JYJ The Beginning Review
10/16/2010 08:59:00 PM LaurenLCD
LaurenLCD
Labels: Music Reviews
I would have wrote this the second I got the album and put it in my mp3 player (3 in the morning on the 15th), but I wanted to get a few listens in and let it all marinate. At first, I thought the combination of hip hop + JYJ was weird as all get out. I still think it's weird, because hip hop is the last genre I associate these boys with.
Album: The Beginning
Language: English
Track list:
1. Intro
2. Ayyy Girl (feat. Kanye West. Malik Yusef)
3. Empty
4. Be My Girl
5. Still In Love
6. I Can Soar
7. I Love You (feat. Flowsik)
8. Be The One
First thing I have to comment on: The boys are actually pretty good in English. They still have an accent, but it's not so thick, you need a translator.
The intro is nothing but a minute of a techno instrumental. It would have been nice if the boys' voices were inserted in there. Compared to the sound of the rest of the album, it seems out of place and stuck in before they knew what direction they wanted to go.
In Ayyy Girl, we go a whole minute of Kanye in the beginning (and that other guy I don't know or care about).
I'll get it off my chest now: I. Don't. Like. Kanye.
I have my reasons, and it's not because of his drunken outburst at the VMAs last year. I find him an arrogant prick and his over-inflated ego more than shows in his music, even more so than Mariah Carey. I would've received the song better I suppose if Kanye didn't strut around (metaphorically) like a peacock trying to 'sing' in his nasal voice.
Without Kanye, the song's not half bad. The boys sound good. From Jaejoong, to Junsu, to Micky Yoochun: they sound good. The song's repetitive (typical American repeat the hook a million times) and a few times I found myself in a daze and not actually listening to it, because it had become background noise and I couldn't understand the hooks at first (still don't without the lyrics to be honest). This is because the boys' vocals are layered. This in and of itself isn't a bad thing, but when there's too much, the voices can come out muddy sounding, like the producers went the cheapest way out (or maybe it's the quality of the mp3s).
Empty has a nice piano section. Micky's pronunciation is a bit shaky, but for the most part understandable.They once again repeat the hook a bazillion times. Oh, and Kanye: use autotune on these TALENTED boys again and get shot.
Be My Girl is pretty darn good. The only thing is that the instrumental kind of takes over at parts. I must say, I'm getting sick of the repeated lines. It's getting old. It's as annoying as rhyming 'down' with 'down'.
Still In Love. Jaejoong's solo. It starts with a rain effect. It has piano. Nice. I'm not used to hearing Jaejoong sing in his lower register since he always takes the main melody, but it's nice. I can barely hear the chorus though. It's one thing to be minimalist, it's another to hold back. Open your mouth boy! Show off your falsetto! Or something! He really could have went somewhere with 3:20, but he's holding back. I want something like Itsu Datte Kimi Ni.
Junsu, Junsu, Junsu... Do I need to say anything? The boy can make tax returns and insurance interesting with his voice. Generally, I'm not too into inspirational American Idol Winner schlock, but it's a billion and one times better than Miley Cyrus' The Climb.*gags at the mention of her name*
Another song with rain and pianos and synths! It's Micky's solo I Love You feat. Flowsik. Flowsik isn't a bad rapper and at least he doesn't swear. Micky's Engrish is a bit... yeah. I think your losing your touch Micky. Other than that, this is distinctly Micky Yoochun. He wrote it, so unlike the other songs, it does carry his... essence. He listens to this type of music, so it doesn't necessarily sound forced.
*listens to the first 10 seconds*
Excuse me, does anybody have a blunt instrument? I feel the urge to hurt someone with the initials K and W. AUTOTUNE!!!!!!!! GOD DAMN YOU KANYE WEST!!!!!!!! NEVER PRODUCE ANYTHING FOR JYJ AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*woosaa*
It reminds me of... Hey Don't Bring Me Down. I don't know why. It just does. Maybe it's because it has attitude (and autotune -_-;;). They don't sound like scared little boys trying too hard to focus on their English pronunciation. It's a nice ending to the whole thing.
Verdict:
Dance tracks
♪ ♪ ♪ 1/2 / ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
Thank Mr. West. Autotune + JYJ = No. Just... No.
Ballads
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ 1/2 / ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
Jaejoong should show off his voice more. Junsu no complaints even though the type of song's isn't my cup of tea. Micky needs to work on his English more. I think he was getting lazy with his solo.
Overall:
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ / ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
Kanye, his presence, and his production style kept this from being a 4 1/2 or possible 5/5. Will it make a dent in the American Billboard? Hopefully. If so, I just might listen to the music in my country for once.