Album Review: Common - Universal Mind Control

Common has always been a bit of a background player in the world of hip-hop. He gets the critical acclaim that a suburban poet of his nature deserves, but for the most part gets looked over in the general radio scene. After he was nominated for a grammy for Be, it became universally accepted that Common's type of music is deep and powerful, and his lack of commercial success was due to that fact.

In the past two albums, it seems that Common wants to shed that image and join Kanye West and others like him in the limelight, and Universal Mind Control is his most obvious attempt yet. While the latter half of the ten-song album shows glimpses of Common's strong flow and conscious storytelling, the first half begs to be played on the dancefloor.

The bumpy ride begins with "Universal Mind Control," which is only worth listening to for the Neptunes-crafted beat and nothing else. The man who preaches for equality and hope sounds out of place here: "Gucci - Rock'n, Coochies - Pop'n/Movie - Watch'n
Booties - Shop'n/Body - Move'n, Show'n, Groov'n, styl'n and being fly." The same is true for "Punch Drunk Love," "Make My Day" (which is saved by Cee-Lo's catchy chorus), and the unexcusably cheesy "Sex 4 Sugar." If there were any songs at the beginning of an album to discourage listening all the way through, these would be them.

Luckily, things pick up a little at "Announcement" and "Gladiator," where Common brings his more-familiar "King Common" persona as he challenges rappers and navigates issues in Culture with clever wordplay. Then he follows it up with the inspiring "Changes" and the odd-yet-enjoyable "Inhale." The autobiographical "What a World" and the dance-influenced "Everywhere" help to keep the album on a good note, but it feels like the damage has already been done by the sex-loaded front of the album.

On his last album, Finding Forever, Common had two songs about sexual encounters back-to-back at the end of the album, and it ruined the CDs otherwise stellar flow. It seems that he hasn't learned his lesson here, as the first four songs completely take the energy out of the album and should only be listened to if you're planning a party with people who don't listen to rap lyrics or don't understand English.

It simply feels as if Common was out of his element, and while part of the blame can be attributed to Pharrell Williams for his over-production, a large part of the blame has to rest on Common's shoulders because of his need to gain a larger audience. Whether or not this album accomplishes that goal, as a whole it has caused this album to suffer.

Scoring:

Replayability: (15/20) There are a few songs that merit multiple listens, especially "Changes" and "Gladiator" for its scathing yet enjoyable attack on culture. However, except for "Make My Day" the first four tracks are hard to listen to.

Music: (19/20) Although the lyrical content isn't where it usually is with Common, Pharrell Williams has definitely created intoxicating beats and given some songs a nice groove to nod to.

Lyrics: (15/20) Common hits some of his highest highs on this album in "Gladiator" and "Changes," but also his by far his lowest lows in "Universal Mind Control" and "Sugar 4 Sex."

Completeness: (12/20) I mentioned that the beginning of the album almost makes you want to quit listening to it the first time through. That is not the sign of a complete album by any means. The last sex tracks have a certain flow to them but can't completely make up for the train wreck at the beginning.

Emotional Pull: (14/20) "Changes" and "What a World" are almost completely responsible for getting the score this high, which is disappointing because one of Common's biggest strengths has always been creating a voice that most of his listeners can identify with. Other than the songs above it is mostly absent here.

Total Scoring: 75

Grade: C

In his quest to make a hit, Common has sacrificed his voice and his consistency, two things that made Be such a classic.

Check, Check Plus, X
Universal Mind Control X
Punch Drunk Love X
Make My Day √
Sex 4 Sugar X
Announcement √
Gladiator √+
Changes √+
Inhale √+
What a World √
Everywhere √

Lot to look forward to next week. Well, not a lot, but it will be interesting to see if Fall Out Boy can continue balancing pop and intelligence with their new album.

Sit tight til the next grade,
RRC