N.E.R.D.
Fly or Die

Fly or Die. (2004) No half measures for Pharrell Williams, who has long stopped walking at the speed with which he reached success. I bought the album for two reasons: first, Pharrell is one of the most acclaimed and promising young American songwriters of the last decade, at least according to what I heard on MTV. The second is that this slim guy churned out piece after piece at an impressive pace, and many small-time artists, like Justin Timberlake, Gwen Stefani, and so on, owe a bit of their "musical comeback" to the inventiveness of this little genius. PW is the author of lyrics and music you can perceive his works where you can detect contaminations of all kinds. A bit of pop, soaked in funk, a bit of acid, a bit of rock, a bit of rap, blues… a conjunction, a mixture of fairly original sounds, a step forward towards somewhat less horizontal horizons.

Producer, singer, musician, entrepreneur, public figure, record executive. It is not easy at all to describe a multifaceted personality with his magical touch Williams has helped to change the face of pop and hip hop music at the turn of the millennium. For years he arranges and manipulates music from behind the scenes - of people like Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Lenny Kravitz, Nelly, and many others - but gradually Pharrell becomes involved in all aspects of the music business: he founded an independent label (Star Trak), duetted with Snoop Dogg flaunting a delightful falsetto, and formed a pop-rock band, N.E.R.D., with which he embarked on a world tour. 

With  N.E.R.D. (acronym for No-one Ever Really Dies), I was finally able to delve into his real innovative capacity, his creative strength, and I found myself with a small album from which I expected a lot, in terms of musical satisfaction. Unfortunately, apart from the mischievous and funky-rock sound of Fly or Die, the childish and playful Jump, the fun single She Wants to Move (with good trip influences, well-arranged), a soft rhythm & blues in Breakout I didn't find great innovation. Some hints, some good notes, graceful pieces, clean guitar riffs, many contaminations, but also a bit of rehashed soup.

What a pity. In short, a prolific singer-songwriter, if you will, brilliant, suitable for the pop landscape, but nothing special. 20 euros spent for the CD, it was worth 10. You might tell me too...