Music Review
David Guetta: Listen album review - a donk in all the right places
By Lewis Corner
Released on Monday, Nov 24 2014
For those of you who shudder at the mere thought of EDM's meteoric rise over the past five years, you have one man to blame. David Guetta practically redefined electronic music with 2009's One Love and 2011 follow-up Nothing but the Beat, enhancing it with big-name stars, massive pop hooks and a relentless energy that saw it dominate radio across Europe and even the US. All of a sudden the idea of the superstar DJ was reborn, but this time on a truly global scale.
Of course the genre has its detractors; despite its popularity, for as many people who love nothing more than jumping around in a sweaty 100,000-strong crowd, there are countless who disregard the synthetic sound of squiggles and beats as nothing more than technological trickery with very little artist integrity. Nevertheless, Guetta has returned to change that perception. Instead of his usual approach of starting with a beat and writing lyrics over the top, this time he sat at the piano with a collaborator.
It's a shift to a more instrumental sound that is clearly apparent throughout sixth album Listen. The title in itself is an indication that Guetta wants his audience to invest in his music maybe more so than they have in the past. Dance music has always had a reputation for losing its listener in the beat and feeling the groove instinctively, rather than contemplating its meaning and depth. But for what the French producer has branded his "most personal" work to date, Listen struggles to prove its creator's claims.
In essence, Listen is an album packed full of hit singles. From the fantastic Western stand-off between sandy guitar twangs and Euroclub build-ups on 'Lovers on the Sun', to the Nicki Minaj-assisted 'Hey Mama' with its seductive dancehall-tinged verve, Guetta has pulled together a varied range of sounds and artists. But therein lies the record's biggest flaw. These are obviously formidable chart-toppers of the future, but his "most personal" work to date? It doesn't quite ring true.
Sure there are moments of reflection on Emeli Sandé collaboration 'What I Did for Love' and Sia's 'Bang My Head', but too often Listen feels like a compilation remixed by Guetta, rather than his own album. It's a brave move to allow collaborators to inject their own sense of musicality into your project - and it has certainly helped add a more textured level of instrumentalism here - but Guetta needed to play a stronger role as conductor to make sure his style was the overriding feature.
Instead, whether it's the ska-inflected undertones of 'Sun Goes Down' with Magic!, the tropical R&B; of Norway's Nico & Vinz on 'Lift Me Up', or the ghostly folk of Birdy and Jaymes Young on 'I'll Keep Loving You', Guetta's role seems little more than to layer in a four-to-the-floor backdrop on a song that would easily fit on that respective artist's own album. The relationship here feels more like the French producer is bringing their songs to life, rather than the guests contributing to Guetta's own body of work.
There are moments when Guetta does grab the reigns back, though. 'Goodbye Friend' featuring The Script's Danny O'Donoghue is a towering electronic banger that wouldn't be out of place on 2009's One Love, while recent single 'Dangerous' echoes early noughties Daft Punk, nodding back to one of Guetta's major pre-fame influences. However, if DG thinks adding Sia ballad 'The Whisperer' as the final track is enough to validate Listen as his most introspective material, he has been sorely misled. It's a lovely song, but a slow number on a David Guetta album? C'mon!
So if you're expecting some insight into the real world of David Guetta from the last few years - the insane levels of fame, the high-profile divorce, a DJ at the very top of his field - then you'll be left disappointed. But what you do get is an eclectic collection of dance anthems curated by a David Guetta doing what he's always done best; putting a donk in all the right places.
Tracks to download: 'Lovers on the Sun', 'Hey Mama', 'Goodbye Friend', 'Dangerous'
Of course the genre has its detractors; despite its popularity, for as many people who love nothing more than jumping around in a sweaty 100,000-strong crowd, there are countless who disregard the synthetic sound of squiggles and beats as nothing more than technological trickery with very little artist integrity. Nevertheless, Guetta has returned to change that perception. Instead of his usual approach of starting with a beat and writing lyrics over the top, this time he sat at the piano with a collaborator.
It's a shift to a more instrumental sound that is clearly apparent throughout sixth album Listen. The title in itself is an indication that Guetta wants his audience to invest in his music maybe more so than they have in the past. Dance music has always had a reputation for losing its listener in the beat and feeling the groove instinctively, rather than contemplating its meaning and depth. But for what the French producer has branded his "most personal" work to date, Listen struggles to prove its creator's claims.
In essence, Listen is an album packed full of hit singles. From the fantastic Western stand-off between sandy guitar twangs and Euroclub build-ups on 'Lovers on the Sun', to the Nicki Minaj-assisted 'Hey Mama' with its seductive dancehall-tinged verve, Guetta has pulled together a varied range of sounds and artists. But therein lies the record's biggest flaw. These are obviously formidable chart-toppers of the future, but his "most personal" work to date? It doesn't quite ring true.
Sure there are moments of reflection on Emeli Sandé collaboration 'What I Did for Love' and Sia's 'Bang My Head', but too often Listen feels like a compilation remixed by Guetta, rather than his own album. It's a brave move to allow collaborators to inject their own sense of musicality into your project - and it has certainly helped add a more textured level of instrumentalism here - but Guetta needed to play a stronger role as conductor to make sure his style was the overriding feature.
Instead, whether it's the ska-inflected undertones of 'Sun Goes Down' with Magic!, the tropical R&B; of Norway's Nico & Vinz on 'Lift Me Up', or the ghostly folk of Birdy and Jaymes Young on 'I'll Keep Loving You', Guetta's role seems little more than to layer in a four-to-the-floor backdrop on a song that would easily fit on that respective artist's own album. The relationship here feels more like the French producer is bringing their songs to life, rather than the guests contributing to Guetta's own body of work.
There are moments when Guetta does grab the reigns back, though. 'Goodbye Friend' featuring The Script's Danny O'Donoghue is a towering electronic banger that wouldn't be out of place on 2009's One Love, while recent single 'Dangerous' echoes early noughties Daft Punk, nodding back to one of Guetta's major pre-fame influences. However, if DG thinks adding Sia ballad 'The Whisperer' as the final track is enough to validate Listen as his most introspective material, he has been sorely misled. It's a lovely song, but a slow number on a David Guetta album? C'mon!
So if you're expecting some insight into the real world of David Guetta from the last few years - the insane levels of fame, the high-profile divorce, a DJ at the very top of his field - then you'll be left disappointed. But what you do get is an eclectic collection of dance anthems curated by a David Guetta doing what he's always done best; putting a donk in all the right places.
Tracks to download: 'Lovers on the Sun', 'Hey Mama', 'Goodbye Friend', 'Dangerous'
