Search - Various Artists :: The Neptunes Present: Clones (Bonus DVD)

A Treasure Trove

Steven Chall | Chapel Hill, NC United States | 09/03/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Despite several reviews to the contrary, this old-schooler thinks Pharrell's vocal on Frontin' is moving and extremely affecting. Sure, he's no Aaron Neville vocal virtuoso, but in his way he conjures up associations with Curtis Mayfield's rich, warm falsetto. I loved the song on the radio without knowing who it was, and I was thrilled to find it on this CD. All the hiphop grooves here, including Frontin', are absolutely and literally state of the art: masterful but playful, highly adventurous yet starkly economical. Busta Rhymes' paean to large posteriors is so graphic that I had to jump back at first, but I'm now obsessed. It seriously cracks me (and friends) up, and has me walking around trying to say "hmm" the way he does it.Ludacris's cut is the bomb in every way: the rhythm track is just superb, and his verbal flow is unsurpassible. Other outstanding performances include those by Snoop Dog, Nelly, and of course the Jay-Z feature on Frontin'. I don't know who Roscoe P. Coldchain is, but his minimalist (basically just some strange electrokick, a snare and something like a triangle) song of self-appelation is battling in my head for supramecy with Pharrell's, Busta's and Ludacris's cuts. That's a lot of slam-bang winners. And underneath all these world-class hiphoppers the Neptunes are invariably compelling and superb.There are a couple of rock tunes here that are true to their styles and well-produced, with especially good guitar sounds, but to my ears they just don't give the Neptunes the chance to do what they do best. I skip over them now.The bonus DVD is great marketing and provides some fascinating insights into the thinking and working styles of these hiphop monsters."

Good But Not Great

Keith L Raynor | Decatur, GA United States | 09/24/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'd give it 3 and a half if I could, but Ill give it 4 for star power and the following Pharell and Chad, particularly the former, have accrued. As it is, this CD has some big names, as everyone has heard. However, some of the verses are disappointing and the beats are good, although some of the experimental ones arent as good as you'd come to expect. If you like club beats, you'll love Luda's "It Wasn't Us" and NORE's "Put Em Up" (despite Noreaga's horrible lyrics). NERD fans get lucky with one of the best tracks "Loser". Clipse adds a lot to this CD with great lyrics wherever they go, and I hope to see them work with the Neptunes in the future. However, Busta Rhymes disappoints on the experimental percussion beats of "Light Your A** on Fire", in which his verses are disappointing. The Neptunes bring in Kelis and a newer gal, Vannessa Marquez, who do some good tracks. Nas and Kelis go together perfectly on "Popular Thug". Overall, the CD is worth getting if youre a big Neptunes or even hip-hop fan or want a star-studded cast. However, if youre just looking to get a good CD or hit the next thing to look good...this aint it."

WHAT IS THIS !!???!

Keith L Raynor | 08/25/2003

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I was extremely disapointed in the Neptunes' new Clones album. I was so amped up for this one especially after the soulful slammin lead single "Frontin". The Clones CD is actually a compilation album. Lots of people actually thought that this album would only feature Pharell Williams and Star Trak fam only. But what we have here is one big chaotic mess with no structure. There's no continuity present on this album. And most of all there's no substance. It's like they called up all of the artists that they've previously worked with, invited them to the studio to knock out a track in 5 minutes, This is obvious on a majority of the tracks. The clones album was lazily put together with no sense of direction. This is evident on songs like Popular Thug f/ Nas & Kelis, "Popular Thug is a song that's already on Kelis's wanderland album, which was released a year ago, only this time they excluded Pusha T's verses and insert her hubby to be Nas's. It just dosen't sound right. Why is "Hot Damn" (remixed video version ) on here we've already heard it a million times on the Clipse album. So many of the album's songs just simply [aren't good], compared to what we normally expect from Pharell and Chad. I had bigger expectations for this after playing the N.E.R.D. album all the time in my deck. as a matter of fact the only standouts here are songs by Spymob, N.E.R.D., and a banging song called "Hot" which features a nice up and comming emcee from Philly named Roscoe P. Coldchain. The Rock songs just don't blend in well on this album...and I know 5 out of 10 of the closed minded people that will be buying this album will skip right thru those tracks. The limited addition CD comes with a cool DVD. But nontheless save your money and don't believe the hype. I see a lot of reviews in here rating this album as a 5, but if someone actually gives this album a 5 they honestly don't know much about music. This CD turned out to be so weak that I now use it as a coaster on my coffee table. It's time that the Neptunes start growing and expanding more with their sound or they're going to fall victim to redundancy. I hope they rep Virginia the right way the next time around."