The Neptunes Presents Clones [PA] * - Neptunes (The) (CD 2003)

I first saw Pharrell Williams in the music video for the song Lap Dance, and I immediately fell in love with his voice and his beats (and his looks aren t bad either!). It s hard to describe what is so amazing about him, but there s definitely something there. It turned out that Pharrell was a member of a band called N.E.R.D. and I bought their CD In Search of and loved it. I had been noticing Pharrell in more and more videos and songs, like Britney Spear s Boys, and Justin Timberlake s Girlfriend, and I finally realized he and Chase Chad Salamats were in a group called the Neptunes. The Neptunes are emerging as one of the hottest musical producing groups around.

I will say that I am not a huge rap fan, but I can handle about anything musically (music is my major in college) and with my growing appreciation for Pharrell and Chad, I thought I might as well give The Neptunes Present Clones, a chance. I am glad I did because I really enjoy listening to this CD while I m driving and while I m in my room jammin .

Before I begin reviewing the songs, I would like to say that I don t judge lyrics very much because it is my opinion that song lyrics (like poetry and most literature) can and are- interpreted differently depending on the listener. So, I know my opinion on the lyrics may be lacking, but that is my explanation in advance.

Intro: This is just a standard intro to the CD, and though I usually skip through the intros, I must say I really liked this one. It was simple, just repetitive counting one, two, three, four, but the beat was what I would describe as kind of syrupy, and it was really very different.

Light You re A** on Fire; Busta Rhymes featuring Pharrell: This song has been popular on music video channels lately and the video is actually really funny. The beginning of the song is really odd, with random electronic-sounding notes, but I like it. The lyrics in this song are kind of raunchy, but that should be expected since the song is about asses, and Busta Rhymes is usually pretty blunt. I happen to like Busta Rhymes because his lyrics and beats really crack me up I think he s really original. This song is no different; the beats are fairly different than lots of rap songs, sort of a mix between electronic and exotic drums. I really like Pharrell s voice in this song; it s kind of soft and really adds some variety from Busta s rough rapping. This is one of my favorite tracks on the CD.

Blaze of Glory; Clipse featuring Pharrell & Ab-Liva: This song s beat is very repetitive and simple, but catchy.

It Wasn t Us; Ludacris featuring I-20: I haven t heard this song on the radio, but I don t listen to much radio, either. The beat is again very catchy, and Ludacris is his normal, proud self. The bass is very present in this song, but it matches well.

Frontin ; Pharrell featuring Jay-Z: This is, of course, one of my favorite songs on the disc. It s been pretty popular on music video channels as well as some radio stations in my area, and I can see why. It s fairly catchy, and it features Pharrell. He is one of few male singers I know of who can get away with singing in a higher pitched voice, and I really enjoy it on this track. Jay-Z also sounds good. The lyrics aren t bad, actually kind of funny in some places. Again, this song has to be one of my favorites.

Good Girl; Vanessa Marquez: Wow. I don t usually enjoy girls singing and telling a guy off at the same time, but Vanessa Marquez can pull it off with this song. The lyrics are very catchy, and her voice is great. She sounds like she has a tinge of Paula Abdul in her voice sometimes, and though I m not extremely fond of Paula, it sounds great in this song. It s good to have a female on a disc like this.

If; Nelly: The beginning of this song sound similar to Nelly s ever-popular Hot in Herre, but the rest of the song had me nodding to the beat. Nelly s voice actually changes pitch in this song, which is different from Hot in Herre, and his voice isn t as bad as some rappers can be. The lyrics aren t bad either.

Hot; Rosco P. Coldchain featuring Pusha T from Clipse & Boo-Bonic: This song made me feel like a low-rider when I drove down the street pumping it in my car. The bass is present, and there really isn t much other music. The rap isn t bad, and I like the shispered hot.

It Blows My Mind; Snoop Dogg: This is pure Snoop. The beginning is very creative and the song in general makes me laugh. The beat is really kicking and there s some high-pitched singing, and it really makes for a good mix. Great song, but there s a lot of talk of smoking in this song, which may bother some listeners.

Half-Steering ; Spymob: This song is very different from the rest of the CD in that it is not rap or R&B. I enjoyed the variety it brought to the CD, and there s a simple-but-great piano riff and a not so simple guitar riff that make the song fun to jam to. There is one part in the song where the vocalist goes pretty sharp, which bothers me, but may not bother people with a not-so-picky ear.

F**k n Spend; The High Speed Scene: This song has a sort of lead in from the song previous, and again it isn t rap so the change is nice. It s really good to see the Neptunes doing different music like this. The vocals are mostly singing and it s a really catchy tune. It says F**k quite a few times, which may bother some listeners. It s also very short.

Loser; N.E.R.D. featuring Clipse: This song isn t as good as it could be, and that s really all there is to say. I like N.E.R.D. so I m a little partial, but I can agree that this song is a little lacking.

Rock n Roll; Fam-Lay: This song has a really funny intro because the hmm yesss sirrrr, just sounds funny. After the intro though I just wasn t too fond of this one. It s mostly straight rap, which I m not fond of at all, but it sounds almost similar to 50 cent, and that may please some listeners.

The Don of Dons (Put de Ting Pon Dem); Super Cat featuring Jadakiss: This song was your standard Jamaican-ish song, with some fairly interesting ad-ins in the background that really had me laughing. Other than that, there isn t too much to this song, and I skip it often.

Hot Damn; Clipse featuring Ab-Liva, Pharrell & Rosco P. Coldchain: I like Pharrell s part in this song, especially the loud part in the very beginning. This song is very catchy, I find myself singing it very often. I really like the Hot Damn, part, because the voice after Pharrell s is really gunny. The rapping isn t bad either.

Put Em Up; N.O.R.E. featuring Pharrell: There s a lot of four letter N-anagrams, isn t there? I like the background beats and singing in this song a lot, and again, the rapping isn t bad either. This song is very catchy, and I like the girl s voices in the background of some parts.

Pop Sh*t; Dirt McGirt featuring Pharrell: The sirens in the background make for interesting music, as do the almost-syncopated beats. The rapping is lacking in my opinion, and it is very repetitive.

Popular Thug; Kelis featuring Nas: This song is very catchy, and I think it closes out the CD well. Like most of the other songs, I really like the background music and beats, and I like the rapping in this case. I also really like Kelis in this, though her voice can get kind of nasally.

The copy I bought of this CD happened to have a Limited-Edition DVD, which features Pharrell s Frontin video; Clipse s Hot Damn video; Fam-Lay s Rock n Roll video, and The Eighth Planet, which is a short film.

I really liked this CD. Though there were some songs that were rather lacking, I really enjoyed most of the songs, and I have to say that the beats were very original The Neptunes sure are giving themselves a good name. I love listening to this CD in my car, which is often, and I repeat several songs. The Neptunes have a way of letting the musicians shine through for themselves while adding their own touch, and with each song you could tell who the artist was without necessarily hearing their voice I really like that.

The bad things are that all songs on this disc aren t repeat worthy. Also, this CD has a Parental Advisory label on, which may bother some parents if their children listen to it. The CD uses some cussing, some sexual references (See Light You re a** on Fire!!!), and drug references. Though this doesn t bother me, I feel compelled to mention it because it does happen to offend some people.

Go buy this CD, but not for more than $15.