| Producers extraordinaire showcase their skills and feature the talents of Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z, Ludacris, Kelis and others.
Whether you love ’em or hate ’em, there’s no denying that The Neptunes’ Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo are the hottest hit-makers (Dr. Dre and Timbaland included) in hip-hop and pop today. From Nelly to Britney to Justin to countless others who rode to the top of the charts on their golden beats, The Neptunes symbolize the proverbial pulse of these two genres rather than fingers feeling around for it.
Not surprisingly, then, they strike while the iron is hot. Their first full-length release under the Neptunes banner (for other works, see N.E.R.D.) sees the duo hooking up with artists of massive pop-hip-hop crossover appeal. The Neptunes’ sound, instantly recognizable for its Quincy Jones-meets-Howard Jones, quality succeeds even when matched with painfully limited lyrics (Busta Rhymes’ "Light Your Ass on Fire," for instance) or vocals (Pharrell’s "Frontin"). The magnificent grooves still manage to make the tracks succeed.
However, the number of songs on Clones that are neither lyrically nor musically inspired is simply too high to overlook. The inclusion of numbingly insipid guitar pop from Spymob and the High Speed Scene is a complete head-scratcher, particularly as The Neptunes involvement appears to be quite minimal. You would do well to program out these tracks on your CD player.
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