Monkey Business - Black Eyed Peas (CD 2005)

I liked BEP a few years back when it seemed like they had somthing to say to the world and I even liked there song "Get it started" which was just fun hype but I dislike the poor quality sound and not even clever ideas on thes new album and I no longer would consider myself a fan

I spin at least one tune from this album at every party. While it is by far not the greatest album ever, it makes people happy, and that makes it at least VERY GOOD.

-Johnny @ thevinylspinner.com

Unlike the previous review, I like the album very much. Yes while this album is made to sell more just like the rest of the albums. What do you expect when your in the business to sell records. I dont think they sold out or crossed over at all.. Fergie adds the voice and dynamic I think they have been missing from their last albums. When you work with as many people as they have you find someone that sticks and you keep with them.

I like the fact that they take the old school feel and bring new feeling and rhythm to it.. There isnt anything wrong with a remake if you indeed remake it to your own creation like they do.. As opposed to sampling and trying to sound like the original. I give it 5 stars because its consistent with the rest of the albums. You can even say they stepped it up a little bit.

I'm a pretty easy-going person, which is great because the BEP are an easy-going bunch. I don't think it's too unfair to compare MONKEY BUSINESS with its predecessor, ELEPHUNK. I think ELEPHUNK more or less hits all the right notes of what the BEP are all about: dancing, having fun, and minor preaching. The induction of Fergie with ELEPHUNK allowed the BEP to attain success they'd not enjoyed before. They had managed to carve a few tracks that were fit for radio and still appealed to the Hip Hop Head, primarily the house party dancer -- and ELEPHUNK was an elevation. A sophistication of sound.

Somewhere along the line they changed. Maybe it was becoming shills of Verizon and Best Buy. Maybe it was selling "Let's Get It Started," which used to be the less-friendly entitled "Let's Get Retarded." Maybe it was the fire that burned down the studio during the making of MONKEY BUSINESS, which brings you where you want to go with this long and meandering review.

This album -- you've heard it before. It cobbles together pieces and loops of other songs and film, mashes them together, and what comes out is awfully over-produced, ultra-saccharine, and very generic. Because it takes from all things it becomes nothing itself. Every song of merit on the album has a better version, by other people, somewhere out there. The insulting thing about it is that you immediately know you've heard that better song somewhere else, which begs the question, "Why should you be listening to MONKEY BUSINESS?"

It's a sort of filler soundtrack. Nothing really stands out, and it's not really offensive or terrible. It's just uninspired, and fails to capture the lightning that ELEPHUNK did. Of course, it's easier to hit the scene on, what, the third album? They were relatively unknown on a national level until 'PHUNK, and you gotta think that it's all downhill from there. How do you improve upon success? Especially given the fact that success wasn't so much fostered by the prowess of the BEP, but rather by their audience's surprise they could created such a upbeat, unified album.

MONEKY BUSINESS is all over the place. ELEPHUNK is better because MONKEY BUSINESS illustrates the BEP have not only not-grown but have become hollow caricatures of themselves.