I can't believe it's so close. Before Pyramid dropped out of nowhere, I was thinking that Def Jam wasn't doing anything for Frank again and to just give up waiting for it.
Billboard: First Listen: Frank Ocean Previews 'Channel Orange' Album in NYC
"I need a convertible, a lot of channel orange is convertible music. like a saab convertible," Frank Ocean tweeted on June 20, a day before previewing his debut album, "Channel Orange," at KMA Studios in New York on Thursday night (June 21).
Ocean has a point -- "Channel Orange" (Island Def Jam, July 17) is an excursion in itself. His official debut, which opens with "Thinking About You," gives prominence to his songwriting prowess and sonic versatility, as he intertwines the parallel styles of soul, R&B, jazz and even a bit of funk. Ocean feeds his appetite for different sound types by focusing more on sonics than structure and lacing "Channel Orange" with a mixture of bass lines, electronic synths, keys and flowing melodies. And don't forget: this is Frank's debut album.
The follow-up to last year's lauded "Nostalgia/Ultra" mixtape includes hints of inspiration from legends as Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Prince, The Roots and D'Angelo. Still, Ocean doesn't adhere to one sound, nor shape himself into something that people could peg solely to R&B.
Similar to "Nostalgia/Ultra," Ocean connects the album with transitional interludes in which one hears the tampering of a cassette player, video game playing and some as sententious songs themselves.
Lyrically, he's a storyteller. He simultaneously unravels and explores -- himself and those around him -- through a diatribe of the privileged yet insatiable, ("Super Rich Kids," featuring Odd Future's Earl Sweatshirt), soliloquies of heartbreak and abandonment, and confessionals. His falsetto breathes color into the content.
At times, we see Ocean getting lost in the simplicity of beauty, or "domesticated paradise" -- singing "Why see the world when you got the beach?" in what seems to be called "Sweet Life" -- and telling tales of women, from what they bring to how they leave whether one step forward or two steps behind him. "Why I keep trying to keep a grown woman sober?... But I haven't been touched by the dealer. I'm the stoner," Frank Ocean sings on one track.
On one of his most honest songs, which opens with the pluck of a church organ, Ocean finds himself confessing his deepest demons to what sounds to be a taxi driver. "If it brings me to my knees, it's a bad religion," then later, "I can never make them love me."
Ocean then transitions into another dark, intimate cut, singing, "Close my eyes and fall into you… my god, give me pleasure," before Andre 3000 blesses Frank with two verses. "Models are made for modeling, thick girls are made for cuddling," then, "I need to hold your hand, you need no other man."
Before closing "Channel Orange" with a lingering taste of slinky, R&B, " Voodoo," Frank Ocean serenades with the soulful, "Forrest Gump.""If this is love? I know it's true. I won't forget you," he sings.
AOL: Frank Ocean Previews 'Channel Orange' Album, Reveals Andre 3000 Feature on 'Pleasure'
Singer Frank Ocean previewed tracks off his highly-anticipated debut album, Channel Orange, Thursday (June 21) at KMA Studios, tucked above the forever bustling streets of Times Square in New York City.
The 24-year-old's fans will be excited to know the album has a feature from Andre 3000 on a song titled "Pleasure."
With Channel Orange, due July 17, the Odd Future crooner delivers more than just a solid record; he's a storytelling genius on the LP, a quality that has been missing from many new artists. The tracks are pulled together by experimental interludes including video game sound effects, dialogues and planes taking off and crashing.
The album borrows from a mixture of genres, with elements of jazz, rock and electro sprinkled throughout the R&B-centric songs. There's also ranges in tempo, incorporating a sometimes heavy and cold feel but at other times a warming effect. Ocean's voice smoothly crusades along the tracks into a deep, soulful fantasy world, conjured up from his own wondering mind.
Once inside this sphere, Ocean takes on topics of love, alienation, drug use, religion and philosophy, similar to his Nostalgia, Ultra mixtape, released in February 2011. But this time, he adds bang and boost to the sounds with live instrumentation that accompany his lyrics. Ocean's words are full of vivid imagery, which also serve as a mirror to reflect society's beauty and flaws.
On "Super Rich Kids," led in by a piano, he highlights absentee parents who allow money to raise their children. "The maids come around too much/ Parents never come around often enough," the New Orleans native sings.
Throughout the album, Frank Ocean gives a view of conflict and sorrow, never concealing his own vulnerability in not knowing all the answers to his problems.
During the Andre 3000-assisted, down-tempo track "Pleasure," he ponders, "What if the stars and skies are a show/ And the aliens are watching live?"
It's this visual irony that allows Ocean to create songwriting that transforms listeners' encounters with drab daily news, reality and heartbreak into audible refreshments.
"Thinking About You," the 10-minute long "Pyramids," "Forrest Gump" and "Voodoo," all tracks either previously released or those he previewed for fans while on tour, will also be on the album. However, there are many more unreleased goods that round out the impressible opus.
Pitchfork: Frank Ocean's Channel Orange Album Details: Andre 3000, Genre-Hopping, and More
While the Brill Building is mere blocks away from Def Jam's offices in midtown Manhattan, I like to think the location of yesterday's listening session for Frank Ocean's major-label debut-- Channel Orange, out July 17-- was based on more than mere convenience.
Countless American classics were born in the building's hallowed halls. So when a group of journalists sat down in a small, dimmed studio to take in the album, there was already a sense of history in the air.
Frank was there, his back turned to us, slowly bobbing his head along to the music. Before he played the record, he tested the sound system with a few seconds of Arthur Russell's "Just a Blip". He didn't speak much. Holding an apparently specialized drink made for the occasion, he deadpanned: "They said this drink is called Channel Orange... that's cool." While he's appreciative, it seemed that such party-planner details don't mean very much to him.
Much like last year's Nostalgia, Ultra, the lushly produced songs on Channel Orange are connected by tape-damaged interludes of dialogue and sound effects and warped snippets of tracks, giving things an intimate, homemade scope and feel. The record begins with an upgraded version of "Thinking About You" (now with gorgeous strings), and also features previously-heard tracks "Forrest Gump", "Pyramids", and "Super Rich Kids". A distorted version of the Tumblr-leaked track "Voodoo" could be heard underneath the album's outro.
Elsewhere, Ocean offers left turn after left turn, from psychedelic soul a la Sly Stone, to D'Angelo-style, keyboard-based R&B, to a politically-charged track delivered over a nimble beat reminiscent of A Tribe Called Quest, to something akin to a spaced-out epic rock ballad in which a conversation with a cabbie inspires Ocean to ponder some of life's big questions.
Needless to say, this is not your typical major-label R&B record. So when Andre 3000 showed up to offer some guest rapping and singing near the end of the album, it made a hell of a lot of sense.
Complex Magazine Review:
"Thinking About You"
This joint's been floating around the Internet for months. First it was an Ocean-penned track for Roc Nation singer Bridget Kelly, which she did justice to. Then Frank posted his own version of the song on his Tumblr page. No contest—this cut about not being able to keep that special someone off your mind sounds better in his falsetto.
"Sierra Leone"
This spacy cut, named for the diamond-rich but war-torn African nation, is highlighted by its wild use of organs and tremendous melodies.
"Sweet Life"
On this jazzy song Frank sings about enjoying what's in front of you, as opposed to thinking about what's beyond. “Why see the world when you've got the beach,” he asks, then adds “MY TV ain't HD. That's too real.”
"Too Many"
This song might also be titled “Real Love” or “Super Rich,” but whatever you call it, it knocks. Over piano jabs that recall Elton John's "Bennie and the Jets," Frank speaks on affluent kids living the high life without their parents' love. “Too many joyrides in Daddy's Jaguar,” he sings on the hook. “Too many white lies and white lines." Odd Future teammate Earl Sweatshirt features on this cut, which sounds like a hit.
"Pilot Jones"
Here's an eerie song where Frank sings to a woman, most likely a pilot, who's not flying right. “Why am I trying to keep a grown woman sober,” he asks, then admits “I've always had a pilot jones.”
"Pyramids"
This 10-minute offering is Frank's first Channel Orange single. It's an epic song, starting out as the tale of a queen being stolen from her land and then transforming into a cut that's fit for a raunchy gentlemen's club. By the way, that's John Mayer on the guitar at the end.
"Crack Rock"
This song would have been perfectly suited for any scene in Jungle Fever featuring Samuel L. Jackson's crackhead character Gator. Over hard drums and organs, Frank sings about “smoking stones in abandoned homes” and fiends “shucking and jiving” for drugs.
"Lost"
This one's all about a girl who lost her way after traveling to a place where she thought her dream would come true. Apparently Frank isn't exactly helping her find her way. “I can't believe I got her out here cooking dope,” he sings.
"Run"
On this funky cut Frank sings about an Indian woman who's following the Dalai Lama. Frank's with her in the wild and things get real in the field. “Tigers woke us from our slumber,” he sings. Hello kitty!
"Taxi Driver"
This piano and string-driven song find Ocean unloading his troubles from the backseat of a cab. “Taxi driver, you're my shrink for the hour,” he starts. As the meter runs, his issues spill out. “I've got three lives balanced on my head like steak knives,” Ocean spits. Sounds painful.
"Pleasure"
Ocean sounds pensive here, singing, “What if the sky and stars are for show?” Andre 3000 features on this track. “She had a body that would intimidate anyone that wasn't Southern,” he says of a particularly stacked lady in his Georgia drawl. “Not me, cousin.”
"Forrest Gump"
The last cut on the album is just a few guitar licks shy of a country song. Ocean sings about a woman who's been running through his mind. The outro that really wraps the albums is where we hear Frank leaving his car and splashing through the rain to his home. Once he unlocks the door to the crib and closes it behind him, Channel Orange is blacked out.
1. Thinkin Bout You
2. Sierra Leone
3. Sweet Life
4. Super Rich Kids (Feat. Earl)
5. Pilot Jones
6. Pyramids
7. Crack Rock
8. Lost
9. Run
10. Taxi Driver
11. Pleasure (Feat. Andre 3000)
12. Forrest Gump
13. Voodoo Outro
"Lost"
This one's all about a girl who lost her way after traveling to a place where she thought her dream would come true. Apparently Frank isn't exactly helping her find her way. “I can't believe I got her out here cooking dope,” he sings.
Quote:
Taxi Driver"
This piano and string-driven song find Ocean unloading his troubles from the backseat of a cab. “Taxi driver, you're my shrink for the hour,” he starts. As the meter runs, his issues spill out. “I've got three lives balanced on my head like steak knives,” Ocean spits. Sounds painful.