Brian Burton is DJ Dangermouse, the mastermind behind this strange hybrid of classic pop and to-be classic rap. The Grey album is a cross between Jay-Z's Black Album and The Beatles White Album. Jay-Z's raps are taken out leaving him a capella while the Beatles songs are remixed to fit the raps. This isn't just some mash up of sounds. You can actually hear the Beatles in there, not just some beat. All the material was taken from the 2 albums, no where else. To make this work, there was a lot of sound splicing done but the end result is amazing. This album is only available through online bootlegs because of the controversy surrounding it. No consent was ever given for it's release from either Jay-Z or the surviving Beatles. EMI gave him a cease an desist order after about 3,000 copies were released.
Public Service Announcement
This song begins as Beatles only with Hova right on their heels. The song has a really great feel to it. There is a great beat made with occasional breaks of vocals. Because of the pitch changes, they have a haunting sound to them, reminiscent of a Hammond Organ.
What More Can I Say
Begins with the piano part to "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" which continues throughout the song. There are frequent bursts where the drums have been sampled and cut to make a sort of comb against drainage pipe sound. The bass has been turned way up and it makes for a remix masterpiece.
Encore
Again, beginning with Beatles. There is an interesting cut in the sample that makes little empty spots. The weakest part of this is Jay-Z's "verse" rap. It's a somewhat clichéd style. There is an awesome change about halfway through that completely twists the tone of the song. Horns and bass dominate the last half of the song. The yelling of Hova in the background adds to it.
December 4th
Orgasm. This song is put together perfectly. Guitar sample is perfect. The drums have been twisted around to make an awesome beat. The rap is great. The best part? His mother's voice. It breaks up the song and just adds this awesome mood. This is one of the best tracks in terms of rap, sampling and overall composition.
99 Problems
This time Jay-Z starts off the song. This is really close to the original with guitar fills here and there. It's pretty repetitive but Hova carries this well. There wasn't really any need for Beatles on this but they nicely fill in the empty spots. Great bass in this song.
Dirt Off Your Shoulder
Beatles start it off. Pitch change does funny things to John's voice. This is super remix. It has an ethnic vibe to it because of how the guitar's were modified. Excellent work here. It has a very different vibe than the original especially come the chorus. It's a pretty repetitive one, but a goody.
Moment of Clarity
Beatles start it off. Super condensed. There's a great use of emptiness for rhythm here where everything just disappears. The sample here is possibly the best on the album. It has a really emotive feel to it. A perfect blend. The weakest part is the bass. It's basically jsut a single note while most other songs have used full baselines.
Change Clothes
YES! This song opens up super happy and just has the most jovial feel you could imagine. The chorus is a little pause and helps mix up the song. Pharell's voice adds to this track an unbelievable amount.
Allure
This is a really laid back song. Here is one of the few songs where Beatle voices are an important part of the sample. Unfortunately, this song is really repetitive because the same beat is used throughout the song. The ending is awesome. Diddly little part that sort of fades away.
Justify My Thug
Acoustic guitar and sexy female voice. Then the beat comes in. This is a really disjointed sounding part yet it is one that makes you move whether you want to or not. Hova has an excellent flow here. This song is a lot like 99 Problems except that the sampling is much more prominent. The chorus is a weak point, but the Beatles keep it moving.
Interlude
Begins with Beatles then all hell breaks loose. Everything is jumbled up. Lke an audio traffic jam. A definite high point on the album. It's short so it doesn't get old. It's basically, an interlude but an awesome one. Prog remix? Premix?
My 1st Song
Beatle voices are disjointed and make the sample. Jay-Z's rap is really disjointed and not very enjoyable. It doesn't have the same flow that the rest of the album does. It's like the whole album flowed well until the last 2 songs where it all hit a wall and backed up on itself. Here it unfortunately sound like 2 songs being played at once. But then, you listen again and you realize it does all fit. There are complexities and interesting rhythms. It just doesn't fit with the rest of what was going on. If the whole album were like this, it would be genius but just having a little bit makes it broken. The ending is a bit anti climatic for the whole album.
This album is amazing. The first 10 songs are brilliance and the last 2 still brilliance, just of another kind. I can't give recommended tracks because that would be all of them. There is another track called Threat that is also amazing but not on the actual release so I'll let those of you who wish download it.
4/5
1st review, criticism needed.
