Even His Superficial Raps Are Super-Official

Kanye West “Gone (Live @ Abbey Road Studios)” – Aside from adjusting a couple arrangements and a few AWOL guests, the performances on Kanye West’s Late Orchestration live LP are remarkably true to the studio recordings on Late Registration and The College Dropout. However, it’s not exactly an inessential record. In a way, the near-flawless execution of the tracks by West’s orchestra and DJ is a small triumph over the low expectations of live hip hop. It’s a clear statement that West thinks too highly of the complexity of his own work to butcher it in a live setting. (Though he kinda sorta did when I saw him open for U2 in November, but that was mainly due to atrocious sound that wrecked his accompaniment – his performance was fine.) The same sort of ambition that fuels his occasionally embarassing public bravado is what pushes him to craft songs as elegantly composed as “Gone” and “Crack Music,” both of which outshine far bigger hits in a context which emphasizes their grace and grandiosity. When West claims that he’s ahead of his time after the instrumental section of “Gone,” I believe that he’s exactly right. He’s obviously not alone in his ability to compose sophisticated hip hop tracks, but at his best he simultaneously pushes at his formal boundaries while emphasizing emotional resonance. He’s not trying to freak us out with bizarre sounds or impress us with minimalism; he’s attemting to find more effective ways of expressing classic themes and hip hop tropes. (Click here to buy it from Amazon UK.)