THE BLACK EYED PEAS - THE BEGINNING REVIEW

Fans of Black Eyed Peas' The E.N.D. Electro-Pop era will revel at the Electronic splendour of the quartet's newest offering The Beginning, which is being spun as a Sequel to that 18 million-selling fifth album.  It amazes me the speed of output at which The Black Eyed Peas are able to release their material and more so, how well it connects with audiences consistently especially considering their rigorous touring schedule. Some of the material featured here was recorded on their Toronto stop-off this past July (click 1 2 for more details).

First single The Time (Dirty Bit) which samples Jennifer Warnes & Bill Medley's 1987 Pop Classic I've Had the Time of My Life from Dirty Dancing despite initially teetering on annoying, actually has grown on me after a few weeks of my having denied it. In contrast to much of the group's more energetic hits, The Beginning is actually a much more subdued, moodier listening experience.

The Collection draws from Euro influences, dictated undoutedly by the massive success of their last album's more Electro and effects-heavy singles I Gotta Feeling and Boom Boom Pow. Play it Loud with its insistent U2-esque Guitar Hook, surely will connect with the Urban and Rock audiences alike and it should be no surprise that they have teamed together with French DJ David Guetta, who has brought them much success.  Multi-layered Just Can't Get Enough would also appear to be single-worthy based on its catchiness, each member getting a chance to shine on the track.