Ninety - 808 State

Advantages: Gorgeous, retro production, memorable songs.
Disadvantages: Lyrically weak, and anyone with an aversion to vocoder best stay away.

...recent hip-hop record, not even a Kanye West hip-hop record, but rather conjures the ghost of Sinead O'Connor's masterful version of Nothing Compares 2 U. Like that record, this seems to straddle the shoulders of ghosts, and just as O'Connor filtered Prince's anguished lament through her own grief about the loss of her mother, so West wrestles with the loss of his mother and the break-down of a recent engagement. As stated above, 808s & Heartbreak takes vocoder-usage to near-masochistic levels. Never a pretty sound at the best of times, the idea of an album's-worth of it is enough to have most sane and just-minded folks screaming themselves hoarse for a month. Here, though, it works. Just. The mechanical, not-quite-human quality it lends to West's voice makes perfect sense in context, and juxtaposes nicely with the achingly, well... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: good range & style of music mix, Pacific 202 - unforgettable!!
Disadvantages: only 8 tracks, finishes all too soon, 808 state hard to find these days

...Boy does this take me back!! For those old enough to remember the purple haze of the late 80s and the early beginnings of dance & house I'm sure you'll remember a bunch of Manchester geezers calling themselves 808state. I'd completely forgot about 808 after all these years until I went clubbing a few nights ago and the DJ played a medlee of 808 stuff. And then the memories came flooding back. Even though they never really kept the mommentum going through the 90s they did produce some really excellent dance mixes that have a good hypnotic beat that will get you in the mood at the drop of a hat. for me, 808:90 is their most accomplished album from 1989. With only 8 tracks on the CD it is a little on the short side but the quality of the music cannot be questioned. Special & noticeable favourites include Ancodia & fat Shadow, which... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: A brave change in direction! Emotional and personal.
Disadvantages: Very different to his previous stuff, may not appeal to all die hard Kanye fans

...Kanye West returns with his latest release since the massive Graduation, which saw him reach a peak of success and popularity. As a producer Kanye is always trying to push boundaries, and 808's and Heartbreak is absolutely no different. Some say that with this album he has created an entirely new genre of music. I think that would be more than a little over exaggeration myself. What he has in fact done it would seem is adapt a sound similar to the likes of what T-Pain and Akon have been doing successfully in their own right for some time now and added just more than a pinch of Mr. West. I think the first thing we must clear up here before any extensive writing can be made upon this album is that Kanye West has not ditched rap. This is a highly personal album and it is said to be merely a stop-gap between what is expected in 2009... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful