace in the video to make it look more professional, but otherwise, I like the video a lot too. Also, I don't agree with Eat Your Kimchi's 5 out of 5 for English rating. Ghetto Electro isn't a real word, and their joke wasn't even that funny (don't get me wrong, I'm totally a fan of eatyourkimchi.com but that joke wasn't funny and I think their bias got in the way of the fact that the English in this song was not perfect and maybe deserves a 3.5 or 4 out of 5)
3. Oh Yeah (feat. Park Bom): Into is funky and fun. GD opening the first verse really screams of Heartbreaker to me for some reason. But when TOP steps in, he changes it up a bit. However, I'd say his first verse sounds a little forced and too clean. Part of the beauty of TOP's voice is it's roughness. But Bom KILLS this track. I get chills listening to her sing in this song. Also, you can tell TOP didn't have a part in the production of this video. It's a great song, and it fits GD's style perfect, but it's something TOP seems to need to conform to a bit. He does a good job of it, but it's not his best performance. But, I'm gonna repeat this because it's so true: Park Bom KILLED it.
4. 집에 가지마: This song is practically perfect, in my opinion. Bom was gonna feature on this as well, but as much as I love her voice, I'm glad she didn't. I like GD doing those vocals on the chorus. Also, I really like when GD echoes TOP during the first verse. Their voices sound so nice together, deep with the high. TOP is also back to his more voice. Even though this song is really smooth, they don't over auto-tone his voice, which was I think the problem I have on Oh Yeah. Also, I love when GD sings and raps on the same track. His singing voice and rapping voice are totally different, but they blend so nicely on a single track.
5. Baby Good Night: Besides 뻑이가요 this is my favorite song on the album (I think I may like it more than 뻑이가요 but they are so completely different it's hard to compare). When I heard this song on the world premiere, I though I wanna make love to this song. Not make love while this song is playing, but I want to make love with this song. It's so subtly sexy and juxtaposes GD's almost feminine voice with TOP whispering breathy raps. I've heard TOP speak live plenty of times, but I still kind of imagine that the way he raps in this song is the cadence and tone of his real voice. And it makes me love him a little. I don't wanna say goodbye to this song when it ends. Also, the french? HELLO SEX.
6.뻑이가요: The best live song I've perhaps ever seen performed in Korea (at least overally acoustic performance wise). The bass is so intense and hard in live performances and you see TOP shine really bright with his hardness and GD matches the hardness punch for punch with his own quirky version of street. TOP sounds natural here. This isn't exactly the standard GD we're used to, but GD stepped his game up like crazy on this song. My complaint is that this song falls a little flat on the production. No matter how I changed the EQ on my ipod touch, the bass wasn't what it could be. I feel like I have plenty of bass heavy tracks on my ipod (I listen to a lot of American hip hop as well as kpop) but this song is too studio on the album. I wanna record the audio off the YG family concert footage or from the T Social Party minus the audience noise, and I'd bump this song nonstop. Even Turn It Up has better bass than this song and it's on the same album. I don't get it.
7. Oh Mom (TOP Solo): This song is a little strange to me. The transition between 뻑이가요 and this song seems awkward (I feel like it should be place together with GD's 어쩌란 말이냐? which also has the rock influence. That being said, I don't normally like TOP's singing voice, but I'll listen to this song. It's not my favorite on the track, but it's decent. It's a bit depressing, with the rando feedback between the chorus and the second verse, and it's not Big Bang sounding or TOP sounding. Also, I don't understand the title. As far as I can tell preliminary, the song doesn't really directly relate to his mom at all. It's about letters and his fans and telling his fans that they aren't alone. I'm not sure. I'm gonna have to work hard on that translation and I'll get back to you. It reminds me of that Eminem song, Stan. hahahahaha.
8. 악몽 (GD Solo): Dark and intense. GD goes hard on this song. It's super American in the currently popular vain of that Eminem and Rihana song, Love the Way you Lie. It's got enough of GD using what he's comfortable enough (the chorus is super Heartbreaker to me) but the verses push him a little bit outside of what I'd call his comfort zone. This song is the perfect thing for me to push through something when I'm in a bad mood or feeling like I can't endure something. This song also pumps me up in a way I can't explain. I feel like I can work harder and more intensely with this song in the background.
9. 오늘따라 (TOP Solo): I love the sound of this song. It's so intense, but it doesn't have quite the over-the-top swagger of TOP's other really famous solo, Turn It Up. The hook makes me crazy. I could lose my head in a club to this song. It has just the right amount and degree of tempo changes and drums and percussion come in in an epic manner really just adding to the production value of this song. I really enjoy this song and it's kind of just a song that I can play anytime and feel good about it. I love this song.
10. 어쩌란 말이냐 (GD Solo): This song is probably my least favorite on the album. I would maybe like it more if it was put together with TOP's rockish song, because then I could feel the cohesion of the two songs, but they are separate, and I think that hurts the flow of the album. Also, GD's voice is a little fake/forced sounding. Maybe it's just not my style, but I don't like this song. I don't hate it, but I probably skip over it more than not. I pretty much just listen to it when I have my earbuds in and its too cold to take my gloves off to operate my ipod touch... Just not for me.
11. Bonus Track: Turn It Up (TOP): I don't need to review this I think. You've all heard it. You all know it's dope. So yeah.
Last note: props to the boys for writing the lyrics on all the songs (Teddy assisted on High High and Oh Yeah, which you can tell) and participating in production or arranging of all the songs except High High and Oh Yeah (also Teddy... duh).
That's it for me. Comment and lemme know what you think about the album. I'll be posting a video review sometime in the next week hopefully... ^_^
xoxo
A
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