Music Review 02

Year of the Monster
So 2009 was Gaga's year, ignore Beyonce for her 10 nominations, if B wins more than G; Grammy is history.
The Fame has capture our hearts without us noticing. Suddenly underground friend of mine even go 'Muh-muh-muh-muh~'. And the freaky, alien couture/costumes wore by Gaga which is like for a freak show looks OK; what was considered freakish dress & behaviour became a norm for music lover. A much more contemporary and smarter Madonna rises. So yes I'm biased towards her, because I do not see other much more captivating and talented new artiste out there. But does Monster score this time? I HOPE so.
This album is short for roughly 32 minutes, and this may be the disadvantage Gaga will face this year.
Expect a less contemporary feel to this album. There are loads of late 80's + 90's pop beats in it packed with loads of bizarre lyrics [He ate my heart then he ate my brain...]. Unlike other pop stars, you might need a thinking cap on to know what she's singing about, as this is her strongest link: procuring smart lyrics.
I'm also shocked, very shocked to found out Gaga's softer, vulnerable point here, which can be her weakest link. We get used to her being a rather eccentric feminist- wild and flamboyant who constantly explore art unorthodoxly, that we forgotten that she is much a human like we do, so that when you listen to Telephone carefully, a duet with Beyonce, you'll see a real woman instead of a woman with a multiple mask (poker face) on.
Yet with her (is this her first?) ballad Speechless, we get to know her more personally: emotional yet bold; you will love her more. Monster is quite different from Fame. And I believe with her presence, pop in the future may gain much more respect. Kudos for a wonderful woman who redefines and reinvents.
★★★☆

Be Open & Patience for Freedom

We knew Keys for mostly her soft ballads and some memorable uptempos. That is when her music style is still much rooted to R&B with heavy piano use, smooth soul and with vulnerable, yearning words that praises love as well as the sorrow love has caused.

In this album, I'm surprised by Keys' musical transition towards a favour for more hip-hop beats (neo-soul), added with much more of a sunny feel to it compared to her previous albums, which has this feeling of late night jazz/soul club.

Well this is not a bad thing at all because one can't help to compare Freedom to As I Am; while Keys only just realeased AIA slightly more than two years ago, one would expect a longer hiatus from an artiste to search for a new musical direction. AIA was not that bad, only thing is that it goes down and down towards the end of the album while only the first half of the album is more notable. So, AIA comes up more as a nap time option.

If you are familiar to urban music espcially soul ones, you will enjoy it. Freedom was quite sunny despite the amount of downtempo songs is more than that of up- and midtempos. You'll get more hip-hop beats (Unthinkable (I'm Ready)) packed with helps from vintage keyboards.

According to Keys, this album is about overcoming depression. I do not agree 100% but I do appreciate its effort.

Despite great music numbers, the lyrics fulled with metaphores can be a cliche, and may sound a little bland [...I'm gonna make it without you/Say you love me and put it in a love song...] at times; however some lyrics can be catchy, piercing and memorable [This king-size sheets need more than just a queen]. Its weakest link still lies on the songs arrangements, a reocurring mistake from AIA; as well as some of the beats of certain songs seem to repeat itself in other track like Doesn't Mean Anything with Through It All.

Still, this album leaves me with good impression: it may not be the finest, strongest work from Keys, but music lover shall love this new direction. All you need is to be open for the music to flow in and have the patience to have it crawl into your heart

★★★☆