Originally due for release sometime in the middle of 2001, the N.E.R.D. album,
In Search Of..., was finally put out on store shelves last week. Bootlegs have been available to download for at least half a year, but that of course was the pure studio version of the album, the one that was scheduled to be released before the Neptunes decided they wanted to ditch the drum machine and synth for a live drummer and real guitars. Have these new changes been for the better? Given that I've had the first version of the album for a good four months and the new one for a week, it probably wouldn't be fair of me to make a firm judgement at this point in time, so I'll just resort to doing what I do best. It's fence sitting time.
Before, I never really understood the fascination that groups like Add N To (X) have with live drumming. It was always my the belief that percussion was the easiest component of the music to synthesize, thinking that the temporal aspect of drumming, which is obviously easily duplicated by a computer, was the single most important factor in recreating a drum sound. Everything else, such as the subtle dynamic boosts or just the plain rawness of the sound, were things that I now think I often neglected. On,
In Search Of..., I have to admit that having a live drummer adds a little more energy to the music. This might be due to the rhythm now feeling less static and prohibitive, but I think it has more to do with the actual sound of the drums. Real drums just sound sharper. There's now more of a contrast between the percussion and the rest of the music, making it easier to take in the wholeness of the sound. Ironically, it was the previous, totally synthesized version of this album that sounded more organic, as the separate musical lines tended to blend together more. While it was never something I consciously thought about, I was always aware that all the different sounds I was hearing basically originated from the same source. Now, with the live instruments, everything sounds clearer and distinct, less natural but more authoritative. The guitars play a large part in this as well, but I'm almost willing to say that their effect is more negative than positive. In "Lapdance" for example, when the chorus hits, the guitars sound a little too cliche as they try to pick up in intensity and dominate the sound. The guitar is fine whenever it plays a supplementary role in the music, but it becomes a little annoying when used as the main focus.
I'm getting tired, so I'll just say this. The live instrumentation does deliver as promised. While I'm not going to support the notion that they make the songs sound more "authentic", I will say that they add spice and a little extra liveliness. The big trade-off is that the music doesn't flow quite as naturally and is now more difficult to envision as a totally self-contained piece. Sometimes music is more enjoyable when you can see it as a blur. Noticing the "separateness" of the instrumentation can actually be a bad thing, a distraction even. But you know...why am I complaining? I get two solid albums where there was once just one from one of my favorite producer groups. That's plenty to keep me happy.
