Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Ok, so we might have declared that the majority of our collected 2010 records would consist of albums you might not have come across before, this, and Arcade Fire are quite crucial exceptions. This, in particular, because last time I visited a major record shop, I saw it lagging at #35 in the UK album charts, a mere two weeks after its release. So here’s way you should invest in ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ if you’ve yet to. 

There’s not a single dud in Yeezy’s discography:  Debut album ‘The College Dropout’ combined vintage hip-hop influences with classic pop samples; ‘Late Registration’ and ‘Graduation’ were more barbaric evolvings of their predecessors and ‘808’s and Heartbreak’ welcomed in autotune and a more emotional subtext in response to the death of his mother. ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ honours West’s own admission of being “young, rich and tasteless” by melting all his previous records into one chaotic, scatterbrained pot.  Somehow, as a result, this is the first Kanye album that has a genuine flow.  From Nicki Minaj’s spoken-word introduction to Gill Scott-Heron’s sampled cries of “Who will survive in America?”, the listener is taken through an intense psychological journey, invited into the very depths of Yeezy’s fascinating trail of thought.  

This is what ‘Fantasy…’ does best:  Its honesty allows people to see through the ego, in turn finding a man unafraid of admitting his flaws.  Glossy production doesn’t pull the shutters over the predatory nature of ‘Hell Of A Life’, the sore-to-the-bone ‘Blame Game’ or ‘Runaway’’s intense, shaky vocals.  In doing this, Kanye gives us an insight into what goes on in the brain of a man who’s almost killed his career by snatching an award gong from the hands of Taylor Swift…   

And whilst it relies on a seemingly never-ending stream of guest stars – from Chris Rock to Elton John – Kanye’s the one steering the ship, making the most ambitious album of his career.  Although at first overwhelming, ‘…Fantasy’ is a stunningly daring effort, and a potential classic.  [JM]