I swear, this is the last time I’m going to talk about Kanye West’s new album Late Registration — at least this week. I already posted two tracks — you want any more, go out and buy the damn album already.
Of note is the song “Roses,” a track about Kanye’s sick grandmother and another spot where the Brion style shines. Note this revelation from co-producer Jon Brion:
“His attitude was, ‘See if you can make me like this,’ ” Brion recalled. Brion layered the track with keyboards — and hours later, Kanye eliminated all of his work, along with the beat, which the producer adored. West reconfigured the song so that the verses are based around a vocal that forms the rhythm, and then Brion’s music comes crashing in on the chorus. “All the authority [and] groove is from his voice, and when the chorus comes in, it’s just this extravaganza of stuff going on,” Brion said, comparing the track’s construction to Prince’s famous last-minute removal of the bass from “When Doves Cry.”
Kanye also spoke in an MTV interview about how he and Brion would just listen to records and note how a certain Jackson 5 song didn’t have drums for two minutes.
As “Roses” begins, there is no percussion at all, just vibes and a subtle bassline. As the chorus comes it, there is a full lush sound, with gospel-tinged vocals and really interesting percussion. As the next verse starts, all that cuts out, back to just vibes. Kanye’s vocals only last for the first half of the song, with the second half taken over by the instrumentation and the backing vocals. Great stuff — and highly unusual for a hip-hop track.
Kanye has made very clear that two albums heavily influenced him in making Late Registration. Fiona Apple’s 1999 album When The Pawn… and Portishead’s 1994 debut album Dummy. Jon Brion produced the Apple album; it’s why Kanye sought him out.
Why is this so important? Because most rappers are influenced by other rap albums, just as most filmmakers seem to be influenced by other movies. This is as opposed to being influenced by art or books or classical music or nature or anything outside their sphere. When you see somebody like Quentin Tarantino steal, he has a way of making it seem fresh. But then you have the imitators come along who don’t even rip it off directly, they take it second-hand from Tarantino.
Take a listen to Kanye’s influences. “Limp” is from When the Pawn… “It Could Be Sweet” is taken from Dummy. The common element, I suppose, is that both are highly emotional, a phrase that also describes much of Late Registration. To a certain extant, Kanye is the rapper who wears his heart on his sleeve.
Fiona Apple – Limp — BUY
Portishead – It Could Be Sweet — BUY