Tuesday, November 17, 2009

In Stores Today: November 17, 2009


50 Cent - Before I Self Destruct
Worth the cream? You've gotta give it up to 50 for setting his own lane and not chasing radio. That being said, is it a good album? Yes. Better than Curtis? Definitely! Worth the money? Only if you're a Fiddy fan.

Edan - Echo Party
Worth the green? If you were waiting for a follow-up to Beauty & the Beat, this ain't it! This is basically a podcast. Great tunes, don't get me wrong. But I wouldn't crack the wallet for this one.

Felt - A Tribute to Rosie Perez
Worth the dough? Volumes one and two were produced by The Grouch and Ant, respectively. This one's all Aesop Rock, and his beats are noticeably more... intense. I like it. This one's worth the dough, but I suggest you preview it first. As always, Amazon offers super-helpful full-album MP3 snippets, but you can also find a leak out there... somewhere. :D

John Mayer - Battle Studies
Worth the cabbage? As Rizoh pointed out, John Mayer is open to you downloading his album to preview it before bringing the hammer down on your piggy bank. I say take the man's advice, because few musicians will share the sentiment.

Kid Sister - Ultraviolet
Worth the loot? Not my kinda thing, but I know a lot of people have been holding their breath for Ultraviolet's release. It's what you'd expect. Hyper-pop that doesn't really float my boat, but hey, to each his/her own. (It's definitely not as bad as this.) As always, an initial preview is your best bet.

Norah Jones - The Fall
Worth the cheese? Yes! The Blue Note Queen's gorgeous vocals over lush production = WIN. She'll probably win a Grammy or two (or more!?) for this one. Her best full-length, in my opinion, since Come Away With Me.

Ol' Dirty Bastard - Message to the Other Side
Worth the bread? Yes and no... This plays like a mixtape; and similar to Osirus: The Official Mixtape, ODB fans have heard most of this stuff already. Download it. Who's getting the money from it anyways (I'd really like to know)?

Rakim - The Seventh Seal
Worth the sheckels? Oy. I'd be lying to you if I said "yes", even though it's what I would have wanted to say, nay, SCREAM OUT. Rakim's eagerly-anticipated album is a bit of a snoozer. His lyrics and track presence are as strong as ever, but the production just doesn't stack up. Tell me this isn't wrong: The album's outro track, "Dedicated", samples No Doubt's "Don't Speak". For what it's worth, I actually used to like that song back in the '90's. And yeah, it's probably the kind of song that I'd mash up with a rap acapella (check my track record, I'm a track wrecker). But... c'mon, Ra'. Hip hop wanted something better than this... My suggestion? Download the album but buy a concert ticket (he might be swinging by a town near you!)

Album of the Week: