21/9/09
Dizzee Rascal - ‘Tongue N’ Cheek’
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Everyone’s favourite Brit rapper and now something of an elder statesman of the grime
genre, Dizzee Rascal returns with #4.
Rascal is finally getting the respect his music has commanded ever since he
stunned everyone by scooping the 2003 Mercury Music Prize with his debut, ‘Boy in Da Corner’. Once seen as something of a joke, Dizzee undoubtedly paved the way for today’s grime explosion, so can the old hand teach these young ‘uns something?
Opening track and in some ways autobiographical, ‘Bonkers’ is a masterstroke of production. Managing to call in dance maestro, Armand Van Helden, the song topped the charts and rightly so. Fully showcasing Dizzee’s up-front and outspoken style, it’s just a nugget of mainstream gold.
‘Road Rage’ is rather reminiscent of his first record, even complete with Dizzee-added sound
effects. Whilst it’s a bizarre noise assault that we would expect nothing less from him, it’s perhaps a needless step back to an era he has long since abandoned.
Of course, ‘Dance Wiv Me’ is a pop classic, featuring a stand-out performance from the Rascal, though
Calvin Harris’ eloquent beat is just as essential. ‘Freaky Freaky’ is more trademark Dizzee – effortless break-neck speed rapping, over a beat which more than owes its
influence to the G-Funk era.
‘Can’t Tek No More’ is somewhat of a tribute to the reggae roots that it samples. Rascal’s rapping is done so in a somewhat more contemporary style and name-checking
various modern day strife, from the Congestion Charge to Council Tax. It’s somewhat appropriate and a clever idea, it just could have used a better beat.
The west coast rapping influence continues on the relaxed ‘Chillin’ Wiv Da Man Dem’. It’s somewhat of a contrast to some of his younger contemporaries and certainly his
usual style and actually works quite well without hitting any out-of-this-world
heights, but then it probably wasn’t meant to.
From weed to cash, ‘Dirtee Cash’ hits out at the hangers-on culture and to some extent those that live their life
on credit. This does show Dizzee’s eye for a subtle dig and is structured over a welcome retro beat. On the other
hand, ‘Money Money’ is a bit too in-your-face, even for Dizzee and just doesn’t work half as well.
As is the trend in the genre at present, the fusion of dance-orientated
synthesizers with rapping appears in the final three tracks. ‘Leisure’ uses an underwater style, complete with drip effect. This works well alongside
Rascal’s effortless style. ‘Holiday’ is over-the-top Calvin Harris trademark and reminiscent of his own solo album.
Chrome joins in too and undoubtedly, the dream team combine so well once again.
It’s the old hand, Tiësto whose effort falls short on ‘Bad Behaviour’.
Key Tracks:
‘Dance Wiv Me’
‘Bonkers’
‘Holiday’
‘Leisure’
‘Dirtee Cash’
‘Freaky Freaky’
Worst Tracks:
‘Road Rage’
‘Money, Money’
This is what you would expect from Dizze Rascal. An eclectic mix of dance, rap,
garage, reggae and G-Funk in a random bag of madness. No-one does it better. 8/10 CM
Verdict
Peter Andre - ‘Revelation’
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The comeback kid of pop and the media’s new favourite toy (lesser of two evils eh?) gets back to what he actually
does, make music.
Peter Andre was supposedly a washed-up popstar until the wonder of I’m a Celebrity plucked him back from obscurity and into the arms of Katie Price.
Now back recording, with an astronomical public profile and a new electro
sound, is the record as bad as you’d expect?
Opener and lead single, ‘Behind Closed Doors’ is pumped up with a dark electric guitar riff, ensconced with a dreamy keyboard
synth – you really couldn’t ask for a better foundation. Andre’s vocals are electronically-enhanced and somewhat underappreciated but this is a
good effort.
‘Ready for Us’ commits the cardinal sin of sampling classical music (Mozart I think) and turns it into a modern electro romp. Lyrically, it’s pretty much what you would expect, but there’s some nice touches from AC Burrell which takes it down the hip-hop funk route
and it sounds a little like New Kids’ new stuff.
The funk-hop continues with the fairly addictive bass-stridden ‘The Way You Move (Up in Here)’. Andre’s lyrics are somewhat electronically mastered and distorted, but there’s enough here to make it a decent track.
‘Call the Doctor’ however is the sort of cheese ballad you would have expected and won’t do any favours for his musical credibility. ‘Go Back’ is even more cringe-worthy, obviously influenced by the media pantomime of his
public misdemeanours and is a throwback to the ‘Mysterious Girl’ days.
Pete’s obviously been at the DVDs as ‘Sliding Doors’ was quite obviously written with the Gwyneth Paltrow flick in mind. It just
cries a lack of imagination and most-importantly, continues a growing weak
patch on the record.
Andre is best served by these bizarre new electro-rich efforts like ‘Outta Control’. Constructed with more than just a passing resemblance to Doors but you have to
wonder what it could have been without that dopey backing contribution. Funnily enough, the soft vibes and quirky beats of ‘XOXO’ actually work, certainly a lot better from the dodgy ballads we’ve heard earlier. Thankfully there are no contributing vocals which drown the
tune and Andre’s voice laces this one together nicely. ‘Unconditional’, about Andre’s relationship with Jordan’s son, Harvey is actually not so bad either. However the highly forgettable ‘Replay’ represents another lowlight.
Key Tracks:
‘Behind Closed Doors’
‘Distance’
‘Ready for Us’
‘The Way You Move (Up in Here)’
‘XOXO’
Worst Tracks:
‘Call the Doctor’
‘Sliding Doors’
‘Outta Control’
‘Replay’
Well in fairness to a man who hasn’t released any music in over 5 years and sometime before that, ‘Revelation’ is probably some of his best work to date. There’s clearly a deal of confusion over the right direction for him, but maybe it’s just a case of concentrating on what sounds fresh and what sounds like it was
released in 1994.
6/10 CM
Verdict
(c) ChrisOnline.biz 2009
