Today, The Black Eyed Peas released their 6th studio album (4th album with Fergie) entitled The Beginning. The lead off single from the album is The Time (Dirty Bit) which peaked at #12 on Billboard’s Hot 100 but has since fallen one spot down to #13. In Canada however, the song is #1 after 4 weeks on the Canadian Hot 100. In lieu of their album release comes the opportunity to perform at this year’s SuperBowl Halftime Show which will air on February 6th. With all of the talks about their upcoming tour, I can only imagine what limits this group will push to make the show memorable for football fans everywhere.

I snagged the album on iTunes this morning to give it a listen. I have to admit that The Time isn’t one of my favorite songs right now. I enjoy the little sample of a Dirty Dancing classic, but it leaves a little something to be desired for me. I will say that with their performance at the AMA’s, the song grew on me. I think its going to have be one of those songs I only enjoy in the club and not anywhere else.

The album itself isn’t the smoothest listen from beginning to end. The second track on the album, Light Up The Night has a great party feel and could become an anthem out there for party goers everywhere this holiday season. XOXOXO is a song that caught my attention on a first listen. It sounds more like The Black Eyed Peas I fell in love with when I first heard them in the early 2000′s. Love You Long Time is a playful joint but I feel that the excessive use of auto-tune is a little tired on the album (and I’m only 4 songs in). Its so processed that it doesn’t feel genuine.

Auto-tune is a common theme throughout the entire album. I think that this new tool has its place in music and can enhance a song or add a cool spin to it. But when a whole album relies on this trick, it becomes tired. One song on the album that I love is Someday. It has a good beat and a good melody. Its definitely one of those songs you expect to hear during Gossip Girl or 90210 in the background. I think this song would take off if they were to release it as a single. Fergie takes a turn in the lead with the song Whenever. It starts off as a beautiful ballad but then, the auto-tune during the chorus ruins the feeling for me. I really wanted to just hear Fergie wail like I know she can.

The song Fashion Beats samples a little disco feel and I really enjoy it. It got my head bobbing and is definitely one of those songs you can have on in the background at a party and no one would get mad at it. Don’t Stop The Party leaves a little something to be desired for me. With the lyrics and concept of the song about keeping the party going, I wish it would have had just a little more drive and melody to make it the song that you couldn’t stop singing in order to keep the party going.

Taking a page out of N.E.R.D.’s book, the track Do It Like This caters to that New Age sound that is really hot right now. There is this one really annoying synthesizer moment in the song around 3:19 that gave me a mini headache but other than that, the song has its place. The Situation sounds like a song off of one of the Ultra Dance albums you buy at Wal-Mart. It has a classic European dance track feel that I appreciate and think a DJ like Jason Nevins would have a hay day with this song to put his techno-rock spin on it.

Another one of my favorite tracks is The Best One Yet (The Boy) and it totally lives up to its title. After listening through the album, this song finally gave me what I was looking for: a good melody, Fergie’s voice not auto-tuned, and a classic Black Eyed Peas sound. I think this will be a favorite among many listeners.

I would spend the rest of the article going through each song but they’re pretty hit or miss and honestly will cater to different people’s music needs. The Super Deluxe Edition includes 18 tracks for your audio pleasure plus a few songs on Disc 2 from their previous album The E.N.D. (Energy Never Dies). I would recommend getting this album for the holiday season if you’re having a few people over and need some good background music. I also think this disc would be good for that road trip you have to take to see the family this Christmas.

I give this album a 3 out of 5 Stars. I think they should have focused on only 12 or 13 songs and really refined them instead of releasing 18 mediocre ones. Have you picked up the new BEP album? What are your thoughts on their new electro sound? Any favorites?

Check out the album preview below and let me know what you think:

Blog Widget by LinkWithin