March 12, 2002 by A.S. Van Dorston

“No-one Ever Really Dies,” says ultra slick hip hop producers Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, a.k.a. The Neptunes, a.k.a. N*E*R*D, they’re just reborn into a hot rock band. Those expecting the same bouncy mainstream production that made big hits for Kelis, Jay-Z, Mystikal, Beenie Man and Ludacris will be surprised by the visceral, dirty feel of this music. Virgin released an early electro version In Search Of last year against the band’s wishes. The domestic version is quite a bit different. Listening to the two side-by-side, track-for-track, I can see how N*E*R*D would be pissed. It sounds like the UK version is a demo. A very polished demo, but two dimensional when compared to the fullness of the US version with the full band. The awkward skits were taken out and the song lengths tightened. Most importantly, they replace the stiff, dated drum machine with a real drummer. Many tracks that recalled early 80s electro, now sound fresher. And they swing. And they rock. Hell, sometimes they destroy.

The new and improved N*E*R*D sounds both looser and tighter, with a harder overall mix. Besides the lame skits, nothing is missed from the previous version. All the cool samples and synth funk lines are intact. The end result is a stunning album that updates the spirit of Sly & The Family Stone, The Isley Brothers, George Clinton’s Parliament-Funkadelic, Curtis Mayfield and Prince’s more rockist moments, without plundering them for musical ideas. They also strive to bring back the lyrical weight of prime seventies Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder, with their own brand of Buddhist-B-boy social consciousness.

While it’s tough to top the masters, N*E*R*D comes close. “Lapdance” is a not-quite successful metaphor for politicians as ‘ho’s, but the intensity of the music brings it up a level, rivaling the urgency of Public Enemy circa 1989. A delicate Duke Ellington “Caravan” synth melody during the chorus is a brilliant touch. “Things Are Getting Better” recalls the sunny, sing-songy hip hop of A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul and The Jungle Brothers. The rapping is nimble and witty, the synth lines fat and heavy, and the rhythm funky as hell. I look forward to the extended dance mix. In the sarcastically chivalrous “Brain” (“I just love your brain”), they take a choppy rhythm guitar line similar to the recent P. Diddy single and space and drag the chorus like a psychedelic garage nugget. The new version adds some prime scratching near the end. “Provider” is one of the few tracks that don’t differ too much from the original version. It’s a blues ballad that tells a dealer’s tale in the tradition of Curtis Mayfield’s Superfly. With a couple new wave breaks, the song is moving.

“Truth Or Dare” vastly improves the old version by adding heavy staccato strings used like a guitar symphony adding much needed dramatic effect. “Tape You” gives a new meaning to home taping, when the singer’s come on is to ask her to let him watch her kick it all night, to a slinky, sexy, rubbery rhythm, of course. “Baby Doll” adds an awesome, heavy bassline to the lightly loping reggae-ish synth lines. “Am I High,” which was originally a sleepy, stoned groove, added a harder funk edge. “Rock Star” takes on the collective egos of N*E*R*D’s music biz peers and completely shreds them to pieces. The power of the original version is magnified by a savage Bad Brains-like guitar and drums riff, following the introduction, “Fuckin’ posers!” “Bobby James” is yet another peak, a first-person narrative junkie blues about a 17 year-old in a downward spiral. It avoids cliché and schmaltz by focusing on believable, realistic details, carried by an elegiac high-pitched chorus that truly rivals Curtis Mayfield.

The album closes on another uplifting note with “Stay Together,” complete with the best use of snare drums since U2’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday.” The song builds and holds an ecstatic level with yelps, Beatles harmonies and keyboards, and then winds down to a single voice. In an era when pop artists say and mean nothing, N*E*R*D raises the bar. Even when measured against heavyweight classics of the past, In Search Of . . . is a massive album.

Posted in: New Album(s) of the Week, Reviews