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Speakerboxxx/ The Love Below

OutKast - Speakerboxxx/ The Love Below Audio CD

A fair review of the OutKast "Speakerboxxx/ The Love Below" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all OutKast reviews here, or go back to the OutKast tabs.

Band: OutKast
Title: Speakerboxxx/ The Love Below
Rating:

Release Date: 2003-09-23
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: The Love Below (Intro) 2: Love Hater 3: God (Interlude) 4: Happy Valentine's Day 5: Spread 6: Where Are My Panties? 7: Prototype 8: She Lives in My Lap 9: Hey Ya! 10: Roses 11: Good Day, Good Sir 12: Behold a Lady 13: Pink & Blue 14: Love in War 15: She's Alive 16: Dracula's Wedding 17: Vibrate 18: Take Off Your Cool (with Norah Jones) 19: A Life in the Day of Benjamin Andre (Incomplete) 20: [Untitled Hidden Track] 21: Intro 22: Ghetto Musick 23: Unhappy 24: Bowtie 25: The Way You Move 26: The Rooster 27: Bust (with Killer Mike) 28: War 29: Church 30: Bamboo (Interlude) 31: Tomb of the Boom (with Ludacris) 32: E-Mac (Interlude) 33: Knowing 34: Flip Flop Rock (with Killer Mike) 35: Interlude 36: Reset 37: D-Boi (Interlude) 38: Last Call (with Slimm Calhoun) 39: Bowtie (Postlude)

Classic
Like many, I would think, "Hey Ya" was how I met this band, and when I got this album, I got it grudgingly, thinking I was spending twenty bucks for one good song. It takes a lot to sell me on a modern popular radio band, but OutKast have done the job.

Boy was I mistaken. The more I listened, the more I heard the conceptual thread that runs through each of these CDs, which, really, are two solo albums packaged in a set. Love below takes all my funky passions and wraps them in a valentine. I hear James Brown, P-funk, Ohio Players--lots of Ohio Players--Hendrix, lounge jazz, and even a cool Coltrane tribute. Not bad for a little radio album.

Speakerbox took just a little more work for an old Beatle foggie like me to get into. Of the two, this is the more hip hop geared, but there more than enough heavy George Clinton, and 70s rock and soul ingrediants to make someone like me--unused to modern production and rap based music--pay strict attention.

Love Below is obviously a 70s soul album perfectly updated and an easy sell for me, but I grew to love Speakerbox just as much.

Outkast have certianly listened to their records, and gotten the musical education too few people do now. They don't just referance all the classic music I love, they exude it. Plain and simple, they are album guys, just like me. You can tell listening they were probably listening to records as babies.

They are also smart, funny, empathic, and understand the importance of making an album with a start, middle and end. They have also been able to assimalte the 70s, and come up with something that is fresh and completely of the 2000s.

Ture artists. I cannot praise these guys enough. .

The Best Of Friends; The Beginning Of The End
Honestly, I'm glad this doesn't sound like those, because I favor progression and growth. I've seen many negative reviews of both discs, whether because of over the top arrangements (Speakerboxx) too much faggotry (The Love Below), or how this music doesn't sound anything like ATLiens or Aquemini. Both of these men, both best friends, are very talented and couldn't be reined in anymore. They are both a creative force to be reckoned with on their own, so combining their powers was almost unheard of. Yet, they managed to hold it together over 4 very good albums. (Yes, Stankonia was great, whether you liked Ms. Jackson or not. ) And now, they realized they couldn't be contained anymore and made separate albums.

After this, I'm sorry to say, Idlewild was their worst album. And it doesn't look like they'll be making another one either together or separately, as much as they claim otherwise. Which makes me sad, but they did have a good run and won't be forgotten anytime soon. Better than the Eminem's and Jay-z's and Slick Ricks and the Kanye's all rolled into one.

To be fair, you can't call "The Love Below" rap, as much as psychadelic blues/soul/jazz/funk all mixed up. It's like some of the experiments of Stankonia without Big Boi's tough-guy posturing to give these melodies backbone. They are still pretty good (to me) and some of these space funk numbers are truly hypnotic. (Like Vibrate) And if you want to hear Andre rap again, "A life in the day of Benjamin Andre" he's back to form. . surprised no one has mentioned this as a favorite track.

Speakerboxx is as close to classic Outkast as you're going to get. MANY more highlights on this disc than some people have lead you to believe. The skits aren't nearly as humorous as past Outkast albums though.

Highlights: Ghettomusik, The Way You Move, Reset, Flip-Flop Rock, Unhappy, Church, The Rooster, Tomb Of The Boom, War (I call these highlights because they're the tracks I can remember without looking them up.

Highlights for disc 2: Hey Ya, She Lives In My Lap, Spread, Vibrate, Happy Valentine's Day, Behold A Lady, Roses, A Life In The Day (etc. ) Pink & Blue. . really, I can remember the whole of the second album. People should just give it a chance since it is pretty odd, but I love odd stuff so sue me.

Very Satisfied
I bought it used and was very happy to find minimal wear on the product. The CD arrived ontime and just as expected. It played great, and now it's in my iPod. The songs are very good. This is a must-have for any Outkast fan.

Yin-Yang twins
Obviously I gravitate towards the distinct flavors Andre3000 pursued on his sometimes over-labored, sometimes undercooked effort. Although splintering into two distinct personalities was questionable at best, there is still enough of something for anyone looking back or forward in the minor rap revolution this group single-handedly spearheaded. When the conscious creative strain is not apparent however, TLB still stands as a singular piece of hip-hop influenced experimentation. Big Boi nicely compliments Dre's outlandish persona with the focus adhering to more straight ahead southern rap with enough stand out tracks to warrant the Outkast label.

READ BEFORE BUYING!!

Unless Amazon has changed it since I complained, this is the edited version of the albums. This is not a review of the album(s) itself but rather of Amazon's misdirected links to this album. I started at the Explicit lyrics CD page and followed the link to download the mp3 album _from the explicit lyrics CD page_ and only after I downloaded the mp3 album did I find out it was the edited version.

I emailed Amazon and they didn't even do me the courtesy of a response to tell me to stuff it. This is just one problem in a long line I've had with Amazon in the last few months. They are quickly losing all my business because they aren't even making good on their offers without twisting their arms.

Anyway, I expect this review to be removed by Amazon. Just make sure what you're getting before downloading. Make sure it says Explicit Lyrics if that's what you want even if that was the link you thought you followed, cause this ain't it.

You can see a complete list of all OutKast discography, or go back to the OutKast tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.