Disco de OutKast: “Idlewild [Edited]”

Wow did this album get panned in a hurry. I almost feel like I'm listening to something different from all these other negative and mediocre-reviewers. It's untraditional and it's funky. 3000 doesn't sound forced - like some of the "different for difference's sake" which oozed thorugh so many of the Love Below tracks. Idlewild flows, it's complete, it's a cohesive story, it's well produced, and Big Boi is smooth and deep as ever. Put down that hatorade and pick up the love.

Being a longtime fan who first fell in love with Outkast when I saw the video for "Player's Ball" back in late 1993, I've always supported them because they've never compromised their artistic integrity, or ascribed to the formula of the day to expand their appeal. Instead, they've set the trend and let the people warm up to them. That's a rare feat in the music industry and that's why I don't buy all this "real Outkast fan vs. new Outkast fan" stuff. I have all of their albums (along with numerous non-album cuts that they've done) and as far as I'm concerned, all of their albums are exceptional. If you listen to music expecting some strict adherence to type or image, you end up listening to a lot of mediocre music that fits the mold, and missing out on a lot of great music that doesn't. It doesn't require any thought or ingenuity to go into a studio and copy a formula, jump on a bandwagon, or follow some popular trend. That's why hip-hop was so great between '87 and '94 for example, there was no formula for selling records so everybody was trying whatever they felt inspired to do. There were no "Super Producers", just groups of people in studios and basements all over the country with heads full of ideas. That's what produces great music, not following some strict adherence to type or image. Like most good albums that I've heard (especially those bursting at the seams with creativity the way that the average Outkast album is), "Idlewild" took a couple of listens to sink in. The music here is quite diverse (everything from psychedelic funk/rock to big band jazz, to a brassy college marching band number) and most of it works really well. To be completely fair, the album could have stood to be trimmed just a little. Everything from "Zora" to "Makes No Sense At All" really could have been left off (except maybe "Call the Law"). That's the only part of the album that sags. The aptly titled "Makes no Sense at all" seems to either directly be about a specific scene in the movie or the current state of music. After some careful listening I'm inclined to go with the former. Also, "When I look in Your Eyes", while competent, pretty much just sounds like bad parody and should have been kept aside to be used in the movie instead of being placed on this album ("Call the Law" while obviously also a period piece, does actually rise above parody but still appears to be strongly tied to the narrative of the movie). And I guess that the Funkadelic inspired "Chronomentrophobia" starts off a little rough but it manages to fully recover before the song ends. So there are actually a few missteps here, but hey, I'll take inspired missteps over a thoughtless formula any day. The highlights though on this album are abundant so I'll just note a few instead of listing every one. First of all, "Mighty O" is straight fire. The track is by "Organized Noise", both of their verses are outstanding, and it's great to hear Dre spitting verses like:

"My relative in jail huh, stay engaged,

To whatever make money now he married to that cage,

Divorce is not an option and prenuptial is void,

Eat up whatever rapper but I'm tangled in my chord uh

Bored, kind of like a knight with a sword,

Without dragon to battle so I'm running from a shadow

An impossible feat and I repeat, an impossible feat and I repeat".

I didn't quote the whole thing but in that one verse he basically explains everything about why he is where he is creatively. The single "Morris Brown" with its college marching band is seriously infectious and "Life is Like a Musical" is just too, too cool :-). "Hollywood Divorce" appears to be about this uncomfortable "relationship" between artistic innovators of color and corporate mainstream interests, where the mainstream exploits their innovations, and the innovators get money and fame in return, but at the expense of their art and their culture. This track is outstanding in every way, although I have to challenge Lil' Wayne's contention that he created the term "bling bling". I first heard the phrase on 2pac's "Friends" which had to be recorded sometime in '96 after Pac signed to The "Row". Lil Wayne popularized the term for sure, but he didn't originate it (not that it's something to be particularly proud of either way :-). On "A Bad Note", either the instruments are intentionally out of tune, he's using minor keys that are almost never used in popular music, and/or the keys on the rhythm (piano) and lead (electric guitar) instruments are purposely incongruous...but somehow it works brilliantly! His Funkadelic influence really shows here (as a huge fan of the group myself, I can seriously relate). This song basically sounds like Dre's take on "Maggot Brain" with a huge helping of atonal avant-rock a la "Sonic Youth". He even samples that rapid fire percussion at the beginning of "Maggot Brain" during the song (for a really mind-blowing experience, you should try listening to both the original, and the live version of Maggot Brain as soon as your done listening to "A Bad Note"). It seems that whether or not you think that this album is solid or really uneven comes down to what you think of 4 out of the last 5 songs ("When I Look in Your Eyes" not included) which are all more psychedelic soul than anything else. I can understand how "Mutron Angel", "Greatest Show on Earth", "Dyin' to Live" and "A Bad Note" may not be everybody's cup of tea, but if you can get into these songs, then this album's ending will likely win you over. "Mutron Angel" and especially the deeply moving "Dyin' to Live" really won me over. This is yet another album worth picking up from the mighty Dungeon Family's finest!

I was wary of buying Idlewild after hearing negative reviews about it and not being the biggest fan of Speakerboxx/The Love Below. But after hearing Idlewild Blue and Morris Brown, I HAD to get this CD. This album has a much more fluid and consistent sound than S/TLB, which caught me totally off guard.

Yes, Andre still sings more than he raps, and yes, Big Boi and Andre are only together on a couple of songs on this record, and they both recorded their material seperately. It's apparent neither artist likes the other very much, but because the name Outkast sells, I don't see them breaking up anytime soon. We may never see Outkast touring together again, which is a shame, but that's the reality of the situation.

But I went off on a tangent. Forget this being a great hip hop record, 'cause it's not. What it is is great all-around music. If your tastes do not extend beyond hip hop, you're best sticking with Southernplaylisticadillacmusik through Stankonia. But as a general music fan, this may be the best CD to be released this year! The eclectic mix of sounds include blues, R&B, pop, rock, swing, funk, and great use of percussion. But regardless of the sound, the feel of the 1930s is ever-present throughout Idlewild. You can almost picture yourself in that era while listening to this CD, which is a testament to the strong production here.

I admit, I'm not the biggest fan of 'Dre's new style of music. And it's still true here, Big Boi's songs are better. But it's not entirely because of him. Scar, Sleepy Brown, Khujo Goodie, and Killer Mike practically steal the show. N2U, Peaches and Buggface are all good tracks, but In Your Dreams, Morris Brown and The Train are classics, among my favorite Kast tracks ever.

As for Andre, Idlewild Blue is a stroke of genious, and it's disappointing that none of the other songs match up to it except When I Look In Your Eyes, a great swing tune. I love Mutron Angel, but it's because of Whild Peach, not Andre. Chronomentrophobia, Life is Like a Musical, and Dyin to Live are all good, but not great songs. Makes No Sense At All may still grow on me, but Greatest Show on Earth is a very skippable track. Macy Gray is good, but this song just seems off on so many levels.

The tracks in which 'Dre and Big Boi are together are, as you'd expect, awesome. Mighty O will have you singing "Odie odie odie OOOOO!" for days. And 'Dre drops a verse here, and it's as good as his Aquemini days. Hollywood Divorce features Lil Wayne and Snoop Dogg and is pretty good. I wish more tracks were like this were 'Dre sings and Big Boi drops dope rhymes. Maybe on the next album will see more of songs like this.

Finally, there are two outstanding songs which sound like they could be in the movie (I haven't seen it yet, but I will this week). Janelle Monae appears with Big Boi on Call the Law and is amazing. Both 'Dre and Big Boi appear on PJ and Rooster, the best track on the CD. This song is so infectious and shows that 'Dre CAN be a good singer when he does songs like this. You and your lover will probably dance to this all night long. It's that fun, it's that good.

I'm not saying I especially enjoy the fact that the old days of Outkast are probably gone for good. But with an open mind, this album proves to be a great example of great music, transcending genres for everyone to love.

Sorry, but music is developing. One could even say it is maturing. Don't get me wrong, ATLiens is still one of my favorite albums, but this CD just shows the musical talents and capabilities of these two amazing artists. Don't trash talk this just because it's different. Honestly, you have to ask yourself, am I truly that threatened by change that I can't accept the direction my favorite artists are moving in? Come on people, this is a great album. Buy it.

First things first, if you liked the last album, you'll like this one too. If you didnt like the ast album, then you probably wont like this one either. This album is more of Dre's experimentation with various genres of music (which I am a fan of) and more of Big Boi just delivering great verses. Dre does actually rap more on this album though. My favorite songs are:

Hollywood Divorce feat. Snoop and Lil Wayne (probably the best song on the CD, I'm not a fan of Lil Wayne, but I love his verse in this song)

Mutron Angel feat Whild Peach (slow ballad, almost churchy, its sort of a tribute to those affected by katrina and the tsunami, but it also talks aboutthe war too)

Morris Brown feat. Sleepy Brown (the marching band beat is hot and Big Boi rides the beat well)

Call the Law feat. Janelle Monet (another experimental track, but Janelle is great on this song. I actually heard her while we were both still in college and have been a fan of hers since.