Grammy's "Best Album" Review - Part 4 (Daft Punk)

Here's the fourth part of my five part series on reviewing the Best Album category for the Grammy's.This is a straight through review of each track, and then an overall conclusion on the album. So with that, lets begin. Following the review of each track, a mark will appear within ( ), a check-mark "✔" meaning a great track, an "O" meaning an okay track or track that could have been great with a few adjustments, or an "X", meaning a miss. (All rights to any video of the mentioned songs is copyright of Daft Punk and Daft Life/Colombia).

1) "Give Life Back to Music"

It starts out with a rock intro, along with a steady beat with a nice guitar rift. The track does get a little repetitive though. Overall, a solid intro to "Random Access Memories". As mentioned, it felt a little repetitive at times, but it works and shows you what to expect next. (✔).

2) "The Game of Love"

  

It has a nice mellow intro that has a calming effect to it. The various backings blend together. This is a nice change of pace from "Give Life Back to Music". This track has a very relaxing effect to it, while also reflecting the song's message of a "love that just walked away". (✔).

3) "Giorgio by Mordor"

It starts off with a talk intro backed later by instrumentals. Giorgio talks about his discovery/development of synth/EDM music. It finally picks up about 2 minutes. The varying themes/beats blend. It then goes into a nice jazz-feel breakdown. Giorgio briefly returns introducing the new section essentially (followed by a big strings section). This grows, with all of the themes merging. A record-scratching sound carries the initial theme towards the end, with an almost hard-rock sound carrying over the theme to the conclusion. This track has some hits and misses. Giorgio's intro tends to drag on, but then it really hits its groove. (O)

4) "Within"

 

It has a jazz piano-feel intro. The track possesses some similar elements from "Game of Love". Compared to "Game of Love", this feels kind of bland and rather simple. Not really a bad track, but a forgettable one. (X)

5) "Instant Crush" ft/ Julian Casablancas

This starts out with a steady intro, with solid vocals and a nice hook with the instrumentals. There's a nice breakdown midway through. A catchy track that really works, from the solid vocals to the accompanying instrumentals. Casablancas brings a lot to this track. (✔)

6) "Lose Yourself to Dance" ft/ Pharrell Williams

It begins with a slow groove intro. Just crystal vocals from Pharrell here. It has a laid back, half-time feel. A simple message, but it works. This laid back feel may not work as well in other tracks, but with strong vocals from Pharrell, everything just clicks here. (✔)

7) "Touch" ft/ Paul Williams

A different change of pace feel. There's an "outer space/sci fi" feel to it that sounds rather creepy/eery. It settles in around 2 minutes in. It then goes to a sudden ragtime-jazz feel (going to half-time with elements from the intro). It then transitions to a frantic feel, leading to a clearer sounding version of the intro. While there are some good moments here, it feels a bit all over the place. From the sudden transitions, it just feels off. It may just be me, but I didn't really get it. (X)

8) "Get Lucky" ft/ Pharrell Williams

Starts off with a disco-feel intro. A solid chorus from Pharrell. This song really focuses on the lyrics (which are used as background in some of the other tracks). The instrumentals really accompany Pharrell well here. Another solid collaboration with Pharrell, this track is deserving of the hype. Pharrell is really given a chance to shine and be the focal point for this track. (✔)

9) "Beyond"

It starts out with a big opening. The pace then settles in. There's nice backing instrumentals here playing off the varying themes. A solid track, but it could have used more to allow it to really set itself apart. (O)

10) "Motherboard"

It starts out with a solid beat intro. There's a soundscape-feel to it, with varying instrumentals. It then goes into a breakdown and change of pace (with a sci-fi/dramatic feel). A nice track, but not one that really stands out (although it does have some nice elements to it). (O)

11) "Fragments of Time" ft/ Todd Edwards

   

It has a jazz-retro feel to it. Smooth vocals really elevate this track, especially with the line "turning our days into melodies". There's a cool retro breakdown (like an old feel with a new groove). A very unique track that really works. Everything just settles in. (✔).

12) "Doin' It Right" ft/ Panda Bear

It starts off with a more typical Daft Punk feel. The beat grows and develop in the beginning. The vocals are rather repetitive (and aren't the focal point). This track feels just rather blase. There's not much to it. (X)

13) "Contact"

 

There's a nice transition into this track. A narrative then starts out, describing an object in space, accompanied by a solid background. The beat then really settles in, and builds throughout (with a hard-rock feel). You can sense the imagery of a rocket soaring, with the album literally lifting off. What a conclusion to "Random Access Memories". This track really gives a sense of finality, and feels like a proper ending. ( ✔).

(✔) = 54%

(O) = 23%

(X) = 23%

"Random Access Memories" is a solid effort from Daft Punk. There's that typical feel that you can expect from them, along with its own uniqueness. Collaborations from Pharrell Williams and Julian Casablancas really stand out on this album. While some tracks are kind of out there, most should be able to appreciate this album for what it is. This is an album that is very deserving of recognition and is one of the better EDM/Synth albums of the past year. 

"The Heist" - 134

"Good kid, M.A.A.D City" - 124

"Random Access Memories" - 108

"Red" - 63