King James here once again with an album from an artist whose coming off a hiatus. This time it's not the pop star Justin Timberlake or the punk rock group Fall Out Boy, but the robot rockin' duo all the way from France; Daft Punk. Random Access Memories is the first album from Daft Punk in 8 years, and has been received with perhaps the warmest of welcomes. The album debuted at number 1 on Billboard's top 200; a first for the group. The album's lead single has entered the top 5 on Billboard's hot 100 and debuted in the top 20, another first for the duo. So far, Random Access Memories has become the second most successful album in 2013, right behind Justin Timberlake's The 20/20 Experience. Random Access Memories, just like all of the other Daft Punk albums, brings a whole different sound for the group. This time there is very little sampling, many different featured guests, and is a throwback to the late 70's early 80's disco and funk mixed with futuristic sounds and even classical music. I myself had high hopes for this album. Daft Punk is one of my favorite artists of all time and I wanted to see if they could even outdo themselves with Discovery; one of my favorite albums of all time. So what do I think of Random Access Memories? Let's take a look at each track first.
Track 1: Give Life Back To Music
Wow... All I can say is wow. This is how you open up an album. In my Ke$ha Warrior review, I stated that an album should open in a way that will get you interested in listening to the rest of the album. Give Life Back To Music doesn't just do that; Give Life Back To Music exceeds that. Give Life Back To Music exceeds all expectations when it comes to opening an album. Right at the start, the album starts with a bang as Give Life Back To Music kicks itself into gear. After being blasted by concentrated awesomeness in music form, the song then chills with an awesome 70's style riff. Random Access Memories was heavily inspired by disco and disco rock, and boy, does Give Life Back To Music show. Give Life Back To Music is amazing and one of the best songs on the album, gives a fresh taste to what is to come for the rest of the songs, and is perfect with how you start off an album.
Track 2: The Game of Love
With as big of an opening as Give Life Back To Music was, The Game of Love is surprisingly slow. In fact, it's probably the slowest song on the album. Nothing really wrong with that, though, as I do enjoy a lot of slow songs, and The Game of Love is very enjoyable. What I though was going to be a romanticized 70's disco funk version of a kung fu movie theme song ended up being a robotic and moving ballad of a love long lost. It sounds just like a robot bar filled with all of the depressed droids drowning their sorrows in oil longing over their hard drives leaving them for a stronger cpu. I have honestly no idea what that's supposed to mean, but as strange and out of place as it might be, it's surprisingly a nice relaxing and meaningful song. Here is where the album's title seems to make sense. Random Access Memories is obviously a play on words of RAM, or random access memory for computer data storage. However, memories may make sense for the title, because if any song on he album can bring up as many futuristic robotic memories then it's The Game of Love.
Track 3: Giorgio by Moroder
The longest track on the album, Giorgio by Moroder starts off unlike any other Daft Punk song. With somebody actually talking. Who is talking and telling their musical life story in the beginning? Why that's Giorgio Moroder himself! Who is Giorgio Moroder? Giorgio Moroder is a producer, songwriter, and song performer who's collaborated with many famous artists. In the beginning of Giorgio by Moroder, Giorgio is telling his life story of how he got into the kind of music he wanted to make. He also states that he wanted to "do an album with the sound of the 50's, the sound of the 60's, of the 70's, and then have a sound of the future." Daft Punk brings his wishes to life with this 9 minute epic. Daft Punk brings forth a futuristic sounding disco and funk clash which also sets the stage for the rest of the album. If you're like Giorgio Moroder himself, then this song, and this album is what you've been waiting for. Giorgio by Moroder is one of the best tracks on the album.
Track 4: Within
Within starts off as a piano ballad which is an interesting find on an electro disco funk album. Also, the chord progression somehow reminds me of 3 Doors Down's Here Without You. That's what Within feels like to me, a robot playing the piano to Here Without You. Fortunately, Within isn't without meaning. Within tells the sorrow tale of a robot or someone looking into their past and themselves and all of that which they never did. I have mixed feelings about Within and even though I don't mind it, it leaves an odd taste.
Track 5: Instant Crush featuring Julian Casablancas
Instant Crush is the first track on the album to have a featured artist, and it's Julian Casablancas from The Strokes. I expected Instant Crush to be an over-the-top song from having seen Julian Casablancas team up with The Lonely Island for Boombox, and I was surprised. Instant Crush presents Julian's voice as more robotic, as many voices on the album are, but works well. The opening may start off like many other 3 chord intros, but really builds up to a chorus that leaves a brilliant lasting impression. It's also a song that has meaning and is something you can dance to. How often is it when an artist decides they have something to say by making excessively loud and over the top electro and heavy bass music. Honestly, I'm rather pleased that Instant Crush takes itself seriously and isn't over the top. It's like watching someone's life go by in which you can move to the beat of. I'm really impressed and Instant Crush is one of the more powerful songs on the album.
Track 6: Lose Yourself To Dance featuring Pharrell Williams
Ahh Pharrell Williams. It's so nice to see a man get so involved back into music, and it seems like he keeps popping up on my reviews. First on my RDGLDGRN post, and now on a Daft Punk review. As for Lose Yourself To Dance, I have similar views on this as Instant Crush. While Instant Crush may be a bit more story-driven, Lose Yourself To Dance is funky, catchy, and demands you to well, Lose Yourself To Dance. I'm just shocked that there's an EDM song that you can actually dance to, not have violent seizures to. Sure it might be repetitive, but who cares? It's funky and anyone can get down to it.
Track 7: Touch featuring Paul Williams
Touch is where you can get a perfect introduction to the magic of Daft Punk. The song starts off with a bizarre synth intro with Paul Williams' voice being mixed underwater as it sounds. This video continues for about 2 minutes until Paul Williams' voice becomes more clear. The ambience in the song fits well with his voice until the music starts to pick up until about 3 and a half minutes in when perhaps the best transition in the album and in recent memory happens. The soothing trumpets, the jamming piano, the beating drums, all coexist perfectly to bring out the best in the song. That's not all, in fact the song's not even halfway over. A choir of angelic robots come to join the jam by singing "If love is the answer you're home." Just listen as Touch conveys an unbelievable story filled with a beautiful sense of atmosphere almost entirely with music and occasionally Paul Williams' singing. The song ends with Paul Williams joining back in the fray as you realize how moving this song is. Touch is a good contender for my favorite song on the album and favorite Daft Punk song,, and never ceases to amaze. Absolutely beautiful.
Track 8: Get Lucky featuring Pharrell Williams & Nile Rodgers
Get Lucky is Daft Punk's first song to place in the top 5 of Billboard's hot 100. I cannot agree anymore. Get Lucky is amazing. A few months ago, Daft Punk released a 10 second clip of an upcoming song (which was Get Lucky of course) for their upcoming album after singing with Columbia records. I remember listening to that clip for hours, it was so catchy. That's what describes this song, catchy. Not just catchy, as Pharrell does some of his best singing yet, and with Nile Rodgers playing that smooth guitar riff throughout the song makes this song even better. As for the meaning, it's pretty obvious. Being up all night in the hopes of getting some... action if you know what I mean. Also, it's another example of an EDM song that you can dance to. Thank you, Gods of robotic jams, Daft Punk for giving the world this song.
Track 9: Beyond
Beyond is just one of those titles that is an adjective that you can describe Daft Punk to a group of friends who have never heard of Daft Punk or EDM for that matter. "Check them out, man, Daft Punk is the most Beyond group out there." Aside from the fitting title, Beyond is another laid back disco and electro song on the album. That's definitely not a problem, as I'd take this over most of Calvin Harris' ideals of blaring whatever you're trying to convey as loud as possible and remove all silent moments. Beyond is a really cool song that doesn't change much, but doesn't need to. It's fine the way it is.
Track 10: Motherboard
Here I feel like I'm reviewing Justin Timberlake again. This sounds very much like something he would do if Justin Timberlake was a robot of course. It's laid back, smooth, and obviously disco inspired, much like the rest of the album, but that just makes me like Motherboard and Random Access Memories in general even more. This song goes on for so long, but I can't have enough. If Daft Punk made this song even 10 more minutes, I'd still listen to it and be impressed, I'm in love with the whole sound of this song and the album for that matter that much. However, at about 3 minutes in the song shifts gears a little with what sounds like the track being haunted as it goes underwater. Creepy. Then all of a sudden the robot heavens open up and bring us back some more awesome electronic riffs mixed with some of what was just heard. Motherboard stays mostly unchanged throughout the song, but still manages to evolve and continually sound refreshing which is amazing.
Track 11: Fragments of Time featuring Todd Edwards
Wow, Todd Edwards really brings it to this song. Fragments of Time is more of what has been brought already from the album, and still stays refreshing. It's funky, it's disco-inspired, it's got a great singer, it's emotional, it's more of what I love about this album. There isn't much to say, but Fragments of Time jams everything you've heard throughout the album and brings it all together to still be relaxing. It's upbeat, it's meaningful, it's amazing and another fantastic track on Random Access Memories.
Track 12: Doin' It Right featuring Panda Bear
Once again, there's not much to say about this song that I haven't said about other songs on the album. It's funky, it's got a great singer, it's more of what I love about this album and really builds up. However, this time Daft Punk bring their own robotic voices to add more texture with the vocals. There isn't too much to say, but I enjoy it almost as much as the last several tracks.
Track 13: Contact
This... Is... How... You... End... An... Album... Don't end an album in a boring manor, you want to leave almost how you walked in. Contact is amazing, and I put it right up there with Touch, Give Life Back To Music, Giorgio by Moroder, and Get Lucky for best songs on the album. It just sucks you right in and blasts you with everything you love about Daft Punk. Contact literally sounds like a rocket launching off to not space, but to the outer awesomeness, and as the rocket sails away to venture onward, you can't help but cry as you know it will be back someday. Also the ending sounds like the rocket is hitting warp speed or something. Maybe the rocket crash landed, who knows? The future is never certain. That is what Contact leaves me with for a space voyage, the album, and even the future of Daft Punk. Contact is an unbelievable ending to an unbelievable album.
Not bad for an album that was recorded in 5 different studios. Daft Punk proves once again that they know how to make Electronic Dance Music Electronic Dance Music. EDM has been poisoned by so many who fail at provoking any thought or feeling but just jump and flop around on the dance floor. Even though I love this album a lot, I may not have rated Random Access Memories as high if it wasn't for the fact that Daft Punk is giving life back to a genre so devoid of anything interesting for the most part. Random Access Memories is full of surprises and knows exactly what the listener wants and delivers. This is what I'd like to see for the future of not just EDM, but for music as a whole. Daft Punk proves that there are still artists who pour every bit of talent that they have to make such a time-worthy album. Lovers of 70's music, 80's music, Electronic music, and Daft Punk will find something to fall in love with in this album, and as for Daft Punk, they are Human After All. Thank you Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel De-Homem Christo. Buy this album.
Verdict: Random Access Memories presents something for everyone, and not just that, but anyone can fall in love with this masterpiece. Random Access Memories is a trendsetter and it deserves every bit of my highest rating for an album so far. Final Score: 10/10.
Daft Punk - Random Access Memories (2013) Live Songs Listen Now...
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