Max B is in prison for life, so, instead of coming to the Good Music studio, he gives a shoutout over the phone. That’s too bad. His catchy hooks might work wonders for this album. Maybe not. The Weeknd sings a hook that, over a minimalist synth, sounds marvelous and Kanye West can barely make a good song out of it. The problem with FML isn’t the verses; West actually does a notable job there; it’s the jarring minute-long coda tacked onto the end. It seems to be there for no reason other than random change. Those of us who consider it a change for the worse are left distracted and disappointed. Scatterbrained artistic decisions like that are what’s troubling in The Life Of Pablo.

It’s presented as another Kanye West album, but it sounds more like a collection of demos. There are simply too few songs to justify the amount of interludes and the like. Of 18 tracks, little more than half pass the three-minute mark and some of those don’t quality as proper songs. Not that an album has to have songs, but since there are; No More Parties In LA would’ve easily fit My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy; it makes for an awkward mix. Worst of all is that not much of what’s going on sounds good anyway; let alone beautiful. West, as musically talented as he may be, hasn’t put his skills on display since 2010. That’s about six years ago. At that point, he’d been making good albums for about six years.

I forgot about 808s And Heartbreak, his first downward spiral, but he’s hit a new low with this Pablo set, which begins enchantingly enough. He’s always allowed his Christian views to seep into his music, but Ultralight Beam, featuring a monologue by Kirk Franklin, takes things into full gospel mode. It’s one of the best tracks though, one of only a few; Real Friends and the aforementioned FML included; that stand-out among all the messiness. The old Kanye wouldn’t have made a wack song like Facts or included a wack Freestyle on one of his albums. The old Kanye didn’t rap to kick/snare drums this basic. Dare I say the old Kanye would never make music this soulless; no stupid religious puns intended.

No, I’m not one of the people he’s mocking on the Love Kanye bit. I don’t “miss” the old Kanye. I like most of his albums, four of seven, but I was never a big enough fan to miss him. The old Kanye; the one who apparently died not long after the release of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, probably his best album; was a lot better than the new one though, at least when it comes to songs and albums. If his previous release, Yeezus, wasn’t almost as bad, which it is, I’d have a hard time even accepting The Life Of Pablo as a Kanye West album. That’s how far he’s fallen aesthetically. Even his rap skills have taken a dive. Perhaps it’s time for him to consider going back to school. They say it’s never too late.

my rating : 2 of 5

2016