The Black Eyed PeasAlbum: The E.N.D [Energy Never Dies]
[2009]
Standard Edition: 3.5/5
Deluxe Edition: 4/5
Pros: The Black Eyed Peas exploded with their album 'Elephunk' back in 2003. Before then they had released 2 albums, but they were only a trio at that stage and were on the CUSP of success. Once Fergie got on board for album #3 [Elephunk], it all exploded, and they became massive! Their album that followed [Monkey Business] in 2006 was a stronger album imo, but, it still held a similar style to 'Elephunk' that showed me there may not be much room for growth with the group. Now in 2009, they've released their 5th studio album and to my surprise, it's a complete departure from their previous work. The "funk" of their old work is still there, but in smaller doses. This time around, they've gone for more of an electro/club/dance type of sound, and it REALLY works in their favor.
The entire album is a BASS record, just one long massive pumping bassline. It was made for clubs, to party to. The album goes from catchy electro dance [Meet Me Halfway], to electro pop [Missing You], to club heavy FLOOR FILLAS [Boom Boom Pow, Rock That Body], and even some old skool dance funk [Alive]. There's a lot to choose from, and most of it is great. There's a 2 disc version of the album as well which features more new songs, most of which are pretty bland, but there is one gem amongst them, 'Simple Little Melody'. In fact, it really should have made the final cut for the proper album. The most surprising part of the second disc however are the old remixed bonus tracks. I thought maybe they'd give us some boring and thrown together mess of a remix collection, but it really is impressive! All the remixes chosen fit perfectly with the tone of the new album, they sound like brand new [and better] songs.
Cons: It's a big project of an album, so with that comes many songs. At times, the overwhelming amount of tracks can be a bit much [25 in total] , so there is a bit of CRAP to get through. Most of the worst songs appear on the 1 disc version of the album, 'Electric City' is boring, 'One Tribe' is cheesy and 'Now Generation' is one of the worst songs i've ever heard. The good definitely out way the bad, but the shit moments are still there..........and they are EPICALLY shit.
Another minor gripe with the album is some of the track lengths. Even though some of the songs are really great, they can be a little over long at times. I love a good long track, but some songs really DON'T need to run for 5 minutes!......they could be cut down easily.
Overall: It's a solid album with a few small problems, but they are easily forgettable. It's not perfect, but it's definitely their best record.
