Avant's 2008, self-entitled release was his fifth overall record. If you have head of him then this will probably not come as a surprise to you, however he is a lesser-known name in the R&B world despite having hits with Nicole Scherzinger, Lil' Wayne and Snoop Dogg in the past, and here he ... Read review
Advantages: A few big tunes Disadvantages: All songs need time to grow on you
...a pretty good album from Avant and not too much goes wrong for it, if you excuse the final song, and so if you are into your contemporary R&B work then this album is a release which will appeal to you. The fact that he is fairly in-tune with today's scene means it appeal to a much wider audience than others who seem to fit to this pigeonhole. ... more
Avant's 2008, self-entitled release was his fifth overall record. If you have head of him then this will probably not come as a surprise to you, however he is a lesser-known name in the R&B world despite having hits with Nicole Scherzinger, Lil' Wayne and Snoop Dogg in the past, and here he wishes to show more from him here.
1. "Sensuality"
We get things underway with a song which appear to uncover that this album will have him working a lot closer to the general trends of today's R&B than what he has done in the past, and I have to say that this turns out to be a great benefit to the song as he gets his groove on in this opener and gets you excited for what will follow on from it.
**Four Stars**
2. "Perfect Gentleman"
This is a big groove tune from him and it brings the tempo up as the Trackmasters get on the production, and since they were behind the recent hits for Ludacris, Jamie Foxx and The Game, it appears that they know exactly what they are doing here. It is a classy joint, and compares well to the sons which they churned out in recent times.
**Four Stars**
3. "Involve Yourself"
Although the tune prior to it is a big one, this one gives things a significant boost as it kicks in and you find that the Ohio singer is joined by one of the finest Atlanta producers in Mr. Collipark (formerly DJ Smurf), and he gives something completely unlike what he is known for as he drops a two-stepping jam on this one, and it just takes things to a place where it would be hard to top.
**Five Stars**
4. "When It Hurts" This one has him do a track where he drops the pace and gets into some music where he has to focus a lot more in conveying some deep emotions, and it came to result in the lead single from this album's lead single, and I expect that it's the most likely one for you to have heard - if he's name rings familiar at all.
**Four Stars**
5. "Out Of Character"
Collipark is behind this one too, and although this one sounds a bit more like him, it is far from the Snap and Crunk tunes which made him famous, but this doesn't hold things back at all as it appears that he's trying out some more serious work away from the likes of the Ying Yang Twins, V.I.C. and Soulja Boy , and to do a tune such as this, he couldn't be more disconnected from them.
**Four Stars**
6. "Material Things"
Here you have him singing in what is a very short song where he talks of how he really doesn't care what he has in this life, as long as he has the girl who he is digging at this time. It isn't the most original thing in the world, but he doesn't do it poorly, so you shouldn't dwell on this minor drawback.
**Four Stars**
7. "French Pedicure"
I would have to say that this song wasn't really doing it for me, and although I could see at times where things were coming together, on the whole it stayed at the same level and as a result I couldn't quite get into the mood which he wished the listener to find them self in as he does a sexy bedroom song.
**Three Stars**
8. "Attention"
In a rarity for R&B albums of this time, you have only this track as a collaboration as, of all people, he gets the best in the rap world to work with him as Snoop Dogg lends a flow on top of this tune to give it that extra boost. The beats here are perfect to suit Avant's more urban side, and obviously the type of Neptunes-esque stuff which boosted Snoop's career since 2002.
**Four Stars**
9. "Break Ya Back"
On this one you have the sensuality of the opening song come back as he wants to break his girls back "In a good way". It is done extremely well and the spacey jingles which it possesses means that it does things which many other of its sort wouldn't typically, but I felt that it made for a good one as a result.
**Four Stars**
10. "Y.O.U."
Initially I have to say that I saw this song as a pretty average one, and it didn't do a lot for me, but as things progress and you take the time to appreciate the effort which went into constructing the composition of this one, it seems to unveil hidden qualities which aren't apparent from the get-go, so it takes a while for the high standards to really come through.
**Four Stars**
11. "Sailing"
Personally, I saw this as the worst song which this album had to offer, and so I saw it as truly the worst way to end it all as this one has him drop all the things which I liked about his music for a very plain song which isn't far from a ballad, and so as a result I just couldn't see where it fitted in with the rest of the release.
**Two Stars**
This is a pretty good album from Avant and not too much goes wrong for it, if you excuse the final song, and so if you are into your contemporary R&B work then this album is a release which will appeal to you. The fact that he is fairly in-tune with today's scene means it appeal to a much wider audience than others who seem to fit to this pigeonhole.
Advantages: RnB, Soul, Slow music, couple upbeat tracks, hits, great album Disadvantages: None
'I only got 4 minutes, do what I gotta do to prove to you that I will do anything.. I only got 4 minutes, to say what I gotta say to make you stay and you show that I done change.. Cause in 4 minutes I'll never have my girl again, in 4 minutes I'll lose her to another man, 4 no less no more....I'm desperate coz the clock's ticking, only got 4 minutes to go.. ' Really Love this track!
'4 Minutes' is my favourite track off Avant's album 'Director'. Director is RnB singer Avant's fourth album.
Director is such a beautiful album and had various hits on it that put Avant on the RnB map for many of his fans today and that includes me. His most popular tracks before this album include 'Read Your Mind' and 'Seperated' and hadn't heard much of his work apart from those too.
When '4 Minutes' was released, loved it and loved it even more when ...
marina321 03.03.2009 (02.03.2009)
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Director - Avant
Advantages: Hip Hop remixes are all bangers Disadvantages: Electronica tracks are terrible
qualities which Banner possess. he doesn't try to get inoto the Alternative Rock style, though, he keeps it to the typical Dirty South way, and adds relavent raps of his own to it. This is one of the best remakes on the piece.
**Five Stars**
9. "Harder To Breathe" (feat. The Cool Kids)
When I read that my current favourite Hip Hop duo, The Cool kids, were getting on my favourite Maroon 5 cut, you can tell that I was going to be excited. The end result of the collaboration was amazingly strong too, living up to the expectation which having the top Hipster rap group and one of Maroon 5's most powerful cut should have. Although Chuck Inglish's distinctive sound is slightly weakened, he enforces it with heavy drumming on the cut.
**Five Stars**
10. "Little of Your Time" (feat. Bloodshy & Avant)
Bloodshy & Avant are a Swedish ...
Advantages: Wonderful Avante-Garde music/film Disadvantages: Not to the liking of everyone
Decasia by Michael Gordon might not be everybody's cup of tea. It is, after all, what might be described as a quintessential piece of avant-garde music.
Decasia is a piece of highly original music that was especially composed to provide backing for an avant-garde movie by film maker Bill Morrison. Indeed, without seeing the supporting movie, I fear that the listener to Decasia would miss out. On the DVD release there is a special interview with both Michael Gordon and Bill Morrison.
The interview is fascinating as it is clear that Gordon had really enjoyed himself when he was writing the music and when it is performed!
The film is made up from old nitrate film stock that is slowly decaying as the chemicals used to fix it degrades.
Decasia debuted in Basle, Switzerland in 2002 with a 50 piece orchestra made up of members ...
